Veteran guard Stephen Curry was sidelined for his 12th consecutive game Thursday when the Golden State Warriors eked out a 115-113 overtime win over the Houston Rockets. While there’s no set timeline for his return from a lingering knee injury, Curry has made a promise to his Warriors teammates.
According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Curry sent a text message to Draymond Green on Thursday, in which he vowed to return before the end of the season.
Here is Draymond on his recent conversations with Curry, who he said texted him today: “Keep going. I know it’s tough, but promise you, I’m coming back.”
“A bunch of exclamation marks. Y’all did that,” Curry texted Green after the Warriors pulled off an impressive overtime victory against the Rockets.
Stephen Curry Vows to Return
Curry, dealing with a right patellofemoral pain syndrome, AKA “runner’s knee,” urged the Warriors to “keep going” while promising to return imminently.
“Keep going,” Curry told Green. “I know it’s tough, but promise you, I’m coming back.”
Green explained why he had full confidence that Curry would return at some point during the Warriors’ final 20 games of the season.
“My confidence level is high, ultimately, because I know [Curry]’s going to put in all the work and do everything he can to get back,” Green said of Curry’s return.
“If his body allows him to get back, I know he will come back. He’s not wanting to just shut it down. For us, just got to stay afloat. Nobody’s expecting us to go on a 10-game win streak, but you just got to stay afloat. Tonight’s a big step towards that.”
Could Warriors Shut Down Curry?
The Warriors announced last week that Curry would be re-evaluated in 10 days, meaning his return may not happen until mid-to-late March. Amid the reports, several analysts have implored the Warriors to shut down their best player for the remainder of the season, given that Steve Kerr’s team is not a true contender to win a championship.
“Shut Steph down, let those guys play it out,” ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said last month. “See what guys fit. Right now I would let the rest of the Warriors team outside of Steph play this season out and audition. See if they want to be here.”
“This offseason is probably going to be one of the most important offseasons of this franchise since Steph has been a part of the franchise. Because they need to go out Mike Dunleavy needs to do his damn job, and make sure he go get the pieces so that Steph has a legitimate shot coming into next year to compete for an NBA title.”
Further to Perkins’ point, the Warriors will be without Jimmy Butler (ACL) for the rest of the season, while Kristaps Porzingis (illness) has played only one game since arriving in the Bay Area as part of the Jonathan Kuminga trade.
The one piece of good news for the Warriors is that Porzingis may be nearing a return. Head coach Steve Kerr revealed on Thursday that the Latvian big man travelled with the team for their ongoing three-game road trip, which includes stops in Oklahoma City and Utah after Thursday’s win in Houston.
“No timeline, but he is on the trip, and he is going to get a workout today, and we’ll just take it day by day from there,” Kerr said of Porzingis.
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