Is Steph Curry playing tonight? No, he's out 2 weeks with oblique tear
An MRI showed a torn oblique, so Curry misses the Spurs game and will be checked again in two weeks. When he could return and who plays instead.
No, Stephen Curry is not playing tonight. The Golden State Warriors said on Thursday, 12 November, that an MRI showed a tear in his oblique muscle and that he will be re-evaluated in two weeks. That rules him out of Friday’s NBA Cup game at the San Antonio Spurs and every game until at least late November.
That is the new fact since our first report, when the Warriors had only described it as right abdominal soreness.
How did Curry get hurt?
Curry, 38, went down early in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game in Houston, shortly after hitting a three-pointer. He played about five and a half minutes, scored three points and was seen holding his right side above the hip, the Associated Press reported. The Warriors ruled him out at the start of the second quarter, then lost 115-108, ending an eight-game winning streak.
Coach Steve Kerr had said before the scan that there was a high level of concern, NBC Sports reported.
When will Steph Curry be back?
The only official date is the re-evaluation, about two weeks from Thursday, which lands around Thanksgiving on 26 November. That is a check-up, not a return date, and the AP noted oblique tears can take longer.
NBC Sports pointed out that recent oblique injuries in the NBA have usually kept players out for two to three weeks, which would point to early December.
He is set to miss at least the Spurs game on Friday and the road games at New Orleans on Monday, 16 November, and Dallas on Wednesday, 18 November, according to the team’s published schedule.
Who plays instead?
NBC Sports expects De’Anthony Melton to start, after he had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes against Houston. Brandin Podziemski should take on more of the scoring, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is likely to get more of the ball, though Kerr has said he will avoid overloading him.
Why the Warriors are worried
Curry was having one of his best shooting seasons: 27.8 points a game and 45.7 percent from three, which would be the best mark of his career if it held, the AP reported. Golden State are 8-4 and sixth in the West, but last season they went 13-26 in the 39 games he missed.
The next update should come at the re-evaluation around 26 November.
