The Golden State Warriors will prepare for the first game of a six-game road-trip without superstar guard Stephen Curry, with the 2x MVP suffering a scary pelvic contusion during the third-quarter of Thursday night's victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The good news is that Curry's MRI came back showing no structural damage, though the 37-year-old will still miss Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. The Warriors confirmed that Curry will be re-evaluated on Monday, leaving the potential of his return for Jimmy Butler's first game back in Miami on Tuesday.
The Warriors could be without two guards to face the Hawks
While Curry is a confirmed out for Saturday's game, fellow veteran guard Gary Payton II is once again questionable after missing the win over the Raptors due to knee soreness. The 32-year-old has been in season-best form after the All-Star break, shooting a team-high 46.9% from 3-point range and returning to the sort of key rotation piece that made him such a fan-favorite during Golden State's 2022 championship run.
If available, Payton figures to be an important player in trying to contain Atlanta's All-Star guard Trae Young. The 26-year-old has scored at least 28 points in five of his past seven games, while also dishing at least 12 assists in six of his last nine appearances.
Curry and Payton are the only two players on the injury report from a Warrior perspective, but the same can't be said for the Hawks who will be without all four of Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela, Larry Nance Jr. and Kobe Bufkin. Young is probable for the hosts with achilles tendinitis, while Caris LeVert is also probable following his mid-season trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Hawks have won six of their past nine games, including a four-game winning-streak where they twice beat the fourth-seed Indiana Pacers. Atlanta have subsequently pushed themselves up to seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, though remain three games below .500 at a 33-36 record.
The sixth-seed Golden State will be looking to edge closer to the fourth and fifth-seeds in the Western Conference, with Thursday's win pushing them within two games of the Memphis Grizzlies and 2.5 games of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Warriors are a far different team to the one that beat the Hawks 120-97 at Chase Center on November 20. Former Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins had a game-high 27 points in that game, while Trayce Jackson-Davis -- who's now out of the Warrior rotation -- had a big double-double in a starting role.