The Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry hoped he'd return after the All-Star break, but the 37-year-old is still sidelined with kneecap soreness, also known as runner's knee. As ESPN's Anthony Slater said recently on the Warriors Stock Report, the team has to look beyond this season to the next, although time isn't on the guard's side when it comes to winning another title. They don't want him to further aggravate his knee, though.
"As much as Steph Curry's window is shutting quickly in his career, next season is very, very important — more important, I'd say, than the stretch run of this season. If protecting the knee makes you feel safer about next season, you should do that more."
Slater added that he doesn't think Curry will play on Monday against the Clippers, as he's currently only ruled out through Saturday's contest against the Lakers.
Warriors don't want Steph Curry's knee injury to linger or get worse
It's not ideal to continue without Curry, especially with the Warriors hoping to at least stay in the top half of the play-in tournament, which is where they currently sit at No. 8. The reality is, though, that Jimmy Butler is done for the season with an ACL, which hurt Golden State's championship chances for this year, and what could end the team's title hopes for good would be Curry messing up his knee.
As Slater and Tim Bontemps said, there is no point in the Warriors embracing the tank for the rest of this season, as it wouldn't change their positioning enough. That means they're still going to do what they can to compete, but without Curry, and possibly Kristaps Porziņġis, who is out due to illness, Golden State won't get far.
None of this is to say that Curry won't return this season, but that it's not a bad thing that he's taking the time that he needs to recover. It's not worth it for him to return before he's ready, risking further injury, not at this stage in his career.
Until Curry returns and plays a few games without experiencing knee pain, fans will continue to hold their breath. Runner's knee stems from overuse, so the Warriors don't want him to push himself even more than he was with Butler sidelined.
If there is no Curry, there certainly won't be a championship in the future, which is why any injury he deals with is a major cause of concern.