Stephen Curry will be out for a while.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Margot/AP.)
On Wednesday night, Stephen Curry injured his hand on a bad landing that was made worse by Aron Baynes of the Phoenix Suns landing on his arm. And now we know how long he will be out, according to the Warriors:
Curry could potentially be back by the all-star break but by then, a playoff run may not be possible by that point. The Warriors have been awful out of the gate with a 1-3 start and the worst defensive rating in the league (allowing 118.1 points per 100 possessions). And this is WITH Stephen Curry.
While the Warriors have had a charmed existence with five straight NBA Finals appearances and three championships in five years, they have lost nearly all the contributors from that run. Kevin Durant got hurt in the NBA Finals and went to Brooklyn as he sits out the next season. Shaun Livingston retired in the offseason. Andre Iguodala got dealt to Memphis. Klay Thompson is out with an ACL injury and could miss the whole season. Now Curry will be out until probably February. That’s FIVE GUYS from that championship core (with four of them from the entirety of that five-year run). And I didn’t even include DeMarcus Cousins, who was only there last year but hurt his left quad in the playoffs. He would end up leaving for the Lakers and is now sitting out because of a torn ACL.
The only player left from that core is Draymond Green. D’Angelo Russell, acquired from what became a trade for Durant, is the new guy and I’m sure he didn’t envision this when he went to Golden State.
It was also speculated that Russell is essentially a stopgap until they can trade him for a player that could be a better fit; D’Angelo is another ball-dominant guard in a team that has Curry and Thompson. But now it’s basically an empty team with just Green and Russell.
No one is ever going to admit to tanking (nor do I advocate for it) but this might be the best move for them. At the very least, they should see what they have for the next 10 games (four games into the season is FAR too early to call it a lost season even though, on the surface, it essentially is).
It’s obviously going to be a different look for the Warriors for the next three months. The team has gone from juggernaut to this. They’re going to have to watch D’Angelo Russell do his thing while Draymond tries to fill in every gap he possibly could. As I’ve mentioned a few times, they’ll get a few veterans back very soon (Willie Cauley-Stein, Alec Burks, Kevon Looney) but don’t think the needle moves much with them, if at all.
It’s going to be a loooooooong season for these Golden State Warriors. It’s like the Chris Cohan era all over again!
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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