Golden State Warriors: Limiting Steph Curry’s minutes should be a priority

Prior to the fourth quarter, the Golden State Warriors should limit Stephen Curry minutes and ride D’Angelo Russell scoring.

There’s not a single soul in Dub Nation that doesn’t want to see Stephen Curry gunning for his third MVP. Even the Golden State Warriors should want and expect that type of performance from the two-time MVP.

However, at 31 and with a history of nagging groin and ankle injuries, the Warriors must consider resting him until the game is on the line. Given the ability of the newly acquired D’Angelo Russell, this ideology becomes completely feasible.

Curry has averaged 32 minutes or more in all but one season of his ten-year career. It’s not the regular season wear-and-tear that’s concerning about Curry. It’s how far into the year each Warrior season has taken him.

Playing over 28,000 minutes in his career, Curry’s Warriors have made the NBA Finals for five-straight seasons. In four of those five postseason trips, the star guard has managed to play over 600 minutes.

These minutes and injuries will wear on him, and for the Warriors to be smart, they must proactively keep his minutes down throughout the first three quarters. It should be a pretty simple fix as well.

The starting point guard, Curry plays the first eight of the first and last six of the second, giving him a sizable break. All that changes from the current pattern for Kerr is waiting till later in the second to sub him in.

Then, the Warriors play him the first six of the third and last ten of the fourth if necessary. That seems like an ideal substitution scheme for the Warriors, and when Curry exits, they could then bring Russell in to help supplement the scoring.

There’s no denying that the Curry has had a pretty string of fortune when it comes to injuries lately. That said, Golden State should look to keep it this way with a pattern that mimics a desire to have Curry at a high level for half a decade to come.