Curry’s return home in doubt
Will Stephen Curry miss out on playing in his hometown against the Charlotte Hornets for the third time in the past four years?
Depending on how the Hornets’ contact tracing goes this week, there’s a possibility the Warriors’ game in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday night could get postponed.
The NBA announced Tuesday it has called off five games this week because of four positive tests for COVID-19, including Hornets home games tonight against Chicago and Friday against Denver. All of the positive tests came from San Antonio, which beat the Hornets in Charlotte on Sunday. The Spurs’ next three games have been postponed and the Hornets are undergoing mandatory contact tracing.
As of late Tuesday morning, the Warriors-Hornets game isn’t in jeopardy. But the fate of the game is up to the Hornets’ test results.
Even before the Spurs’ positive results after facing Charlotte, the Hornets had three players out because of health and safety protocols. Charlotte’s P.J. Washington and brothers Caleb and Cody Martin have been out since last Friday, and have yet to be cleared.
The Warriors, who host Miami tonight, are set to begin a four-game road trip in Orlando, Florida, on Friday night. They’ll find out over the next three days whether they’ll stop in North Carolina for their annual game in Charlotte, or just head to New York for their game against the Knicks on Tuesday.
For Curry, who is playing some of the best basketball of his 12-year career, missing the game Saturday would be personal. He grew up in Charlotte while his dad Dell was starring for the Hornets during the ’90s, and has always looked forward to returning home.
“Charlotte will always be
home. Obviously, we live in California, but our roots are here,” Curry said on Feb. 25, 2019, the last time he got a chance to play in Charlotte.
He scored just 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting that night in a Warriors victory. It’s the only time in the last four years Curry has been able to play in Charlotte.
Last season, Curry suffered a broken hand just three days before the Warriors came to Charlotte. The Warriors’ two-time MVP not only missed the game in Charlotte, he went on to miss all but one of Golden State’s remaining 61 games.
In 2017, another Curry injury right before the Warriors’ trip to Charlotte ruined the homecoming that year. Just two nights earlier, Curry suffered a badly sprained ankle in New Orleans that caused him to miss nearly a month. He also missed a Charlotte trip in 2012 when he sprained his right ankle a week earlier.
Because of those injuries, and because the Warriors only play the Eastern Conference Hornets twice a year, Curry has played fewer games against Charlotte than all but one other NBA team. Curry has faced Charlotte (and Miami) just 16 times in his career.
Predictably, though, when given an opportunity to face his hometown team, Curry has flourished. His .511 field goal percentage against the Hornets is his second-best against any team, as is Curry’s .497 3-point percentage. His 27.2 scoring average against the Hornets, which includes a pair of 40-point games in North Carolina, is his fourth-highest.
The good news this year for Curry is even if Saturday’s game is postponed, the Warriors would almost assuredly be making a return trip to Charlotte. Because of COVID-related postponement concerns with its scheduling, the
NBA has yet to release its second-half schedule.
However, the league has vowed to attempt to reschedule all postponed games.
Of the 31 NBA games postponed so far this season, only one has involved the Warriors — their Jan. 15 game against Phoenix. That game has been rescheduled for March 4 in Phoenix.
WISEMAN NEARS RETURN >> James Wiseman, who has been out since Jan. 30 with a left wrist sprain, will be re-evaluated Thursday and could return to the Warriors in time for their upcoming four-game trip that begins Friday.
During Tuesday’s practice, Wiseman went through non-contact work and has been cleared to dribble and shoot. He said there is “not that much” pain in the wrist but is still experiencing some inflammation.
Wiseman has missed eight games after injuring his wrist on a dunk attempt in a win over the Pistons last month. Prior to the injury, Wiseman, the No. 2 pick in November’s draft, had moved into a bench role for four games but averaged 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 19 minutes per game in that span.
Though he will miss tonight’s game against the Miami Heat at Chase Center, it’s possible Wiseman could travel for the Warriors’ upcoming East Coast swing that starts Friday against the Magic in Orlando. The Warriors then play in Charlotte, New York and Indiana.
Getting Wiseman back would give Golden State a traditional center for the first time since Kevon Looney injured his left ankle in a loss to the Celtics on Feb. 2. Looney will be re-evaluated today, though a return for tonight’s game is doubtful.