Stephen Curry's knee injury teaches Warriors lesson about fragility of title chase
HOUSTON – Stephen Curry lowered his head to pray, then lowered his right hand to hold his right leg. Curry is unabashed in his faith, using it as his source of strength in challenging times. So, as he made his hobbled stroll to the Golden State Warriors' team bus, Curry paused to spend a few moments with friends to call on the Lord. They wrapped their arms around each other, forming a circle, but Curry's hand was attached to his leg the whole time.
This has been such a charmed season for the Warriors, such an incredible display of dominance and determination, complete with miracle shots and a majestic, all-time record. Yet, despite establishing themselves as the prohibitive favorite to win the title, the push was always so, so fragile for Golden State. The entire chase for basketball immortality could always be undone by some fluke injury at the worst possible time, to the worst possible person.
After believing they had already escaped the worst with Curry recovering from missing the previous two games with a right ankle sprain, the Warriors had a more unnerving scare near the end of the first half of their 121-94 victory over the Houston Rockets. Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas slid on the court, leaving enough of his sweat behind for Curry to lose his footing while trying to defend Trevor Ariza's desperation heave and take an ugly spill. Curry twisted and banged his right knee on the hardwood, immediately grabbed it in agony and hobbled off the floor. He tried to return but labored through a brief halftime workout.
When Warriors coach Steve Kerr pressed Curry to see if he was honestly fit to play, Curry dropped his head and wept because, “he knew it was not a wise thing to go out there.” Curry walked away, frantically rubbing the hair on his head with both hands in frustration as Rockets fans near the tunnel cheered his exit. The Warriors won't know for certain how long they will be without the soon-to-be two-time Most Valuable Player until Curry has an MRI on Monday back in Oakland. But there was no comfort in the victory, no joy in stomping a team by 27 points on the road in the playoffs. When the players moved from the court to the locker room, there was silence with the exception of a few hands slapping. All the excitement was muted because Curry was in the back the whole time, right knee wrapped in tape, as his teammates moved a step closer to burying a Rockets team that can't end this season soon enough.
Though Curry made it through the regular season relatively unscathed, a visit from those past ankle demons wasn't going to prevent him from completing the challenge ahead. This late in the season, every player has some sort of ailment that he has to fight through. Curry was confident the ankle would be manageable, until he sustained a different injury from which it likely won't be as easy to return.
"I feel awful for him. Hopefully, he's going to be OK, before too long. We don’t know. I just feel so bad for him," Kerr said. "He’s been healthy all year long, all of a sudden the playoffs start and a couple of fluke things. Feel bad for Steph, but we've got to move on."
The Warriors had hoped that they wouldn't have been in this predicament, that they had entered Sunday's game with a 3-0 lead, looking to sweep and with enough leverage to convince Curry to chill out until the second round. Curry has been anxious to play ever since he tweaked his right ankle in Game 1 and recognized the foolishness of his hurriedness before sitting out Game 2. But once the Warriors got to Houston, Curry was in no mood to sit and watch. Curry didn't even bring a suit because he wanted, and expected, to play.
Kerr was able to hold off his superstar for Game 3, using the argument that it wouldn't be wise to throw him into an intense playoff game without having any preparation. The next two days, Curry passed his exams – a three-on-three workout and a full five-on-five scrimmage – without reporting any pain and earned his chance to play again.
That decision will surely lead to debates about whether the ambitious push for 73 wins set Curry up to break down at the most importune time or if the instability in his ankle prevented him from keeping his balance on that slip, leaving his knee vulnerable. With the Rockets' gutless meltdown after starting the second half tied, the case could be made that the Warriors could've defeated them without the services of their best player. Now, they might have no choice.
"The one thing we all hate in life is uncertainty," Draymond Green said. "So the uncertainty of not knowing what's going on – obviously, he sprained his knee, but that's what we think, it's not what we don’t know. We won’t know until he gets it scanned, so that sucks. That brings you down. With that, we all know we have to step our game up now. And we know they think it's over now, and we want to come out and prove otherwise."
Curry is what elevates the Warriors from great to legendary and his absence, no matter how long, provides hope for the rest of their challengers. Golden State took advantage of its opponents' shortcomings while winning the title last season – whether it was a banged up Mike Conley in the second round or no Kevin Love and one game of Kyrie Irving in the NBA Finals. Now, the Warriors have to hope Curry's injury isn't too serious or that they can buy some time – possibly with Damian Lillard representing more than ever for his hometown of Oakland and extending the Portland Trail Blazers' series against the Los Angeles Clippers to six or seven games.
Kerr's despondent tone afterward provided no consolation about Curry's condition. Curry had a pronounced limp to the shower, to get dressed, and later on his way to the team bus, but that wasn't the most telling sign of trouble (Curry dragged his right ankle considerably after a sprain in Oklahoma City, but missed only one game). The uneasy looks that he gave in the locker room – while holding a plate of food from Morton's Steakhouse in one hand and scrolling his phone in the other – offered a hint that the situation was dire.
The Warriors didn't appear panicked afterward, taking on the "next-man-up" mentality that has allowed them to survive a few minor setbacks, but there certainly is some anxiety and apprehension. A good time to rely on a higher power than the one in the No. 30 jersey.
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