Getty Stephen Curry, Warriors
Every time that Warriors star Stephen Curry hits the floor over the course of an NBA game, there will be due concern about him getting up healthy. Such was the case during a critical moment in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in the Finals against the Celtics, in which Curry went down for a loose ball, winding up prone and grimacing for an extended period. Curry remained in the game for two more minutes, but his oft-injured left foot was clearly hurting him.
And that could be problematic for Golden State. Coach Steve Kerr did not say much about the injury, other than to say Kerr’s removal from the game was a factor of time and score (the Warriors were down 14 points with two minutes to play). “We will know more tomorrow,” Kerr added.
Curry said he expects to play in Game 4. But there are significant concerns about how Curry’s injured foot will react as time progresses, especially when Curry pointed out that it’s a similar injury to one he had earlier in the season, also suffered against Boston.
“I’ll be all right,” he said. “I got caught — obviously in some pain, but I’ll be all right. See how it feels tomorrow and get ready for Friday.”
Draymond Green Heard Curry ‘Screaming’
During the play, which took place with a little more than four minutes to go and the Celtics ahead by 12, Curry went to the floor to retrieve a Jayson Tatum miss as Al Horford and Marcus Smart tumbled to the ground, too. Horford appeared to land on Curry’s leg first, and Smart subsequently.
Warriors big man Draymond Green tried pulling Smart off Curry.
“Yeah, you always worry,” Green said, “but yeah, I saw him getting dove on and that was about that. So I picked up my foul pushing off him because he’s screaming at the bottom of the pile. Yeah, it is what it is. I’ll take the foul. I’m going to get him off his legs, though. It’s all good.”
Curry said he was not sure how the play went down, exactly.
“It’s a big body, obviously,” Curry said. “I haven’t seen the play, so I don’t know if it could have been avoided or not. I was in that situation with Marcus back in the Bay, and you just want to get your foot out of there. That’s all I was trying to do at that point, knowing the position I was in. Like I said, for what I feel like, it’s not as bad. So hopefully it responds well over the next two days.”
Curry Sat for Three-Plus Weeks With a Similar Injury
Of course, the Celtics would like to take on the Warriors at full strength, and they’ve managed to be up, 2-1, here in the Finals despite some very good performances from Curry, who has not had a clunker in three games. He is averaging 31.3 points per game and shooting 48.6% from the field, including 48.5% from the 3-point line.
Curry has been dealing with issues concerning the foot for months, and, as he referenced, suffered a similar injury against the Celtics back on March 16. In a similar circumstance, Smart dove to the floor for a loose ball and rolled into Curry’s foot. The difference there was that Curry was still on his feet in the March game, but was on the floor—and thus in a safer position—on Wednesday night.
Curry missed the last 12 games of the season—more than three weeks—with that injury and was not quite 100% when he did return. Because he’s been the heart of the Warriors offense in this series, the team can’t afford to have him hobbled.