Steph Curry Will Not Play in First Round According to Steve Kerr
By Andrew Ites
Steph Curry has said he wants to come back for round one of the playoffs, but Steve Kerr told the media he doesn’t expect Steph to play a minute against the Spurs.
Steph Curry has been sidelined for about three weeks after spraining his MCL in a game against the Hawks. Steph will be re-evaluated tomorrow, but Steve Kerr reiterated that his two-time MVP will be unavailable in round one.
Kerr said the exact same thing on the day of Curry’s MRI, and things haven’t changed over the past 20 days. Curry’s re-evaluation tomorrow could show that he’s made major progress, but it still sounds like the Warriors will hold him out until they (hopefully) reach round two.
Quinn Cook has played well filling in Steph’s spot in the starting lineup, but the Warriors’ offense is not nearly the same with Curry on the bench.
Steph is second in the NBA in offensive real plus-minus and Golden State’s offensive rating is 14.9 points better with Curry on the floor.
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The Warriors’ hamstrung offense will face the league’s third-best defense in the first round.
While San Antonio is missing a superstar of their own, they’ve continued to play at a high level on that end of the floor thanks to their tremendous defensive system.
The Warriors haven’t been tested in the playoffs without Steph Curry since Kevin Durant joined the team, but this is why they signed KD in the first place. Durant, Klay, and Draymond will all need to carry a larger load on offense while Steph focuses on getting healthy to join them later on in the postseason.