SAN FRANCISCO — The matchup between the first- and second-place teams in the Western Conference lost some luster when the Warriors’ official injury report was updated Wednesday afternoon.
Steph Curry is out for Wednesday night’s game against the Thunder at the Chase Center with bilateral patellofemoral pain in both knees. The medical jargon is also known as runner’s knee, and it means Curry is experiencing pain around or behind both kneecaps.
Curry has been banged up for the past couple weeks, head coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday, and isn’t expected to miss much time. Vice president of health and performance Rick Celebrini called the coach Wednesday morning to recommend Curry sit out the Thunder game, which gives him four days between games. Kerr said the point guard “should” be able to play on Saturday, when the Warriors begin a two-game road trip in Phoenix and then Denver.
“Hopefully this gives Steph the time he needs the next couple of days to get ready for our road trip,” Kerr said. “Obviously, everybody’s got to step up and fill in. We’ll mix and match the lineups a little bit, see what we can do. I’m excited for the opportunity for a lot of our guys.”
The Thunder are also shorthanded as Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso and Jaylin Williams are unavailable.
Golden State (12-5) defeated the Thunder (13-4) in Oklahoma City earlier this month, though that was before they hit their current snag.
“We had a lot more energy a couple weeks ago,” Kerr said Monday night after the Warriors’ second straight collapse.
Curry is averaging 22.4 points, 6.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. Most recently, he scored 28 points in a loss to the Nets, though every shot he took until garbage time came from behind the 3-point arc.
In an effort to manage the strain on Curry, Kerr has played him a career-low 29.7 minutes per game.
“Minute total is good,” Kerr said. “But at 36, you’re just going to have more aches and pains. Fortunately, the MRI he had yesterday was negative, but he needs some time to clear the tendonitis that’s in his knees right now.”
Curry missed three games with an ankle sprain a month ago but the Warriors won all three, matching their win total without Curry from last season.
“Steph is Steph, and we all know that,” Draymond Green said earlier this month. “But, for some reason, when Steph’s out, everybody acts like we can’t play. We’re all so sick of it. And there’s been added motivation to win these three. If you think that hasn’t been mentioned, you’re out of your mind. We’re all NBA players, we’re All-Stars, first-round picks, you name it. And for some reason, every time Steph goes out, everybody acts like, ‘Oh man, the world has collapsed.’”
The Warriors have the highest-scoring bench in the league and believe their depth sets them up to withstand absences over the course of the season. But without Curry and De’Anthony Melton, who’s out for the season with an ACL sprain, that depth will be tested.
This season, the Warriors are 2.4 points per 100 possessions better with Curry on the floor than when he’s off, per Cleaning The Glass. The disparity isn’t as great as it has been in years past, but it still registers in the 75th percentile of players.
— Jonathan Kuminga is set to return after missing the past two games with an illness. The Warriors missed Kuminga’s scoring punch and athleticism in the last few games, particularly in a bunched-up part of the schedule.
“We need him against these guys, we need him against everybody. JK has played a really important role for us this year. I know he would prefer to start, but the way the team is built, what we’re trying to do defensively — what we’ve done defensively to this point – it makes perfect sense for JK to come off the bench and be our scorer off the bench.”
— Lindy Waters III, who has started the past six games for the Warriors, began his NBA career with the Thunder. Head coach Mark Daigneault called him one of the best developmental success stories in an organization full of them. He texted with Kerr when the Warriors traded for Waters and is thrilled that the wing has carved out a regular role with Golden State thus far.
“The success he’s having is something we take pride in,” Daigneault said. “We obviously wish the best for him. I don’t know how he’s doing — he’s never lived outside of Oklahoma. He’s probably eating sushi for the first time in his life.”
