As playoffs loom, recurring issue has to be concern
Basketball, they say, is a game of ankles.
The Warriors’ future flashed before their eyes Thursday night when, barely two minutes into the game against the Spurs, Stephen Curry cut through the lane, took a pass from Klay Thompson, was challenged at the rim by two Spurs, and rolled his right ankle.
Curry shot two free throws, then left the game. The Warriors announced that Curry had “tweaked” the ankle. That’s like saying a condemned man sent to the gallows tweaked his neck.
After rolling the ankle, Cur-
ry hippety-hopped back into the tunnel behind Oracle’s south basket, an unintentional bit of heavy theatrics. Would we ever see the lad again? The sound in the arena was more than 19,000 people getting punched in the stomach.
Am I being overly dramatic? Maybe, but Curry’s ankle is now the focal point of the NBA. The team expected to win its second straight NBA title now teeters on an ankle that would make Cinderella’s ankle look like that of a Bulgarian weightlifter.
Technically, that is an ankle sticking out of Curry’s right shoe, but in reality, it’s more like a No. 2 pencil.
Even with the Warriors’ glut of superstars, a less-thanhealthy Curry would render the Warriors mortal in the playoffs. Remember what happened two seasons ago when Curry had a banged-up ankle (and other body parts)?
The Warriors lost in the Finals to Cleveland. Their consolation prize was Kevin Durant, but there would be no such windfall waiting for the Warriors if they don’t win it all this year.
Durant, remember him? He’s now the world’s tallest insurance policy. He willed the Warriors to the win Thursday, scoring 37 points, 23 in the second half. Durant can carry a heavier load than any mule, but even he won’t relish heading into the playoffs with a tweaked Curry.
There were reminders all over Oracle Arena on Thursday that ankles are somewhat important in sports. Sitting courtside were Jon Gruden and Mark Davis, the Raiders’ new head coach and old owner. Gruden is the Raiders’ head coach now in no small part because Oakland quarterback Derek Carr broke his leg, just above the ankle, two seasons ago.
One Raider went down and took the entire organization down with him, and the Raiders haven’t recovered yet. Same thing happened to the Giants a few years back with Buster Posey.
The Warriors without Curry? Exhibit A: After Curry left the gym Thursday, the Warriors had to compete at playoffs-level frenzy to eke out a 110-107 win over the underdog Spurs.
Ah, the Spurs. They haven’t been the same since Game 1 of the Western Conference finals last season, when Kawhi Leonard sprained an ankle landing on Zaza Pachulia’s foot. It was a questionable defensive play that San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich likened to “manslaughter.” The Spurs were leading the Warriors by 23 when Leonard limped off the court.
Another injury has kept Leonard sidelined most of this season, rendering the Spurs ordinary, and who knows if that injury is somehow connected to the manslaughter ankle sprain?
Curry turns 30 next week, and the Warriors’ hope is that he can play at a super-high level well into his 30s, because of his superb conditioning (see Ron Kroichick’s story in Sunday’s Sporting Green).
Curry might be the fittest 30-year-old in the NBA, but his right ankle is about 130.
Thursday’s tweak — please don’t use the S-word — is his fourth since Dec. 4. He missed 11 games nursing the first tweak, and two games nursing another. One of the tweaks occurred when he was shooting by himself after practice. That’s something that happens to you and me, not to one of Earth’s most coordinated humans.
The Warriors, who will put on a brave, shruggy front, have to be worried sick about that Curry ankle.
If Curry rests at least another game or two, which is likely, the Warriors will bring out a bit of positive spin. Curry’s timeout will open the door for others to get valuable playing time. Quinn Cook, who spends most of his time in Santa Cruz with the Warriors’ G League team, got some nice run Thursday, and didn’t show a lot, but the Warriors believe he can be a contributor.
One fallout from the latest tweak is that fans can take a break from worrying about which team the Warriors will meet in the first round of the playoffs. Even with a fully healthy Curry, the playoffs this time figure to be much more of an adventure than last year’s 16-1 steamroll.
It’s almost inconceivable that the Warriors could slip below their No. 2 seeding, considering their 12½-game lead over No. 3 Portland and considering their patty-cake finishing schedule.
And they already know who their first-round opponent will be: Curry’s right ankle.