Warriors star Stephen Curry will miss at least a week with a right quadriceps contusion and strain after suffering an injury during Golden State's 104-100 loss to Golden State. Houston Rockets on Wednesday evening.
He underwent an MRI scan after the game, and the Warriors said Thursday that Curry will be re-evaluated in a week, meaning he will likely miss at least three games. Golden State's medical staff and coaches typically use a recovery sequence in practice before an injured player returns to play, so it could be longer before Curry hits the court.
“Nobody wants to get hurt, especially not this guy,” Teammate Jimmy Butler said. “Obviously we'll go as far as he does, but we want him to be right so we have the best opportunity to succeed. I think we can hold the fort for a couple of days.”
Curry, 37, is in his 17th year. NBA This season, Houston's Amen Thompson fell hard under the basket with 3:24 left to tie the game at 91 after Thompson hit the rim, which was initially ruled an offensive foul. Houston challenged and the offer was overruled by Curry, who winced in pain as he lay on the floor. He limped into the locker room with 35.2 seconds left.
“Everyone has to do a little more, nothing too drastic, everyone plays a little better and collectively you hope that’s enough to win,” Brandin Podziemski said.
Coach Steve Kerr said he saw Curry get sick after the game. The two-time MVP finished with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting to 2-of-9 on 3-pointers, seven rebounds, five assists and seven of the Warriors' 16 turnovers, which led to 22 points for Houston.
“Obviously it changes everything, our rotation, how we play, who we play through, so we'll see,” Kerr said after the game. “When I heard it was a quad, I felt some relief, better than the ankle or the knee, so hopefully he can recover quickly and be okay. But we have to hold down the fort.”
The Warriors' depth could be tested given guard Gary Payton II sprained his left ankle earlier in Wednesday's game.
Butler said it's “just sad” that the Warriors don't stick to their game plan and sometimes do little things, and he urged everyone to “care more” about the details – especially if they're without Curry.
Butler said he would not change his approach.
“I don’t care about the attack, we need to guard someone,” he said. “We're ready to score, but I don't want the offense, if we miss, to make us not go and defend on the defensive side of the ball. I'll play the same way, but we just need to defend.”
