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Things keep getting worse for the Warriors. Stephen Curry suffered a broken left hand after a hard fall in Golden State’s embarrassing 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
The injury occurred early in the third quarter when Curry got tangled up with Aron Baynes while trying to drive to the basket. The two collided but it was Curry who took the brunt of the hit, falling awkwardly while bracing himself with his left hand and hitting the floor hard. The two-time MVP was able to get to his feet before walking back to the locker room under his own power while grabbing his hand in obvious pain.
Steph Curry heads to the locker room with an apparent wrist injury after taking a scary fall.
On Friday, the team announced an update on Curry’s injury status:
“Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who suffered a broken left hand/second metacarpal with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, underwent successful surgery this morning at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. The surgery was performed by Dr. Steven Shin. A six-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, Curry is expected to make a full recovery and an update on his status will be provided in three (3) months.
After Wednesday’s loss, the Warriors fell to 1-3 on the season and are allowing 126.3 points per game, third-most in the NBA.
The Warriors’ next game will be Friday night at home against the unbeaten San Antonio Spurs.
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Who Steps Up For Steph?
The logical answer is free-agent guard D’Angelo Russell, who is currently the team’s second-leading scorer with 16.7 points per game. Considering this is Russell’s first season with Golden State, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney will likely assume larger leadership roles since they are the most tenured players on the roster.
A darkhorse candidate for extended minutes and touches is forward Eric Paschall, who had made his first career start and scored a career-high 20 points in Wednesday’s loss to the Suns. The rookie took an upbeat approach to the Curry injury after the game.
“Of course it hurts knowing that Steph Curry’s down,” Paschall said. “That’s a very, very valuable piece of our team but I feel like we’re going to stay positive.”
Damion Lee has also been solid in the backcourt for Golden State averaging 10.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in limited minutes. Lee is shooting 44.4% from three-point range.
Steve Kerr Reacts
The Warriors head coach kept the focus on the team while fielding questions about Curry’s injury after Wednesday’s loss.
“Obviously it’s been a tough start for us on many levels,” Kerr told reporters. “We’re just trying to find our footing and obviously this puts us in a tough spot. We’ll assess it and go from there.”
Kerr is still trying to figure out how to fit all of the new pieces into place as Golden State has undergone a massive makeover this offseason, headlined by Kevin Durant’s departure and Klay Thompson’s ACL rehab.
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