The Golden State Warriors received good news as superstar Stephen Curry allayed fears of missing their Martin Luther King Day matchup against the defending champion Boston Celtics.
Curry gave a positive update after tweaking his left ankle in the final 1:30 of their 122-114 win against the Washington Wizards on Saturday, January 18.
Looked like a painful left ankle twist late here for Steph Curry. Here he is limping and trying to test it on the bench. pic.twitter.com/kYzU2v9Cb2
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 19, 2025
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“It feels great,” Curry said, per NBC’s Dalton Johnson. “See you on Monday.”
Steph Curry in the locker room on his ankle injury: “Feels great. See you Monday.”
Curry’s left ankle is taped with a bucket of ice, and his right thumb is wrapped in ice.
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) January 19, 2025
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“Steph just told me he doesn’t think it’s serious,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the much-needed win.
But Kerr added Curry and Draymond Green (left calf) will be day-to-day.
The Warriors will host the defending champion Celtics on Monday, January 20, looking to sweep their season head-to-head with another win that will put them two games above .500.
The Celtics are at their most vulnerable state since winning the championship. They have lost four of their last seven games, including a 119-115 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
Golden State will need Curry to be at his best for them to have a shot at repeating their 118-112 win in Boston on November 6, 2024.
Curry just dropped 26 points in 34 minutes against the Wizards. He’s heating up this January, averaging 26.7 points on a 49/44/100 shooting split, his best month of the season so far.
Steph Curry ‘Not OK’ To Be On Average Team
After the Warriors tumbled into a .500 team after their 12-3 start, Curry made comments that warned their front office to avoid pushing the panic button and make desperate trades.
“Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry told reporters following the Warriors’ 104-101 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday, January 13.
As people assumed Curry’s comments as a clear signal they were waving the white flag, Curry pushed back on those assumptions.
” Anybody that thinks I’m OK with just being on an average basketball team is insane,” Curry told reporters on January 16 after his recent comments made headlines. “Take whatever I said — I still stand on it — but that doesn’t mean you’re not in a situation where you’re trying to get better and make appropriate moves that help you do that. [Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy] knows that. We’ve talked about it. That’s the expectation from me trying to help lead the team where we want to go.”
Warriors Targeting Frontline Upgrade
Heeding Curry’s advice, the Warriors are not looking to rush into a splashy move like a Jimmy Butler trade that will deplete their asset and flexibility moving forward.
Instead, the Warriors are looking to make a minor move to get bigger, Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto reported on January 16.
“The Warriors have continued their due diligence on the trade market and inquired about potential frontcourt upgrades, including Nikola Vučević, John Collins, Jonas Valanciunas, and Robert Williams, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote.
Those four big men are not stars but role players who can give the Warriors some size in their thin and small frontline that only has one player standing above 6’9″ in second-year center Trayce Jackson-Davis.
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Warriors Get Good News Ahead of MLK Showdown vs. Celtics