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The Golden State Warriors‘ bid to end their three-game slide just got much tougher with Stephen Curry out due to a knee injury.
Curry “is believed to have a sprain right in his knee,” according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Warriors superstar went down hard in the second half of their 116-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last November 12. But he returned to finish the game with 38 points, the sixth time he’s hit over 30 this season.
The Warriors superstar is undergoing further evaluations to determine the severity of the injury. But Charamia added that Curry “is not expected to miss much time.”
Golden State cannot afford to have Curry out even for one game amid its tailspin after a 6-2 start.
No other Warrior outside Curry has scored more than 20 points in a game this season. Around the league, an average of four players per team have done that, according to ESPN, which paints a bleak picture of the Warriors’ sputtering offense.
Curry is averaging 30.7 points on 48.8% shooting, including 44.6% from deep. He is on pace for his best three-point shooting season since 2015-16.
The Jury Is Still Out on Klay Thompson
With Curry out, where will the offense come from?
That’s the multi-million dollar question mark the Warriors are facing ahead of Tuesday night’s rematch against the Timberwolves.
Klay Thompson, who is off to a slow start on a contract year, should seize this opportunity.
Thompson’s 16.1-point scoring average and 2.1 3s per game is his lowest since his rookie year. His 42.6% shooting ranks him 115th out of the 143 players who have attempted 70 or more field goals, per Basketball Reference.
Curry’s absence will give him the opportunity to take the reins over the Warriors’ offense and prove to the management that he deserves a lucrative extension.
Will Thompson shine or will it be the start of his decline?
Warriors’ Collective Effort
Chris Paul is naturally the next man up for the Warriors at the starting point guard role.
In two starts with the Warriors, the 38-year-old Paul averaged 12.0 points, 10.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Most importantly, he had an accumulated plus-7 net rating over that span.
But it’s not just Thompson and Paul, who needs to step up. It needs a collective effort from the group, especially struggling forward Andrew Wiggins.
Wiggins, who played an important role in the Warriors’ last championship run, is in a rut. The 28-year-old forward is averaging only 10.5 points on 41.2% shooting and 15.4% from deep, all career lows.
Can Paul, a natural table-setter, get Thompson and Wiggins going?
If Paul starts in place of Curry, rookie Brandin Podziemski has to approximate his impressive preseason showing. A tough ask for a rookie.
But the Warriors have no choice with veteran Cory Joseph still out of sync after recovering from a back injury in the offseason.
Podziemski averaged 6.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists in the preseason.
Third-year reserves Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody also stand to benefit as the Warriors will have to spread out Curry’s 20 field goal attempts per game.
Kuminga is averaging a career-best 12.1 points and has scored in double digits over his past seven games.
Moody’s 6.8 points off the bench is also a career-high.
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