The Golden State Warriors received a gut-punch on Thursday as news came out that Stephen Curryhas an oblique abdominal tear and will be reevaluated in two weeks.
The fact that this comes right after the team had won eight games in a row and was about to embark on a very tough stretch is brutal, but now the attention will turn to rookie Yaxel Lendeborg who will be expected to step up on offense in Curry’s absence.
Kevin Durant heaps praise on Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg
It’s a lot of pressure to put on the 24-year-old even though he's looked like an absolute stud in the first month of his NBA career. Former Warrior Finals MVP Kevin Durant spoke about Lendeborg after Wednesday night’s game, and his words only affirm that the Warriors have a really good player on their hands.
“I love his game. He's a skilled big that can play 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the offensive side of the ball. He can shoot it. He can handle it. He's strong, long and athletic. ... That right there shows you he's a different level of athlete. A winner. He won in college. He's been though a lot of adversity. ... He came here fully grown and he's ready for anything that's thrown at him. It was fun to play against him," Durant said.
That's some pretty high praise from Durant -- a player who will probably go down as one of the best to ever do it. He’s seen a lot of players in his time, and he’s not going to heap praise like that on anybody.
Durant’s emphasis on how the rookie can do so many different things is what's been the biggest surprise. Lendeborg is knocking down threes but can also throw down a monster dunk and get to the rim. There’s obviously room for improvement but the potential is already so striking.
Warriors cannot put all of the burden on Yaxel Lendeborg
The fact that Lendeborg did step up and play well after Curry went down is a promising sign, but the team is going to be facing some very tough opponents. Their next game is against the San Antonio Spurs which will be just a brutal matchup without Curry.
While Lendeborg will have to carry more of the load, the Warriors have to be careful and must ensure that he doesn’t feel everything is on his shoulders. He doesn’t have to start taking 15 threes per game or anything, he just has to keep on playing his game and making the right basketball decisions rather than trying to be a hero all of a sudden.
Durant is one of the best players in the league and already thinks highly of him, so that should just give Lendeborg confidence that he’s doing some really good things, while also giving the Warriors confidence that they can stay afloat even without Curry for the foreseeable future.
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