Warriors are staring a difficult Stephen Curry decision right in the face

The Golden State Warriors have got some bad news with Stephen Curry unable to suit up and play against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, with confirmation that the 2x MVP will not be re-evaluated for another 10 days.

This lingering knee issue is forcing the Warriors to stare an uncomfortable decision right in the face. They're in an interesting spot right now where they are almost assuredly going to be a Play-In team barring a complete collapse, and it will be really tough for them to reach the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.

Warriors need to think long and hard about Stephen Curry's health

That is part of why the Warriors are being careful with Curry. There is really no need to rush him back too early and expose him to injuring himself further. That's especially true since, even with a full healthy Curry, most assume that this team's ceiling is a hard-fought first-round loss in the playoffs.

Given that reality, the Warriors have to consider if they need to shut Curry down at some point this season. Obviously, if the knee issue eventually goes away and he feels fine, he will be on the floor playing. But if this is a recurring thing where he plays a couple games but it pops back up, then it becomes a genuine question as to why he's out there at all.

Pat Spencer has been a revelation this season and has shown he can come in and do a solid job when Curry is out. Obviously, he isn't the 2x MPV, but he plays the game with a fire and intensity that his teammates and head coach Steve Kerr love.

There is really no point in risking a long-term injury to Curry at this point. That is the only way this season could be considered a complete failure. As long as the team stays relatively healthy going into the offseason, then they can look back and realize that the roster was not as strong as they had hoped entering the season, and the Jimmy Butler injury basically eliminated all hopes of any sort of playoff run.

But if the Warriors push Curry too hard and try to get too much out of him, they could end up impacting their chances next season. At nearly 38-years-old, they really have to be careful with his workload and if that means shutting him down at some point, then that's what the franchise may have to strongly consider.