Stephen Curry Hurts His Ankle Again; The Lakers Await Superman

There are already inklings from management, trickling out of Bay Area reports, that Steph Curry‘s rolled right ankle Friday night is not as serious as it looks. But don’t let out that breath all the way, Warriors fans, because if he can get his ankle rolled at a standstill by someone stepping on it, this could happen all the time. It’s a huge disappointment for Curry, who’s been rehabbing that troublesome ankle since the spring, and for the Warriors, who just need the good luck of consistent health to make a playoff spot. Andrew Bogut is the other main worry and he didn’t even make the trip Friday to Portland in the Warriors’ 101-97 win over the Blazers. Wesley Matthews ran into Curry from behind, and kicked his right foot, which rolled the ankle. It wasn’t the worst ankle roll we’ve ever seen but given that the very joint had been surgically repaired within the last six months, this isn’t exactly a consolation prize knowing it could have been worse. He only had two points in 12 minutes and said he wanted back in but Mark Jackson knew better. Afterward Curry tweeted: “If any #DUBS fans see @wessywes2 though, punch him in the gut for me lol.” David Lee‘s 24 led the W’s and LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 for P-town. Damian Lillard had 15 points and seven dimes, including one to a back-cutting Nicolas Batum that drew an audible “whooooa” from the Rose Garden. … In contract news, Friday was a good day for Tristan Thompson, Kyrie Irving and MarShon Brooks, who all had their third years of their rookie contract exercised. It’s a no-brainer for all involved, even though Thompson has had more peaks and valleys than the other two. … Brooks turned around and didn’t get off the bench until after the 10th man for the Nets in a 106-96 loss to Philly on Friday. Avery Johnson said before the game this rotation would be similar to the real thing, so it was surprising to see Brooks so low when he’s been one of the biggest reasons to be excited about the Nets. Nick Young had 24 points and, get this, nine boards, for Philly to lead all scorers. He hit a nasty fall-away jumper from the corner to seal it with 30 seconds left. Deron Williams‘ intensity wavered last year, but he’s looked so much more engaged, consistently, as this preseason has gone on. When he wants to play hard he makes ridiculous plays. Case in point, how did he see Gerald Wallace cutting toward the hoop when D-Will was 30 feet away running to the corner? … Hasheem Thabeet and Jermaine O’Neal got into a shoving match in OKC’s 107-97 win over Phoenix in Tulsa, and that was about as memorable as this one got. OKC didn’t play James Harden, Perry Jones III or Thabo Sefolosha, though fans were chanting Harden’s name at various times during the night. Or were those a few of the Suns fans? … Hit the jump to read about how close Superman’s debut is in L.A. …

Should Laker fans be worried about an 0-5 preseason start? Nah. Kobe Bryant poured in 22 points in 28 minutes for LA but the Kings won 103-98 in Las Vegas. Steve Nash and Pau Gasol (20 points) didn’t even play in the fourth quarter in this one, so while Marcus Thornton was scoring 19 points and DeMarcus Cousins was tacking onto his 18 points late, the Lakers were chilling out and waiting for Dwight Howard‘s return. It would be just wrong to not point out one play in particular, though. Seriously, did you see how fast Cousins got down the court after he picked off a Nash pass, pushed him out of the way at midcourt and flew in for the spike dunk? He was moving at a disturbingly high rate of speed for a man that size. … Speaking of Superman, or Iron Man, or whatever he’s being called now, Howard will likely get his chance to beat up on the Kings twice this coming week if he gets his Laker debut on Sunday as is predicted he will. The Lakers play Sac-town twice in exhibition games and the Clippers, too, in the next six days, which will give us glimpses into his recovery from a herniated disk. Outside of the quick snippets that the Lakers have released of his practice video, we have no idea what we’ll see from him or how hard he can go. By the season’s start he’ll be healthy, though — and that’s the reason an 0-5 preseason mark can be shrugged off in L.A. … Devastating news in Dallas broke after Dirk Nowitzki was announced to be missing the first six weeks or more of the season with knee surgery. This team hasn’t been bounced from the playoffs by default yet, but they’re still in deep trouble with more than half the roster new to the team this year. … The good news for Minnesota fans in all of the Kevin Love news surrounding his broken hand (knuckle pushups might as well be banned in the entire state now) is that he won’t need surgery. The bad news is that the front line in Minny is woefully thin outside of cyborg Nikola Pekovic. Dante Cunningham and Andrei Kirilenko led everyone in a Wolves uni on Friday in a 92-81 loss to Chicago with 12 points a piece, and they were two of just three players in double figures. Carlos Boozer feasted on that thin line with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. … Big Baby turned it up to the tune of a game-high 21 points in Orlando’s 112-96 win over Indiana. The Pacers shot themselves in the foot again and again by going a dreadful 2-of-19 from behind the arc. … Toronto beat the Knicks, 107-88, in Montreal in Landry Fields‘ first game against NYK since he left in July. Earlier in the day we found out from Fields the most famous couch in Knicks history has gone missing. Carmelo‘s shot wasn’t MIA, pouring in a game-high 24 for the Knicks. … We’re out like the Mavericks’ first six weeks.