Getty Stephen Curry's hand injury may be worse than originally reported.
This is not good news at all for Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
According to a report from Bleacher Report‘s Ric Bucher, the two-time NBA MVP’s left hand fracture is a lot worse than originally reported. While Curry’s original estimated timetable was that he would miss at least three months, Bucher is stating that Curry is unlikely to return at all this season.
“Curry doesn’t have to worry about that misery now. His lengthy absence is not borne merely from being cautious with the franchise’s best player. A team source says the fracture was worse than originally thought, and it’s unlikely that he plays again this season. The silver lining, of course, is that he won’t have to endure countless shimmies, dangling mouthguards, 1-2-3 counts and other acts of reveling by opponents.”
The most revealing thing here is that Bucher reports that Curry’s injury is a lot worse than originally thought. The original timetable had him being out for three months — which means he would have been projected to return just before the All-Star break.
Curry May Avoid Playing This Season Due to Losing
With that said, if you read Bucher’s entire article, the whole point of the piece is to illustrate how the Warriors have fallen back down to earth and how Curry and Draymond Green — the two remaining pieces from the dynasty years — could avoid playing in many games due to opposing teams’ desire to get revenge.
In fact, most of the quotes from that piece feature notable players — such as the San Antonio Spurs‘ Rudy Gay — speaking of their lack of empathy for crushing Golden State after how cocky they’ve acted over the past several years.
“You think anybody in the league has any empathy for Draymond Green?” Gay says. “No, hell no. He’s a good dude and everything, but everybody has their time and everybody has their day, and it’s time for another team to step up. They took full advantage of their time at the top. And not just them—the fans, too. This is the real NBA, man. You don’t have some of the best players in the league. You still have some great players, but those wins aren’t going to come as easy no more.”
In other words, Curry may very well be projected to recover from his hand injury in three months, but with the team clearly in rebuilding mode and with no chance to actually compete this season, maybe it’s just a wise idea to sit Curry — even if he’s healthy.
Opponents Eager to Get Revenge on Warriors
Considering the Warriors’ penchant for showing up opponents over the past few seasons, you already know opponents are frothing at the mouth to get back at them now that they’re vulnerable — especially Curry, who shimmied his way to a lot of victories over the past five seasons.
Reviews were mixed when it came to which player — Curry or Draymond — opposing players were looking for revenge against the most.
Although one Eastern Conference vice president made sure to say Curry.
“Steph,” an Eastern Conference vice president says. “Shimmies. The mouthguard. (Curry has it habitually hanging out of his mouth.) The list is endless.”
We’ll see if Bucher’s prediction comes true — or if Curry does return to endure some humbling losing before the conclusion of the season.