Getty Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors watches from the bench in a 129-110 win over the LA Clippers during Game Six of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
Golden State Warriors All-Star, Stephen Curry has struggled in Round 2 of the Dubs’ NBA Playoffs series vs. the Houston Rockets.
The culprit?
Curry dislocated his left middle finger during the first quarter of Game 2 against the Houston Rockets, leaving the court in pain while clutching his hand.
X-Rays were negative and the Warriors’ medical staff popped the finger back in place, TNT’s Allie LaForce reported.
Stephen Curry (dislocated left middle finger) has returned to the game. X-Rays were negative.
The injury occurred when Curry tried to poke the ball away from Clint Capela under the rim. Curry reentered with tape around the finger a few minutes later and finished with 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
“It hurts, but it’ll be alright. I didn’t break anything. I am fortunate and some higher powers were looking out for me on that one, but hopefully before Saturday that goes away and I’ll be fine,” Curry said after Game 2. “I was able to play. It’s different when I’ve never had a dislocated finger like that before and they pop it back in and you’re just dealing with pain, but I wasn’t thinking about it out there.”
Curry played exceedingly and abundantly well in the Golden State Warriors’ first-round victory against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Chef Curry scored 38 points in the opener and would go on to average almost 25 points per game while shooting at an efficient clip from the field.
Per Clutchpoints’ Marty Fenn:
In Game 1, Curry was 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. And in Game 2, Steph dislocated a finger on his non-shooting hand. He has not looked the same since, going a combined 5-of-22 from the three-point line and 13-of-39 from the field in Game 2 and Game 3.
Draymond Green — who has been fantastic for the Warriors in this series — believes that Curry is burning inside, which he says bodes well for Golden State moving forward:
However, Curry has not lacked too much aggression. He took 23 shots on Saturday night and 16 shots in Game 2. Despite his struggles shooting from the perimeter, it has mostly been bombs away for one of the most lethal shooters in NBA. He simply is not seeing the results this time around.
Draymond on Steph: “As a competitor I know he’s pissed with himself and I think that will bode well for us. Probably it’s going to lead to some aggressiveness and we like when he’s aggressive so I think he’ll be fine.”
The dislocated finger adds another element. Curry has attempted just 13 free throws during this series after averaging over six attempts per game against the Clippers. With the Rockets keying in on Kevin Durant (who shot 6-of-10 from 3 on Saturday), Stephen Curry might want to look to attack the basket more often, in spite of the finger issue.
“As a competitor I know he’s pissed with himself,” said Warriors forward, Draymond Green.
“I think that will bode well for us. Probably it’s going to lead to some aggressiveness and we like when he’s aggressive so I think he’ll be fine.”
The Warriors currently hold a 2-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets. Both teams will face off again on Monday night.