Rodrigo Andresen
Stephen Curry has been out since Feb. 4 with partial tears in two lower-leg ligaments. The next day, it was reported that Curry would be out for at least a few weeks. On Feb. 9, the Warriors put out a release that Curry would be reevaluated after the All-Star break.
It provided a glimmer of hope that Curry might be able to return after the break, which will be almost three weeks since the injury, but that hope was dashed on Monday when Curry told reporters that he will not be ready for Golden State’s first game, against the Lakers, after the All-Star break.
“It’s all dictated around how this heals,” Curry said. “This is different than the shoulder (injury), where it was pretty predictable where I would be able to get to a point where I could play and not re-injure it or put myself in jeopardy out there on the floor. This one’s different because ligaments can heal on all different types of timelines. So there’s like a window for each checkpoint. After the All-Star break, I’m going to hopefully get back on the court. Then depending on how things go from there, you can start to key in on a specific date to get back.”
Anthony Slater of The Athletic then clarified: “It would be fair to assume you’re going to miss a chunk of games post All-Star break?”
“I don’t know how you define chunk,” Curry said, “but yeah, I won’t be playing against the Lakers the first game back.”
By the time the All-Star break arrives, Curry will have missed five games over this injury stretch. The Lakers game will be the sixth. The Warriors play a back-to-back against the Rockets following the Lakers. If he can’t go on Feb. 23rd, and he already knows that right now, it’s hard to think he’ll be ready to go on the 24th.
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So that’s seven games. How many more after that is anyone’s guess, but you can see in Slater’s tweet that it’s feeling like a “number of games” post-All-Star break. That’s open to interpretation, but it doesn’t sound great. The possibility that he won’t respond well when he gets back on the court for practice and eventually full-court, 5-on-5 work will cast a concerning cloud over this situation until more definitive news comes out.
However long Curry ends up being out, it is not an insignificant matter. It’s not like the Warriors are in a good postseason spot and can afford for Curry to take his time. They entered play on Monday as the West’s No. 9 seed, tied in the loss column with the No. 11 Thunder. Their spot in the postseason, whether the play-in or as a top-six seed, could well come down to a game or two.
