All Golden State Warriors fans are dying to know if Stephen Curry will be playing at the top of his game against the Boston Celtics tonight. After getting that injury in a play with Al Horford, Curry had to leave the court for a little while and then came back to keep playing for a short period of time. When he was questioned about the pain, Curry confirmed he would be okay and ready to go for Friday. However, fans were still wondering what would happen to the only player in the finals who is averaging 30+ points per game. Earlier on Friday, there were videos of Steph shooting some threes without any issues but we still needed some confirmation from coach Steve Kerr.
During the same press conference, Kerr also confirmed he isn't asking Stephen Curry to have any kind of restrictions with the injury. The man is going all out to try and get that 2-2 against the Celtics at TD Garden. Boston is more than ready to receive the Golden State Warriors, especially after that emphatic win on Wednesday. If the Warriors don't tie the series, things will get incredibly more difficult for them with only one more game to lose. Most Warriors players remain ambivalent to what might happen later tonight but the big stars are still confident their side will win the series and get their fourth NBA championship. Draymond Green has a settle to score.Another star who needs to make a statement from the Warriors is Draymond Green, who got into a heated altercation with the Boston Celtics fans who were heckling him throughout the game. He came out to recognized he hated the way he played but Steve Kerr is convinced Draymond will make up for that tonight. Green has been wildly apologetic about his performance on his podcast and in front of journalists. But we all know that the only way to make up for that is by putting up a defensive show against the Celtics and in front of Boston fans. Green loves this kind of pressure, we'll see how he and Curry respond later tonight.
Steph Curry won't play in Saturday's game between the Warriors and Charlotte Hornets because he's "not feeling well," the team announced shortly after the contest began. Moments before tip-off between the two teams, Curry was seen walking to the locker room with Rick Celebrini, the Warriors' director of sports medicine and science. It appeared Curry was stretching his legs as he walked towards the locker room, but based on the Warriors' announcement, it sounds like he isn't injured. The Athletic's Anthony Slater reported that Curry wasn't removed for the NBA's health and safety protocols put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the first game Curry has missed all season, and it's a disappointing one, considering the Warriors are playing his hometown Hornets. Curry is having an MVP-caliber season, averaging 29.9 points on 48.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point range. The good news for Curry and the Warriors is that they have two days off before their next game Tuesday against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. The much-anticipated first Curry vs. LaMelo Ball matchup will have to wait until Friday, Feb. 26 when the Hornets visit San Francisco. By continuing to use this site, you consent to the use of cookies. To learn more about cookies and how to disable them, view our Cookie Policy. By clicking I Agree on this screen you agree that Say Media and its partners may process your personal data for the purposes of information storage and access; personalisation; ad selection, delivery, and reporting; content selection, delivery and reporting; and measurement. For more information please view our Privacy Policy.
For just the 2nd time in the last 10 years, Steph Curry came off the bench. Similar to this situation, the last time he came off the bench was also in a playoff game as he was working his way back from injury. The announcement that Curry would not start Game 1 vs. the Denver Nuggets came just minutes before tip-off, as it was initially reported that he would start. After the game, Steve Kerr revealed his thought process. When asked about bringing Steph off the bench, Kerr confirmed that he wanted to avoid having Steph sit for extended stretches, and instead wanted to better manage the precise minutes he would receive. The plan was to have him close the last 5-6 minutes of each quarter, rather than having him play the usual rotation he'd have for such a game. While it was an adjustment for Curry, who was playing his first live action in roughly one month, he warmed up as the game went along. Steve Kerr was asked specifically how hard is it going to be to remove Jordan Poole from the starting lineup once it is time to reinstate Steph, and said that "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Kerr continued by saying that Steph feels good after his first game action in a while, and this return to play will help set the table for what is to come for he and the team. When asked if he plans to continue bringing Steph off the bench for Game 2 and beyond, Kerr said that he will continue working with the medical staff to decide what is best for the superstar point guard. The Warriors and Nuggets will face off again on Monday night in Golden State. Related ArticlesSteph Curry Confirms He Was Almost Traded to Milwaukee Bucks Steph Curry Reveals First Interaction With LeBron James Draymond Green Blasts Analysts Who Picked Lakers to Win Title
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will reportedly miss the remainder of the regular season after being diagnosed with a sprained ligament in his left foot, the team announced on Friday. The plan at this moment is for Curry to continue his rehab and begin individual on-court activities next week with his eventual return to practice based on his continued progress. Late in the second quarter of their March 16 matchup with the Boston Celtics at Chase Center, Marcus Smart collided with Curry as the Celtics guard dove on the floor for a loose ball. Curry had to check out of the game and did not return. After the Warriors' 110-88 loss, coach Steve Kerr called Smart's dive "dangerous." He also expressed his displeasure directly to Smart during the game. "He's a hell of a player, gamer, a competitor," Kerr told reporters. "I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game and we're good. But I thought it was a dangerous play." For Golden State, a sprained ligament is far from the worst outcome -- The Athletic described the diagnosis as a sigh of relief -- but losing Curry is a significant setback. Only five regular-season games remain for the Warriors, and they wanted to use the final stretch of the regular season to solidify their rotation and find a rhythm heading into the playoffs. Klay Thompson didn't make his debut until January and Draymond Green recently returned from an absence that lasted more than two months, so Curry has played a total of 11 minutes this season with both of them by his side. That is a frighteningly low number, not necessarily for those three champions but for the rest of the team. Everything that Golden State does on offense revolves around Curry, and everything he does is enhanced by Green's playmaking and Thompson's movement. The Warriors will play the same style with Curry out, but it won't work the same way. This season, with Curry on the court, they've scored 115.2 points per 100 possessions with a +10.2 point differential, according to Cleaning The Glass. Without Curry, they've scored 107.8 per 100 with a -5.0 point differential. Kerr's coaching staff will have difficult decisions to make regarding the playoff rotation, and it will be difficult to judge the many role players competing for spots when Curry is not next to them. At 48-29, Golden State is fourth in the Western Conference, with a two-game cushion over the Utah Jazz. "Whether we're the No. 2 seed or No. 3 seed, we're going to win a championship," Green said recently, but there is now some danger that the Warriors could finish lower than that. Regardless of where they end up, though, their challenge is to coalesce quickly when Curry is able to return, then try to peak at the right time. In 2016, Curry hurt his ankle in Game 1 of the Golden State's first-round series against the Houston Rockets, missed the next two games and sprained his right knee in Game 4. That knee injury kept him out of the lineup for two weeks, but he returned in Game 4 of the second round against the Portland Trail Blazers. If Curry can make it back by playoff time, then the timing here isn't nearly as disruptive. That team, however, had just finished the best regular season in NBA history, and it had won a championship the previous season. This one has a lot more to figure out. |