Stephen Curry update gives huge opportunity to under fire Warriors guard

The Golden State Warriors announced on Wednesday that superstar guard Stephen Curry would miss their second meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder, leaving the team with a huge challenge to try and defend home court against the best team in the Western Conference.

Curry has played through knee bursitis in recent games, but has now succumbed to patellafemoral pain after playing less than 30 minutes in Monday's 128-120 loss the Brooklyn Nets.

According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, there's no concern of this being a significant issue for the 2x MVP as Curry is expected to return in Saturday's game against the Phoenix Suns.

Stephen Curry's absence leaves a huge opportunity for Brandin Podziemski

Brandin Podziemski is expected to step into the point guard role, having done so when Curry missed three games earlier in the season. The second-year guard played well in those outings, averaging 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists as Golden State went 3-0 without their best player.

But since then Podziemski has come under fire for his underwhelming play, with many having expected a leap from the 21-year-old after an impressive first season that culminated in All-Rookie First Team honors.

Following those three games as a starter, Podziemski has scored three points or less in six of his 10 games. Often the plus-minus leader for the Warriors, he's recorded a positive plus-minus in just three of the 10 games.

Undoubtedly the biggest issue for Podziemski is his shooting efficiency, having failed to rediscover the stroke that saw him drill 38.5% of his threes last season. Despite taking 0.4 threes more per game, the former 19th overall pick is only 19.3% from 3-point range and 36.8% from the field overall.

Wednesday night's game gives Podziemski a huge opportunity to try and silence the doubters, particularly given he'll be facing arguably the biggest challenge in the league. Whereas he faced the New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets over his previous 3-game stint as a starter, Podziemski will now fill in against the league's best defense who could quite easily suffocate a Curry-less Warrior offense.

A big performance would certainly help to restore some faith that's been lost among the fanbase, not to mention Golden State need to snap their two-game losing streak before it becomes more significant.

The Warriors are 20-11 in Podziemski's 31 games as a starter in his career, perhaps providing an element of optimism that the franchise can win and tie the Thunder for best record in the West.