If Stephen Curry is out for a while, will the Golden State Warriors be able to stay afloat in the Western Conference?
During the majority of the second half of the season, the Golden State Warriors have needed to stay afloat in the Western Conference despite injuries to key players. It seems as if they’re going to need to continue to do so heading into the postseason.
Stephen Curry is expected to miss at least some time after sustaining a left foot injury. A credible timetable for his return hasn’t been reported, though there is an unverified report that Curry will miss a few weeks.
Steph Curry will be out three weeks with a sprained toe, a #Warriors’ team source tells me. Steph suffered the injury during last night’s loss to the #Celtics. Golden State just needs their superstar PG to be back for the playoffs.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 17, 2022
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported good news, that Curry didn’t suffer major damage. That said, it’s still expected that he’s going to miss at least some time.
Warriors star Stephen Curry has been diagnosed with a sprained ligament in left foot that will sideline him indefinitely, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. X-rays on the foot returned negative Wednesday night – meaning no fracture or major damage, a sigh of relief.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 17, 2022
This injury isn’t ideal timing for several reasons. For one, the team had just welcomed back Draymond Green from injury. The team was finally getting healthy, but must now figure out how to get through the next couple of weeks (likely) before the postseason.
Initial evaluation of Steph Curry's sprained ligament in his left foot offers optimism that he can return by the start of the playoffs in mid-April, but he's expected to see specialists soon for further evaluation, sources tell @ramonashelburne
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 17, 2022
and me.
Looking at the standings, it’s easy to see how Curry’s injury could impact the Warriors as their push toward the postseason. With only a few weeks before the playoffs, there’s at least a chance (even if it is an outside one) that Curry doesn’t play until the last week of the regular season.
If that’s the case, there’s a chance the Warriors could fall outside the top 5 in the West standings. The Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks are just 2.5 games back of the Warriors for the third seed and if Curry missed a couple of weeks, there’s a good chance both of those teams could inch closer and closer.
After such a strong start to the season, it would be a shame if the Warriors’ season ended prematurely due to injury. But it’s looking more and more like that could end up being the case.