Anthony Slater: Steph Curry recovery update: Out another month, all 11 February games. Another re-evaluation in four weeks. Making steady progress. Team is “hopeful” for a March return. Curry clearly targeting the start of the month. He’s been going through increased intensity shooting routines.
More on Stephen Curry Injury
Jay King: Steve Kerr said Steph Curry will “almost for sure” play again this season. Said he and Klay Thompson will play when they’re ready and the Warriors will try to win every game that they can.
The question is not if Stephen Curry is coming back this season, but when. And, from what I’ve been told, you might want to clear your schedule for March 1. The Warriors host the Washington Wizards that night. That’s not set in stone, of course. More like a target date. But expect a return by the face of the franchise before next season.
Curry already looks ready to play in his post-practice sessions. Judging by his shooting, his broken left hand looks healed. He is no longer wearing the brace. But he hasn’t played since Oct. 30. Saturday was his 40th game missed since the injury. By the All-Star break, Curry will have missed 51 games — the most he’s missed in a season since he missed 40 games in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season when he severely sprained his right ankle.
Curry may not have lost his shooting touch since missing the past 35 games while rehabbing his surgically repaired fractured left hand. Still, that does not mean his return is pending. “There is a long way to go for him to heal and be ready to play in a game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He just started really getting onto the court shooting and moving around. He has a ways to go, but it’s good to see him out there."
As for Curry doing so after missing the past 35 games? That is a different story. “It’s like riding a bike. He’s going to be able to shoot when he’s 85,” Kerr said. “Nothing really surprises me with Steph. The guy is so skilled that to be honest, even not picking up a ball for two months, I expect him to make every shot.”
What has Steph been doing on his off time? I talked to Steph briefly at a game recently and he told me he’s bored, ha. While he’s out of his basketball routine, he’s had more time for family, charity events, and business interests. He said he’s been trying to read more books. He finished Andre Iguodala’s book “Sixth Man.” He’s also been in touch with Davidson about what he’d need to do to finish his degree.
Kerith Burke: Word from the Warriors is Steph will be reevaluted on Feb 1 and Klay will be reevaluted at the All Star Break regarding their injuries and potential playing dates this season.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr sat down with Yahoo's Chris Haynes just before Christmas and was asked about Curry's status. "His injury is not nearly as serious as Klay's because we're dealing with a hand and not a knee," Kerr said on the "Posted Up" podcast. "We'll re-evaluate Steph sometime in February, but I think there's an excellent chance he comes back sometime in March -- late in the season. "Our fans deserve to see him play, he's dying to play, our young players want to play with him. So if we can get him back at the end of the season, it would be great."
Anthony Slater: As reporters were leaving Warriors practice: Steph Curry emerged for a shooting workout with Steve Nash and Bruce Fraser. He was using his left hand. First time we’ve seen it in use since he broke it.
Anthony Slater: Steph Curry out doing post practice drills with teammates, using that surgically repaired left hand pic.twitter.com/3Svdejnbix
Wes Goldberg: Steph Curry is getting a shooting workout in with assistant coach Bruce Fraser is the practice facility before tonight's game against the Bucks. Using his surgically repaired left hand.
Logan Murdock: Steve Kerr says Stephen Curry has been doing “basketball movements” on the floor (cardio, slides, etc). Kerr says he’ll be around the team more and more but hasn’t picked up a ball.
Logan Murdock: Stephen Curry is in the building tonight at Chase without a cast. Had a second surgery recently in LA.
Shams Charania: Warriors’ Stephen Curry has undergone a second surgery on his broken left hand to remove pins from first procedure, league sources tell @The Athletic @Stadium. Curry is still on track to be re-evaluated in February.
There was pain, very real pain, which Curry chose not to acknowledge upon first examination. “When I get hurt,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area on Friday as his teammates lost to the Miami Heat, “I’m always in denial.” Phase Two in the wake of injury was humor. Curry chose laughing over wincing. “Nobody was really telling me anything as we were going through the process to diagnose the injury,” he recalled. “And I was joking around, trying to distract myself because it was hurting.”
Which is not to say Curry isn’t eager to return to the court -- or that he has taken a break from the game he loves. He still goes into Chase Center for rehab sessions and cardio work. He sits on the bench during games. “It’s just hardest on your competitive spirit,” Curry said. “When you get around basketball and get around the locker room with the guys, that’s the part I miss the most. And I love to play. “Three months is -- and I’d only played three-and-a-half games -- just weird. It’s unfamiliar territory. I’m enjoying the downtime, because it was unheard of, in my experience, in the middle of a season. It’s just weird.”
Anthony Slater: Steph Curry says he expects to return this season, some time in early spring.
Connor Letourneau: Stephen Curry said he has to undergo a second procedure in early December to remove some pins, etc. Said he hopes to be on the road come Jan. 1 to be around the team.
Logan Murdock: Stephen Curry is expected to speak to the media pregame at 6:45.
Curry's personal trainer Brandon Payne went on NBC Sports NBA Insider Tom Haberstroh's "The Habershow Podcast" and discussed a number of things, from why Steph doesn't like running a lot of high pick-and-rolls to the timetable for Curry's return. Since the injury is to Curry's hand and not an area where injuries are more common (i.e. ankle, knee), Payne is unsure when Curry will be able to return to the court. "I know he wants to," Payne told Haberstroh of Curry returning this season. "It's all going to depend on how this rehab process plays out. It's three months to reevaluation and then at that point, we'll have a better idea of the timeline and what he can and can't do. Those first few weeks are going to be critical in just how the movement comes back in the wrist and how the hand responds to the activity."
Kerith Burke: Steve Kerr said he has “no idea” where the report Steph Curry wont play this season came from. He said he talked to Bob Myers and Rick Celebrini and “nothing has changed.” Reiterated the plan is to reevaluate Steph after three months and play him when he’s ready.
Wes Goldberg: Steve Kerr said he was "confused" by an earlier report indicating that Steph Curry wouldn't play again this season. Added he didn't know who the "source" was in the story. "I'm a pretty good source."
A Bleacher Report story suggesting that Warriors guard Stephen Curry is unlikely to return this season from a broken bone in his left hand is inaccurate, according to multiple team sources. “That’s complete hogwash,” one source told The Chronicle. “Like we’ve said, he’s going to get re-evaluated in three months, and we’ll go from there. There’s no reason to believe right now that he can’t play this season.”
In the Bleacher Report story, reporter Ric Bucher wrote that Curry's “fracture was worse than originally thought.” Multiple team sources have denied that claim, saying the fracture wasn’t any worse than anticipated.
Injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry "absolutely" still plans to make himself available to play for USA Basketball during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, his father, Dell Curry, told ESPN's The Undefeated.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin on July 24, 2020. "Absolutely. That was definitely a goal coming into this year. He wants to play in the Olympics," Dell Curry told ESPN's The Undefeated on Friday night. "This is a little setback, but hopefully it's a goal he can strive for through his rehab."
"Anytime you have a major surgery like that, even with a hand, he's doing the best he can," said Dell Curry, now a television color commentator for the Charlotte Hornets. "It was a tough, tough injury, but he's doing the best he can. Three to four months, not sure when he is going to come back. Has to take his time and come back with it. … He's been through injuries before with the ankle. He understands the rehab that it takes to get through it. He knows about injuries and what goes through that. He's got to be patient and make sure he is fully healthy before he comes back."
Connor Letourneau: Steve Kerr on Stephen Curry being out at least the next three months: "That's just what it is. It's not really about anything other than just preparing the team to play tonight and for the foreseeable future."
Wes Goldberg: Steve Kerr on Curry's injury, along with all the others: "It’s been kind of a crazy run. Especially if you lump it back together with the last couple games of last season."
Shams Charania: Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will be re-evaluated in three months after surgery on his broken left hand, team says.
Anthony Slater: Steph Curry via Instagram
Golden State is expecting no further update Thursday, but it hopes to know Friday whether Curry will require surgery and how much time he might miss. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr won’t have media availability until more is known about Curry’s injury. The typical recovery for a broken hand is five to eight weeks, but it can take longer if the person requires surgery. Per a source, the Warriors are bracing for Curry to miss at least a month.
Connor Letourneau: Per Warriors, Stephen Curry had the CT scan, but now he's going to have specialists look at the results. Golden State is expecting no further update today. The hope is it will know tomorrow whether Curry will require surgery and how long he might be out.
LeBron James: @StephenCurry30 Speedy and healthy recovery brother!!! 🙏🏾
In light of this reality, the Warriors are shifting their focus this season. (via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski) “I don’t think there’s anybody in Golden State who expects Stephen Curry back at least within the next couple of months,” Woj said. “Bob Myers will be out on the road scouting because they’re going to have a very high draft pick in this coming draft.
“Luckily, it wasn’t anything more serious than that, especially seeing Klay out for the whole season and myself out for the whole year,” Durant said. “I’m sure he’ll be back playing again, but it was tough to see him just break his hand on TV. He’s been doing so much and the team is still transitioning and it’s a new group and a young group, so he’s trying to do so much.”
The InStreetClothes.com/SMART database has seven recent examples of second metacarpal fractures, including Westbrook, Danny Green, and Nikola Vucevic. Of these seven players, four required surgery. The average missed time for these injuries is 16 games. The recovery time for non-surgical cases is cut in half as these individuals missed an average of just eight games. Curry is slated to undergo a CT scan at some point Thursday to determine the extent of the break. The team will then determine whether or not he will require a trip to the operating room. For now, Warriors fans can brace themselves for at least a two week absence with more prolonged timeline if surgery is required.
Marc J. Spears: “It’s unfortunate one of our guys going down. Our leader. Hopefully he doesn’t need surgery and he’s back sooner rather than later. We will see... It’s hard and make things get harder... Wish we could get one practice with our full team here,” @Draymond Green to @TheUndefeated
CBS NBA: "Aron Baynes came up after the game and wanted to know how Steph was doing. You could tell he felt really bad." -- Steve Kerr After Steph Curry's injury, @ColinCBSSports gathered reactions from the Warriors and Suns at Chase Center cbssports.com/nba/news/steph…
Nick Friedell: Just saw Warriors GM Bob Myers walking back to locker room — he said Stephen Curry will have an MRI and a CT scan either later tonight or tomorrow. Timeline for a return won’t be known until after those tests are complete.
Marcus Thompson: Sources: Stephen Curry has a broken left hand
Warriors PR: Stephen Curry has a broken left hand.
Kerith Burke: Steph’s middle finger, the one he dislocated on his left hand, is taped to his ring finger as he does warmups. Steph said at practice he’ll play through the pain. Not much he can do about it.
Connor Letourneau: Steve Kerr on Stephen Curry's finger: "I haven't even talked to him about it, to be honest with you. ... He's getting used to (the tape), I assume. It's not even something worth bringing up."
Warriors guard Stephen Curry is thankful that his dislocated left middle finger Tuesday didn’t end up being a more serious injury. "It hurts, but it's all right," Curry said after Golden State’s 115-109 win over the Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. "Didn't break anything. Fortunate, and some higher power's looking out for me on that one. Just gotta deal with pain and, hopefully, before Saturday that goes away and will be fine."
Mark Berman: Steve Kerr updates Warriors injury situation: Steph Curry (ankle) will play and Klay Thompson (ankle) will warm up and try to play. Says "it's trending in the right direction." Said Klay had an MRI and it's clear. Will "literally" be a game-time decision for Klay. pic.twitter.com/IROPxohCQd
Golden State Warriors All-Stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are "questionable" for Sunday's Game 1 against the Houston Rockets in the NBA's Western Conference semifinals because of right ankle injuries, according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
"He's OK," Kerr said Saturday of Thompson. "He and Steph both came in this morning to get some treatment. And I haven't even spoken with [Warriors director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celebrini] yet today so we're upstairs watching film and getting ready. We'll see how they're doing [Sunday]. I'm not going to make a definitive statement on whether they'll both play -- let's just call it questionable.”
Logan Murdock: Steve Kerr said both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are questionable for Game 1. When asked about @Marcus Thompson’s report that Klay’s ankle was ‘pretty bad’ Kerr joked that reporters have better sources than he does. pic.twitter.com/ABDTgihtUD
Stephen Curry emerged from the Golden State Warriors' locker room an hour after his team finally closed out the gutty LA Clippers 129-110 in Game 6 of a Western Conference first-round series that took more out of the defending champions than anyone expected. Curry walked briskly past Warriors general manager Bob Myers, but his limp from a sprained right ankle in the first quarter was obvious. "That's been our season," Myers said with a shrug.
Mark Medina: Stephen Curry says his right ankle feels "fine" and ready for Game 1 vs. Houston bayareane.ws/2LgbJeW
Nick Friedell: Steph Curry will be ready for Game 1. Kerr: “Steph’s just fine. Went through all of practice.”
Mark Medina: Steve Kerr not concerned about Steph Curry’s injury. He’ll sit tomorrow in season finale in Memphis, but Kerr expects Steph to be fine for Game 1
Kerith Burke: Steph Curry: Mild right foot sprain. Will not return, described as "precautionary"
Anthony Slater: Full Steve Kerr update on Steph Curry, who won’t play in Toronto, but will return in Detroit on Saturday: “He wants to play. He’s ready to play...He’s dying to play.”
Nick Friedell: Kerr says Curry will play Saturday in Detroit.
Connor Letourneau: Kerr said Curry "might" come back for the Toronto game. Curry, who scrimmaged today, is expected to be a full-go in practice tomorrow.
Connor Letourneau: Kerr on Curry's scrimmage today: "Steph looked good today. Totally dominated the film crew."
Nick Friedell: Steph getting some shots up after shootaround. He’s getting closer to being back on the floor. pic.twitter.com/TVKpLBWzZQ
Curry initially injured the groin in a Nov. 8 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, and has missed nine game since. He has gradually started doing more individual court work over the past week. "He's doing much better," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Saturday. "We're just going to keep taking it day by day. And Rick [Celebrini, Warriors director of sports medicine and performance] feels very strongly that he'll play on the road trip."
Curry, the two-time MVP, was re-examined Saturday and is expected to resume practicing next week with a strong chance he would return to game action during an upcoming five-game road trip. He did some scrimmaging work at the practice facility, and Kerr said there were no lingering physical issues from a car accident Friday in which Curry was unharmed.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Curry said Saturday night. Of course the accident ended in typical Steph way: with a selfie taken with the California Highway Patrol officers, which was posted on Instagram with a reminder to wear your seat belts. What Kerr meant, by calling Curry a unicorn, was that he’s that elusive magical creature that appears only in fantasies. And while NBA general managers may search far and wide for “a Curry” they probably never will find one.
Mark Medina: Steve Kerr joked on how he'll evaluate Steph Curry:"We’ll put Jarron Collins in the pick-and-roll and see if Steph can beat him off the dribble. Then we’ll make the decision on whether he’ll play or not." Do you like Steph's chances? Kerr: "I do. I really like his chances."
Connor Letourneau: Kerr said that Curry is "anxious to get back. ... He's handling it pretty much exactly how you would expect him to handle it."
Mark Medina: Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry did a "little scrimmage" today at practice facility. Steve Kerr said team determined Curry didn't have any side effects from yesterday's car accident.
Jason Anderson: Spoke to a team source with the @Golden State Warriors who confirms that @Stephen Curry, @Draymond Green and @Alfonzo McKinnie will all be out tonight against the @Sacramento Kings.
Anthony Slater: Injured status of Warriors players remains the same: Draymond Green and Alfonzo McKinnie out tonight, day-to-day moving forward. Steph Curry gets official re-evaluation tomorrow morning, but already ruled out tonight and tomorrow night vs Kings.
What’s your level of optimism that your next re-evaluation will be your last? Stephen Curry: What are we, a week away from that date? I think, at that point, I should be able to say when I’ll play. Hopefully, it’s that day or that next game or two. But, yeah, it’s just a matter of staying patient. We have a pretty good protocol that Rick (Celebrini) has in place for me to get to that date so I can really test it out. From there, we’ll see.
Nick Friedell: Steph says he's feeling better -- but still no target date for his return publicly set yet as he continues recovery from a strained left groin. He will be re-evaluated in a week.
Connor Letourneau: Stephen Curry provides an update on his groin injury. He’s optimistic that he’ll return soon after he is re-evaluated Nov. 24.
Steph Curry’s groin strain isn’t healing as quickly as expected. On Wednesday, the team announced he’d miss at least another 10 days (and five games) before his next evaluation. On Thursday, Kerr explained the reason for the extended absence. “Obviously, it’s taking longer than we first anticipated, but that’s because the original MRI didn’t show anything terrible,” Kerr said. “I think I referred to it as encouraging. But as (director of sports medicine) Rick (Celebrini) explained to me, the symptoms are the most important. Sometimes, the symptoms and the MRI don’t fit.”
Nick Friedell: Kerr says Curry is feeling better but Warriors will be very cautious as he recovers from a groin injury. Kerr says Curry will need lots of court time before he returns to games. Sounds like he will be out at least a couple more weeks.
Anthony Slater: Steph Curry will sit both sides of this back-to-back. Already ruled out tomorrow vs Hawks. Kerr said they’re being extra careful: “New injury for him...He’s never had a groin strain.”
Mark Medina: Warriors rule out Stephen Curry for tomorrow vs Clippers. Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston are questionable
The Warriors can take solace in the belief that none of the injuries should result in lengthy absences, though Curry is displeased to be joining the temporarily disabled. “He’s pretty bummed out, but the MRI was basically good news,” Kerr said. “This doesn’t look like it’s going to be a long-term injury. He’s disappointed, but it could have been a lot worse.”
