SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was scheduled to undergo an MRI Sunday evening for a left ankle sprain that forced him to exit the Warriors’ 112-104 loss to the LA Clippers early in the fourth quarter.
Kerr said Curry described the injury as “mild or moderate” after the game. However, there is a level of concern for him, as he has suffered multiple sprains on that same ankle.
The team is bracing for Curry to miss time, possibly several games, sources told ESPN.
“I feel more comfortable that we can withstand an absence offensively without Steph because of [our] depth,” Kerr told ESPN.
Curry first twisted the ankle with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. He immediately checked out of the game, limped to the sidelines and sat on the bench where he was tended to by trainer Drew Yoder.
Curry rocked back and forth on his chair for a few minutes before beginning to stretch out his ankle with a resistance band.
Curry attempted to check back into the game four minutes into the fourth quarter. Just seconds later, as Curry tried to fight through a screen, he aggravated the injury. This time, he exited the court and went back to the locker room, with his limp much worse than before and using support from Gary Payton II as he walked.
“[I just] shake my head,” Payton said. “Hate to have it, especially with him. But we’ll be alright … Hopefully he doesn’t miss too many, but we’ve got to figure it out.”
Curry finished the night with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including four made 3-pointers and six assists.
“We’ve just got to stick together,” Buddy Hield told ESPN about the possibility of playing without Curry. “It’ll be a great challenge.”
If Curry misses time, the Warriors will be in search of someone to take over primary scoring responsibilities. As the sixth man, Hield is averaging 19 points in 20.8 minutes and is shooting 53% from three.
Kerr also pinpointed Andrew Wiggins as a potential player to take on that role — and has been encouraging him since training camp to be a high-volume scorer.
Against the Clippers, Wiggins finished with 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3.
“Wiggs is off to a great start and had a great night,” Kerr said. “He’s an obvious candidate to get the ball to more. But we’ve got a deep team. We’ve got a lot of guys who can play. We will be ready.”
Source link
