Steph Curry rolled his ankle during Golden State’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night and, as a result, the two-time NBA MVP appeared for only two minutes in the contest. Obviously, a regular season game in March is not the focus for the Warriors and, as a result, a cautious approach emerged, both for that particular game and for the next two contests.
Warriors postgame plans for Steph Curry have shifted from traveling to Portland, may play vs Minnesota, to skipping Portland trip, still may fly/play in Minnesota, to, now, sitting out entire 2-game road trip to rest/recover in Bay Area, which always made the most sense.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 9, 2018
As noted by Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Curry’s timetable for return floated considerably on Thursday night but, in the end, it appears he will miss the next two games and his first absence, in a road game against Portland, became official on Friday afternoon.
Injury report for tonight's game at Portland: Jordan Bell (right ankle sprain), Stephen Curry (tweaked right ankle), Andre Iguodala (left wrist sprain), Patrick McCaw (non-displaced fracture, left wrist) & David West (right arm cyst) are out.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) March 9, 2018
Curry’s absence is the headliner but the Warriors will be without five rotation players for the game against the Blazers, who currently reside in the No. 3 position in the Western Conference. Of course, there is a sizable gap between the top two (Golden State and Houston) and everyone else, but the Blazers enter on an eight-game winning streak and the team is playing some of the best basketball in the NBA in recent days.
Hilariously, the Warriors are still seen as a (small) favorite on the road by some outlets in Las Vegas and a “pick’em” in the game at others. That, in conjunction with a quintet of players out of action, outlines just how dominant Golden State is in an overall sense. Still, Curry’s status is the most important thing moving forward and, given the big-picture goals for the Warriors, there is absolutely no reason to push the All-NBA guard to return any faster than needed.
