Medical experts say timetable for Stephen Curry to recover is the same with or without surgery.
SAN FRANCISCO » Warriors guard Stephen Curry broke his left hand on a hard fall in Wednesday’s 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns. While the injury itself isn’t season-threatening, it could have ripple effects beyond a season that started off rough. CAN THE WARRIORS STAY AFLOAT? » First, the Warriors will need to establish a timetable for Curry’s recovery, which will mean deciding whether he’ll need surgery to repair his broken second metacarpal. Curry underwent CT scans Thursday, and the organization will meet with specialists to determine how much time he will miss.
Players who have recently undergone surgery to repair the same bone missed an average of 16 games. Players who did not need surgery missed an average of eight games.
Either scenario could end the Warriors’ playoff chances.
This is a team that was losing to the Suns by 29 points before Curry left the game and on their way to a third blowout loss in the first four games of the season. Even with Curry, the Warriors were a fringe playoff team, at best.
After Wednesday’s loss, the Warriors have the third-worst net rating in the NBA and the league’s worst-rated defense.
The middling offense was propped up by Curry. With the two-time MVP on the court, the Warriors scored 107.8 points per 100 possessions. With him on the bench, that figure drops to 102.8 points per 100 possessions. That’s the difference between a top-10 offense and the seventhworst offense in the league.
If Curry misses 16 games, how many of those games can the Warriors win with a bottom fiveish offense and defense? Four? Five? The Warriors could potentially be 5-15 by the time Curry returns. That’s quite a hole in the Western Conference.
And that’s only if he misses the average amount of games. He could very well miss more if the Warriors are cautious. 2019-20 WARRIORS VS. 199697 SPURS » It’s been popular to compare the Warriors’ current situation to the 1996-97 Spurs, who lost star forward David Robinson after six games, won 20 games and selected future Hall of Fame forward Tim Duncan with the No. 1 pick in the following draft.
It’s not a great comparison for a few reasons. Mainly, Robinson was lost for the season. Curry will play again this season. Barring something more serious, he should be available for 50-plus games.
Unlike the Warriors, the Spurs did not have a championship core in place. Drafting Duncan opened their title window. The Warriors have already won with Curry, forward Draymond Green and guard Klay Thompson. The Warriors are looking to extend, not begin.
If anything, last season’s Los Angeles Lakers may draw a better parallel. Forward LeBron James missed 27 games with a groin strain and the 37-win Lakers missed the playoffs, finishing with the 11th-best odds in the draft lottery before winning the fourth pick in the draft.
The Warriors could be headed to the lottery, but shouldn’t expect their version of Duncan to fall into their lap. TO TANK, OR NOT TO TANK? » The Warriors should consider tanking, or whatever tank-related term they want to use. It wouldn’t be by trying to lose games — evidently, they are bad enough to lose games without tanking — but by becoming sellers before the trade deadline.
Experienced players like centers Kevon Looney (depending on his injury) and Willie Cauley-Stein and guard Alec Burks could be useful additions to playoff teams. The Warriors could trade them and recoup some draft capital. The Warriors have only one second-round pick between now and 2026, and could be without two first-round picks in that span. Speaking of which ... Golden State’s 2020 firstround pick owed to Brooklyn as part of the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade deal is protected for selections one through 20. If the pick falls within the top 20, then the Warriors will instead convey their 2025 secondround pick to Brooklyn.
While that would be the last of the Warriors’ second-rounders, it would mean they wouldn’t have to give up a first for Russell. Negotiating those protections on the pick could end up being a franchise-altering move by general manager Bob Myers. D’ANGELO RUSSELL’S OPPORTUNITY » As for Russell, this is a major opportunity for him to demonstrate his value in Golden State. No longer needing to defer to Curry, Russell will shoulder full-time point guard duties for at least a few weeks.
It’s not unlike his situation with the Brooklyn Nets last season after guard Caris LeVert dislocated his foot in November. LeVert missed three months before returning in February.
In that time, the Nets shifted to a pick-and-rollheavy offense and Russell established himself as an All-Star. He averaged 21 points and seven assists and led the Nets to the playoffs. The performance increased his value around the league and set the table for him to sign a maximum contract this past summer.
Kerr has no choice now but to include more pickand-rolls into the offense. Cauley-Stein’s return gives Russell a natural pick-androll partner. It also provides a simplified two-man game for the Warriors’ young roster — which has been slow to download the Warriors’ read-and-react offense — to play off.
There’s been speculation that the Warriors acquired Russell with the intent to trade him later. While it’s possible they could, their preference is to make it work. They and the rest of the league are about to get an extended look at what Russell can do on his own. The chemistry-building between him and Curry will have to wait.
• The Warriors exercised third-year options on Jacob Evans, who will miss at least three weeks with an adductor strain, and Omari Spellman.