Dub Hub: Who will step up in Steph Curry’s absence?

Rounding up all the Warriors and NBA news from around the web. 

Good Morning Dub Nation,

On Thursday, it was announced that Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry will be re-evaluated in two weeks after suffering a left shoulder subluxation during Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers.

It’s a crushing blow for a Warriors team struggling to stay above .500, even with their best player in the lineup. Our Joe Viray put it best in his latest article when describing just how amazing Curry has been this season.

Via Golden State of Mind:

Curry is having one of his best offensive seasons. He’s averaging 30 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. His 59/43/92 shooting splits (2P/3P/FT), coupled with a 66.8 TS%, represents just how efficient he has been as a scorer. Even while approaching 35-years old, he remains one of the best at creating shots for himself.

His 1.37 points per shot attempt is on track to be a career high, per Cleaning the Glass. His usual wizardry from beyond the arc is par for the course, but it hasn’t made it any less amazing to watch. He’s leveraging the threat of his shot to attack tight defense and hard closeouts; his rim field-goal percentage of 74% is on track to be a career-high, a testament to how sublime his finishing has been this season despite legs that aren’t as spry.

Per Dunks & Threes, Curry is the only player whose field-goal percentages at the rim (81st), mid-range (74th), and threes (91st) are all at least above the 70th percentile.

Now, the Warriors are given the impossible task of replacing Curry’s impact on the court. The obvious candidate to do so is Jordan Poole, who stepped up in a similar situation last year when Curry missed multiple games at the end of the season.

Poole has become an understudy to Curry, integrating elements of the future Hall-of-Famer’s game into his own unique skillset. Although Poole’s numbers have dipped to begin this season, this could be the spark he needs to get him playing at a consistent high level again.

However, the real answer to this question is that it will need to be a collective team effort. The good news is that the Warriors will be getting some much needed help in that regard with the return of Andrew Wiggins to practice as well as James Wiseman and Ryan Rollins from the G-League. In order to weather this storm, the vets will need to hold things steady, the young core needs to be ready, and the whole team needs to step up their game.

Here are the rest of today’s stories:

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

• Warriors recall James Wiseman and Ryan Rollins
• Andrew Wiggins is returning to practice
• Steph Curry to be re-evaluated in two weeks
• Podcast: Warriors vs. Pacers
• Curry suffers injury while shouldering the load in loss vs. Pacers
• An extended Steph Curry absence is something the Warriors can’t afford

Other Warriors News:

• Warriors’ Steph Curry has labrum damage in left shoulder, to be reevaluated in 2 weeks: Sources (The Athletic)
• Steve Kerr ‘relieved’ about MRI on Steph Curry’s shoulder injury (95.7 The Game)
• Warriors Panic Meter: Stephen Curry Injury Can Doom Golden State’s Season (Bleacher Report)
• Was Moses Moody’s spark vs. Pacers enough to earn larger Warriors role? (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Donte DiVincenzo’s ‘play like the freaking Warriors’ plea speaks volumes (NBC Sports Bay Area)

NBA News:

• Nets fined $25K after sitting eight players vs. Pacers (ESPN)
• Heat’s Tyler Herro 1st in NBA history with nine 3s on consecutive days (ESPN)
• Nine Questions as NBA Trade Season Begins (The Ringer)
• The Top 100 Players in the NBA (The Ringer)
• The NBA players eligible for trades since December 15 (Hoops Hype)

A tweet to end the week:

Worst case scenario, enjoy these Victor Wembanyama highlights. Have a good weekend Dub Nation! #WishingforWembanyama #WembanWarriors