Stephen Curry: Why a Return Against Portland is Important
By Ryan Viera
With the Warriors up 2-0 on the Trail Blazers, it seems they could handle this series without Stephen Curry. However, it may not be a smart decision.
For a brief moment, the sprained right medial collateral ligament in the knee of Golden State Warriors’ point guard, Stephen Curry, seemed to sink the proverbial ship that the MVP had steered all season, hopefully en route to a second straight NBA championship.
For that moment, the ship had lost its captain with no promise of his return any time soon. However, the results from one magnetic resonance imaging machine eased worries, and informed the world that the soon-to-be back-to-back MVP would be back in a matter of weeks.
Two weeks was the initial diagnosis, and as it stands today on this fifth day of May, it has been 11 days since Curry’s injury has occurred. As we near the two week mark that Warriors’ GM Bob Myers said himself was flexible, there has been no real sign of Curry jumping back on board the ship to take the reins once again.
That may just be because the ship is not sinking. In fact, it is moving with such force that it leaves some wondering Curry’s value to this team. That is not to say that his value has been significantly lessened due to the fact that the Warriors are 6-1 in the post season despite Curry playing just two halves in their entirety. It is merely suggesting: Is this team really THAT good?
The Warriors took care of the Houston Rockets in five games, their one and only loss coming by just a single point. They moved on to the Portland Trail Blazers, dismissing them in game one, only to see a bit more fight from them in game two. Nevertheless, the Warriors hold a 2-0 series lead over Portland, and will head up north for at least the next two games.
With Curry yet to play a full game this postseason, and the Warriors continuing to dominate, it leaves people wondering if they should sit him for the entirety of this series. It is clear that the Warriors can take care of business against the Blazers, so why not make sure he is 100 percent healthy before putting him out there?
One glaring reason it may be best to avoid that scenario is that Curry is a rhythm player. He thrives off of getting in a groove and staying there. It is the same reason that once he hits a few shots, we tend to see the flood gates open, which leads to 15, 20, even 25 points in single quarters.
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Curry played just under 20 minutes in game one before injuring his right ankle. He was forced to miss the following two games, but decided to give it a go in game four against the Rockets. He played about 18 and a half minutes that game before injuring his knee, but you could tell Curry just wasn’t himself, even before the injury.
He didn’t look hampered. In fact, he moved around on the court quite well. His shots just weren’t falling. Could it just be a bad game? Sure, every player has those every so often. But Curry shot 22 percent from the field, 14 percent from three and only managed six points. It seems more like he was trying to shake off the rust after taking eight days off from NBA action.
Word around Curry’s knee injury is that he is close, but not close enough to play. On Thursday, coach Steve Kerr said that Curry playing in game three on Saturday was unlikely. He has yet to play 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 in practice which Kerr has said he would like to see before placing him in a game.
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With Curry likely out for game three, we turn our heads to game four. Some may say just sit him down even if he can go. If the Warriors could manage to sweep the Blazers without him, that’ll just give him extra rest for the Western Conference Finals. If that were the case, however, we would be looking at nearly three weeks with no NBA basketball for Curry, and a match-up with either Oklahoma City or San Antonio on the horizon.
If Curry was out of rhythm after an eight-day break, imagine if he was sitting on the shelf for around 20 days. In a series as competitive as one with the Thunder or Spurs would likely be, you cannot afford to have Curry off of his rhythm in the first two games, as that could lead to losing home court advantage.
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A more realistic date for Curry’s return should come next Monday when the Warriors will be in Portland for game four of the series. That gives Curry a full 15 days off, and if he is healed up by then, it will allow him to shake off any rust he may have.
The Warriors have been just fine without their captain steering the ship. Nearly every member of the crew has stepped up at one point or another to take control, and have done a viable job of navigating choppy waters. There is a big wave coming, however, and it may be one that only an MVP can navigate over safely.