Steph Curry Injury Update: Warriors star could miss first game of the season vs Timberwolves
Steph Curry could miss his first game of the season when the Golden State Warriors host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in the NBA In-Season tournament. Curry is listed as questionable per the team's official injury report.
Curry has a right knee soreness issue. He injured himself during the Warriors 116-110 loss against the T'Wolves on Sunday night. It happened during the second half of the contest as Curry landed badly after a layup attempt.
The struggling Warriors could be in deep trouble without their star man. He has been their only player to record a 20-point plus outing in a game for the Warriors this season. Curry has scored over 20 points in all games thus far. His lowest output was 21 points against the Sacramento Kings.
During the Dubs' loss against the T'Wolves, Curry outscored the rest of the Warrior starters by himself. He had 38 points, while the others combined to score 33 points.
Steph Curry has averaged 30.3 points a game thus far. Klay Thompson is second, averaging nearly just half of Curry's tally at 16.1 ppg. Jonathan Kuminga (12.5 ppg) and Andrew Wiggins (10.5 ppg) are the only other players to average double-digit scores.
Warriors getting exploited over dependency on Steph Curry
The Golden State Warriors need a second scoring option more than ever. Steph Curry has carried that load in every game thus far. The Warriors' ceiling won't be any higher than another second-round exit at best if this trend continues. They could even be staring at the possibility of finishing the regular season as a play-in team.
The Warriors would arguably be as easy as ever to guard at this rate. Blitzing Curry with double and triple-teams will only tire him out. The Warriors can't afford that, especially with others struggling. Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins have been the most disappointing performers thus far.
These two will likely have to step up to make a difference. Thompson is shooting a measly 42.6%, including 34.7% from deep. Wiggins, meanwhile, has averaged only 10.5 ppg, shooting only 41.2%, including 15.4% from 3-point range. Wiggins has been a legitimate scoring threat over the last three seasons for the Warriors and their best bet as a lethal option behind Curry.
Thompson isn't the All-Star threat he once was to consistently keep the score ticking, especially in the non-Curry minutes.