Stephen Curry Injury a Real Concern For Warriors

The Golden State Warriors were able to grab a victory in game two despite Stephen Curry sitting out, but how long will this injury linger?

OAKLAND, Calif.— A soft and somber mood swept through Oracle Arena on Monday night just after 6:00 PM, as news spread that the Golden State Warriors’ star point guard, and soon-to-be two-time league MVP, would be unavailable to play game two of their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

Stephen Curry emerged from the tunnel dressed in his usual pre-game regalia, and at his usual time. He came to the floor already half-suited up, wearing a pair of home white shorts, along with a grey Warriors’ work out top, and a pair of his Under Armour Curry 2 shoes in a blue and grey color. Fans cheered at the sight of him performing his famous two-ball dribbling drill, rejoicing at the strong hope that their star would be back on the court once again. Everything seemed normal; at least for a brief moment.

Curry worked through his dribbling drills, bouncing two balls simultaneously between his legs, despite the well-known fact that basketball is played with just one. Maybe that is why he is so adept at handling the leather once the game actually starts.

Curry dribbled, and he dribbled some more, and everything looked to be in order. He began to take some jump shots, but as he began to push off of the hardwood, he knew that something was not right. Curry walked off of the floor, shaking his head in disappointment.

“He didn’t feel it during warm-ups, so he tried to see how it would feel,” said Coach Steve Kerr of the situation, “He just tried to push off on it, it was tender, so we weren’t going to take a chance.”

Curry had to leave Saturday’s first-round opener against the Houston Rockets after sustaining what appeared to be a right ankle injury. The injury, however, was inconspicuous. He did not fall to the ground in a heap of pain. He did not do much limping either. Looking at the replay, it looked like nothing substantial occurred.

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So is this just your standard minor ankle sprain, or something completely different? After the 115-106 Warriors Curry-less game two victory on Monday night, Kerr addressed the media regarding the status of Steph and whether his injury was in the ankle or the foot.

“I don’t know. Honestly. It’s both. I mean, I’m not sure I know the difference. It’s the back of his foot, it’s the ankle, it’s something down there.”

An article written by Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News talked about the the distinction, and why the Warriors may approach the situation very cautiously.

"“Steve Kerr did shed some light on Curry’s status last night after Game 2–not about any timetable, but Kerr suggested that it’s actually Curry’s foot (or below his ankle, whatever you would term that) that’s at issue here.And before the game, Kerr said an example to avoid is what happened to Grant Hill, who tried to play through an ankle injury and made it much worse.So those two things–foot, and Grant Hill worries–make things appear to be more complicated than just a normal Curry ankle tweak, and of course even a minor Curry ankle tweak was already a fairly concerning thing for any Warriors partisan, I’m sure.Conclusion: Kerr said it was Curry’s foot, that was new, and the best guess is that yes, the issue is in Curry’s foot, though I’m not going to rush into any conclusion about the severity or timetable given this new likely info.”"

But that is what is so scary about this injury. Curry has a long and harrowing relationship with ankle injuries, one which he just got over a few years ago, but a foot injury is getting into foreign territory. In fact, he has missed just 13 games since his injury-riddled 2011-2012 season where he played just 26 games.

Since then, he has been one of the healthiest Warrior players aside from Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, who have missed seven games and eight games, respectively, in that same time frame.

If Curry’s injury isn’t an ankle, then what is it? The Warriors have remained tight-lipped.

Given what we do know, it would seem as if there is little cause for concern regarding his injury. After game one, Steph said that he did not envision a situation where he would not play game two. While that situation ended up arising, it shows that Curry wasn’t too worried about the issue. The vagueness of the situation, however, may be unsettling.

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The Warriors will fly to Houston on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s game three. Curry received an MRI on Tuesday, and According to ESPN, it revealed ‘nothing of concern.’ The Warriors will not practice until Wednesday, so any other Curry update may have to wait until then.  For now, the Warriors can remain calm knowing they have a 2-0 series advantage over the Rockets.

“I’d like to think if it were 1-1 and he was still not able to play, we wouldn’t play him,” Kerr said, “We’d never want to put winning ahead of a player’s career and his health. We’ve seen teams do that and paid for it. Players have paid for it in the past. So we want to make sure Steph is right and his foot is fine and healthy.”