The Golden State Warriors may have avoided a major setback with Stephen Curry. What initially looked like a serious injury in their recent win over the Toronto Raptors turned out to be a pelvic contusion with no structural damage.
The latest update from NBA insider Shams Charania has provided an optimistic outlook for Curry’s return. Still, the Warriors will need to decide what is more important -- wins now or Curry’s long-term health for a deep playoff run.
Warriors receive encouraging news on Stephen Curry’s injury
Charania reported that Curry is traveling with the team to Miami and could suit up depending on his response to treatment. Given that the Warriors are just beginning a six-game road trip, this is about the best news they could have hoped for.
Still, the Warriors have some difficult decisions to make in regards to Curry’s injury. Even if the injury is only minor, do they really want to rush their star back? Not only could Curry use some rest after a strong recent stretch of games, but the team may be able to survive without him for a week or so.
Golden State are set to face the Heat on Tuesday and then have a few days off before their game against the Pelicans on Friday. Both the Heat and the Pelicans are on recent losing skids, and may not be all that interested in winning games. At the least, the Pelicans are all but eliminated from playoff contention and every loss brings them closer to landing a top pick in this year's stacked NBA Draft.
Theoretically, even if Curry is healthy, the Warriors could rest him their next two or three games and come out without too much damage to their record. The Heat and Pelicans games are completely winnable without him and so is the game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Golden State could rest Curry these three games, still win them, and have him fully rested and prepared for their tough stretch of games at the beginning of April. After the Spurs game, they face the Grizzlies, Lakers, Nuggets and Rockets in consecutive games. All of these games have major playoff-seeding implications.
The Warriors are in a difficult situation with this Curry injury update. They can risk bringing him back early to ensure their next few wins, or they could rest him in hopes that they can survive without him and win the more difficult games that are coming soon.