Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors are in a tough spot. Things were rough for them at the beginning of the season, as they endured an 0-5 road trip that set them up for a treacherous uphill battle. And now, they haven’t been able to escape the injury bug.
Andrew Wiggins has missed time due to injury, but the biggest blow has been Stephen Curry’s absence due to a shoulder issue. However, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN, Curry is making “good progress” and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
“Stephen Curry is making “good progress” on his left shoulder subluxation, Warriors say. He will be re-evaluated again in two weeks,” Andrews tweeted.
Golden State is 1-6 with Curry on the bench this season, as the MVP point guard has been carrying them this year. He (+5.6) and Andrew Wiggins (+5.5), who has also missed some time due to an injury, are the top two players on the Warriors in terms of plus/minus, with Green (+4.7) clocking in at third.
The Warriors bench hasn’t lived up to expectations, so Curry has been forced to carry the load. Luckily for Golden State, before his injury, he was doing a fairly decent job of that. Curry has appeared in 26 of the team’s 33 games and is playing 34.4 minutes. He’s averaging 30.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists on 50.0% shooting from the floor and 43.4% shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Stephen Curry Delivers Bleak Injury Update
Golden State will have to hold things down without Curry while he’s out, and unfortunately for them, that could mean simply keeping their heads above water. From the way they’ve performed without him, it seems as though any hopes of high-level play is unlikely.
And while Andrews’ update should leave Warriors fans feeling positive, Curry’s personal update from not too long ago was an ugly one.
“This is an interesting one just because I haven’t had an injury like this to the shoulder. So it’s kind of a wait-and-see approach,” Curry said “I’m still in the early healing process, so I’m nowhere near, even like, picking up a basketball yet… It’ll be a few weeks. I think into the New Year and I’ll start to key in on a timeline from there.”
Curry revealed that information after Golden State’s blowout loss to the New York Knicks on December 20 – just four days prior to Andrews’ reporting. So, combining the two updates, it’s a bit unclear just how close Curry is to returning to the court.
Draymond Green Calls on Jordan Poole to Step Up
With Curry out, certain members of the Warriors will have to assume larger roles. One of those players is Jordan Poole. And after Golden State’s big-time win over the Toronto Raptors, Draymond Green praised Poole and noted how important he’ll be during Curry’s absence.
“He was incredible on both sides of the ball,” Green said. “And when you connect the game like that, things will go your way. We all know what a special talent he is. He’s been going through some growing pains. To see him come out tonight and have the game that he had – especially with Steph being down and us needing to get a win – was really huge. His effort on the defensive end carried over to the offensive end.”
