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Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry breaks his hand and our hearts in loss to the surging Phoenix Suns

By Morgan Hampton

Warriors (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Warriors (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Stephen Curry broke his hand in a loss against Phoenix Suns, casting further doubt on the Golden State Warriors chances for this season.

I was well on my way to finishing up an article about how the Golden State Warriors have bright spots hidden within the many woes of their early season. And then misfortune struck Stephen Curry.

Renewed focus for the veterans, molding the new and young faces into their defined roles, and a chance for Steve Kerr to strengthen his own coaching ability now that he doesn’t have the same firepower at his disposal that he’s used to having.

Then this tweet popped up on my timeline.

In what was Jim Barnett’s last televised appearance as a color commentator for the Dubs, he noted that in the last six Golden State Warriors games, the Warriors have lost Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry.

The Basketball Gods must really have it in for the Bay Area right now.

I was watching the game, so when Stephen Curry went down, I knew something like this might happen. But it’s really unfortunate to accept it as a reality.

It didn’t look that bad to me when it happened. I mean yeah, sure, Aron Baynes fell onto Curry’s hand. And yeah, sure, Aron Baynes is 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds. But it couldn’t be that bad, right? Well, take a look for yourself.

Alright, I guess that does look bad. It’s a good thing I’m not a doctor.

But believe it or not, I still think there’s a silver lining to all of this.

For one, it’s not Curry’s shooting hand. And even though bone breaks are tough, at least it’s not a torn ACL or MCL, or even a ruptured Achilles. He’ll undoubtedly miss time. But how much time depends on whether he’ll need surgery to correct the break or not.

I don’t see a scenario where he doesn’t return this season.

The Golden State Warriors went to five straight NBA Finals, winning three. They simply need a break. Marc Stein echoes Steve Kerr’s comments perfectly after the Dubs’ loss to Toronto in the finals.

"“Kerr responded to that Game 6 defeat to the Toronto Raptors by jokingly asking Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, to allow his team to secede from the league for one season. That way, Kerr reasoned, he and all of his weariest Warriors could go away to Italy to “ride bikes and sip wine” and finally recharge after five consecutive trips to the finals.”"

I’m sure every member of that seasoned Warriors team wishes they could take time off. But this is professional sports, and that’s just not really a possibility — unless you’re injured.

I’m not insinuating that it’s a good thing that Klay Thompson tore his ACL and Stephen Curry broke his hand, or even that they’re really taking time off when you take into consideration all of the rehabbing they’ll have to do, but it’s nothing compared to the wear and tear of the past five years.

As much as they want to be on the court, I’m sure they will enjoy the rest.

And I can guarantee you that they’re going to be back hungrier than ever and eager to prove that they still have a place in this league. I mean, they are the two best shooters of all time. Of course they have a place in this league.

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But they’ll be playing with a chip on their shoulders the likes of which we’ve never seen. That’s the real silver lining.

It’s not a secret that the Warriors have looked bored over the past few years during the regular season. Much of that can be attributed to their juggernaut status and the complacency that it invited. Well, none of that’s there now.

And the narrative that’s going to be surrounding this team for the foreseeable future is that their window has closed and that they’re not good enough. Sounds like a plate full of motivation to me.

Let’s eat.

But in the meantime with Stephen Curry out, it’s really going to put this young new group of players under a microscope. I can see Curry’s absence being a good thing for chemistry. They really can’t rely on anyone now. They’ve got to double down on their roles and begin to figure things out.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, or even pretty. I see many more blowouts in the future. But, in the long run, I think It’s going to be good for the team.

For example, in the loss against the Phoenix Suns where Curry went down and the team trailed by 34 points at one point, a major bright spot was rookie Eric Paschall‘s coming out party.

"“Making his first start, the Villanova product submitted a career-high — and team-high — 20 points (7-of-9 shooting from the field, 6 of 6 from the line), three rebounds, two blocks and one steal. He was no less active on defense than he was on offense, often harassing Phoenix players into mistakes or turnovers.”"

Monte Poole of NBC Sports sums it up pretty well. Paschall, the 41st pick of the 2019 NBA Draft was simply a monster out there. He was one of the only young faces who was focused and played his game instead of trying to force a particular outcome.

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He’s the perfect example of how this team is going to need to play this season without their stars. This is the time when players are going to have the opportunity to prove their worth and why they belong on this team.

I look forward to seeing what we get from Willie Cauley-Stein and Alec Burks as well. They both had some good moments on the court in the Phoenix loss too. It’s diamond in the rough time. It’s not going to be pretty, but I have faith that it will be in the end.

Teams usually crash and burn from greatness. And it may feel like that’s happening right now.

But this isn’t the Chicago Bulls breaking up in 1998, or LeBron James leaving Cleveland not once, but twice. It’s not even Kawhi Leonard forcing his way out of San Antonio.

Next. Golden State Warriors: The “Death Lineup” remains alive and well. dark

It’s two franchise players with reasonably manageable injuries and a team of young thrust into gaining meaningful experience.

The Golden State Warriors will be back.

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