What’s the timeline for Steph Curry’s return to the Golden State Warriors after his shoulder injury?
With their star set to miss at least a fortnight, the Warriors can ill afford any slips in an already slippery situation.
Though the news isn’t good for the Warriors, the truth is it could have been much worse for both the team and their star. The only question now is, whether they can weather the storm in his absence.
Warriors Steph set to miss minimum of 2 weeks
According to a team announcement on Thursday, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is set to miss some time on the court following a left shoulder subluxation i.e., a partial dislocation. While the team has given no official word on a timeline, other reports have indicated that Curry will be re-evaluated in two weeks. If there is a silver lining, it’s that Curry will not require surgery, which is to say he’s expected to return in approximately one month.
If you missed it, Curry was forced off the court during the third quarter of the Warriors’ 125-119 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The injury itself was sustained after Curry missed a 3-pointer, which in turn resulted in a long rebound that started a Pacers fast break. As Jalen Smith went to the basket, Curry attempted to steal the ball away but unfortunately ended up hurting his shoulder in the process. The Warriors’ star was in visible pain, as he immediately grabbed his shoulder at which point the Warriors called a timeout. Curry was then taken to the locker room and shortly thereafter he was officially ruled out of the rest of the game. Postgame, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr admitted that he didn’t know the extent of the injury, but the team would “hope for the best.”
Steph Curry’s injury couldn’t have worse timing
At the moment, the Warriors who if you didn’t know are defending NBA champions, rank 10th in the West and currently sit on a 14-15 record. To put it mildly, that’s not good and now they’ve got to face the fact that they will be without their best player - arguably best in the league - just when he was beginning to return to his best. That’s all to say, this is a massive blow to the Warriors campaign. Consider for a moment, that with Curry on the court the Warriors have outscored opponents by 8.4 points per 100 possessions. Without him, it’s been the direct opposite as they’ve watched teams outscore them by 9.8 per 100.
Regarding the immediate future, the Warriors have four games left on their road trip - Philadelphia, Toronto, New York and Brooklyn - before they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Christmas Day. Following that, they will play seven games at home against Charlotte, Utah, Portland, Atlanta, Detroit, Orlando and finally Phoenix. Should the above-mentioned reports prove true and Curry is able to return in two weeks’ time, we should see him somewhere between the Utah and Portland games.
How will the Warriors cope without Steph Curry?
While we can all agree that Curry is irreplaceable, it’s not as if the Warriors don’t have an impressive roster regardless of their current position. Expect to see Jordan Poole stepping into the playmaking role, having been far more assertive as a starter this season. Indeed, his 36-minute splits in the starting lineup have offered an average of 27.7 points on 58.4%, 4.9 assists and 3.7 turnovers. There’s also a good chance that we will see more of Ty Jerome, who has yet to secure consistent court time since arriving at the start of the season. Ultimately, the Warriors do have cover but the size of the whole created by Curry’s absence is a serious problem.