Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will remain sidelined through this weekend with a left peroneal strain (tendons located behind the ankle). The team announced on Friday that he will not play against the Houston Rockets on Saturday and will be re-evaluated on Sunday.
Curry, who is making good progress in his recovery and has been cleared to participate in portions of practice, was injured in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 27.
The team also announced that guard De’Anthony Melton, who strained his lower back in the loss to the Clippers, is progressing well and will be re-evaluated in one week.
Curry first tweaked his left ankle toward the end of the third quarter against the Clippers, but returned to the game after receiving treatment from the training staff on the bench. After the second incident, he was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he spoke with Curry after the loss, and that the All-Star guard described his injury as moderate.
“He’s obviously sprained the ankle many times before, so he doesn’t think it’s too bad.” Kerr said. “But obviously, you know, it’s a concern.”
Kerr said that he did not have any discussions with the training staff after Curry first limped to the bench with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
He then aggravated the same ankle injury just moments after he returned to the game, and he appeared to be in significant pain as he hopped directly to the locker room.
Curry had career-threatening ankle problems early in his NBA tenure, but has largely been able to avoid major issues in the latter portion of his Hall of Fame career. He entered Sunday night having only averaged 26 minutes over the Warriors’ first two games of the season — historic blowouts over the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz — while putting up 18.5 points and seven assists per contest. He had 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in 27 minutes against the Clippers before exiting the game.
Needless to say that any hopes for Golden State success this season depend on a healthy and productive Curry, who has made an All-NBA team in 10 of the last 11 years.
Kerr said that Andrew Wiggins, who scored a game-high 29 points versus the Clippers, would be a prime candidate to pick up the added offensive responsibility in Curry’s potential absence. The Warriors were playing a 12-man rotation for their first three games, so that depth could come in handy as long as their offensive fulcrum remains out.
“We’ve got a deep team. We’ve talked about it,” Kerr said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can play well. We’ll be ready.”
