Steph Curry Out Tonight and Possibly Saturday for Warriors

Fri, Mar 19, 2021
By Jim Vassallo (Veri.bet Writer)

The Golden State Warriors will be without guard Stephen Curry for tonight’s game with the Memphis Grizzlies and could possibly be without him again on Saturday night.

Curry has been nursing a tailbone contusion. 

"Steph is still pretty sore," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said prior to Friday night’s game. "Frustrated he wants to be going tonight, but will not play. We'll just continue to call him day-to-day ... it's up to Steph and the training staff to determine what is the smart thing to do [regarding a return]. And so I would still call him doubtful for [Saturday]. He's still very sore. We'll just keep going day to day, see how it unfolds."

Curry suffered the injury in the Warriors’ win Wednesday night over the Houston Rockets, 108-94. Curry tripped over a riser close to the court and could not break his fall. Jordan Poole, a second-year guard, will start for Curry tonight. It will be just the second game Curry has missed this year.

It has been a rough year for Golden State (21-20). The Warriors are 6.5 games out of first place behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division. The game tonight versus Memphis is the front-end of a back-to-back with the Grizzlies.

The Warriors have been dealing with COVID-19. Most recently, Eric Paschall and James Wiseman will miss at least one week after testing positive for the Coronavirus. Both players missed the win over Houston on Wednesday and will miss at least the next three games.

"They flew back this morning," Kerr said. "With most of our staff members who were also on that [protocol] list."

Curry ranks fifth in the league in points per game with 29.0. He has scored a total of 1,130 points this year but the Warriors have struggled overall as a team. 

Right now, the Warriors are on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoffs. Despite the Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks both being 8.5 games out of first place in the Western Conference, Dallas has the advantage by one point in winning percentage (.525 to .524).

Golden State likely won’t make a large enough run to win the Pacific Division. Instead, the Warriors will need to pull into the top eight of the Western Conference standings if they wish to make the playoffs this year.

In 738 career games, Curry has a 23.8 points-per-game average and a 43.3 three-point percentage. Curry entered the league as the seventh-overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft by Golden State.

If Curry misses more than just two games due to the bruised tailbone, it could have a lasting impact on the Warriors and their fight for a playoff spot if they cannot win without him. Just days before suffering the injury, Curry expressed his frustration with the team’s inconsistency this year. 

If the Warriors are going to survive without Curry tonight and Saturday, Andrew Wiggins is going to have to take the reigns on and off the court.