When Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry injured his shoulder during Wednesday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers, it did not look good.
Curry was injured late in the third quarter when he reached up to swipe the ball from Pacers forward Jalen Smith. The two-time NBA MVP reached for his shoulder and was in a tremendous amount of pain. He headed to the locker room and was almost immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game.
We now have an update on Curry’s status. It’s not great. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Curry is expected to miss a few weeks with the shoulder injury.
- Stephen Curry stats (2022-23): 30.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 6.8 APG, 50% shooting, 43% 3-point
As you can see, Curry continues to play at an MVP level despite the defending champion Warriors currently sitting under .500 at 14-15 on the season. In fact, he’s been their only consistent force through the first couple months of the season.
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Impact of Stephen Curry injury on the Golden State Warriors
A few weeks could mean three. It could also mean five. We’ll have to wait for further updates to draw a final conclusion. But to say this is bad news for the struggling Warriors would be an understatement.
Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Golden State boasts a 10-20 record with Curry sidelined. That very same span has the team at 96-56 when he suits up. You can do the math from there. But here’s some more important stats pertaining to Curry’s injury.
It also must be noted that Golden State’s schedule over the next few weeks is pretty damn difficult. They must compete with the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies over the next 10 days. After that, they do get a bit of a reprieve with outings against the Hornets, Jazz and Blazers leading up to the New Year.
At this point, the onus is going to be on guards Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole to step up in Curry’s stead. Both have proven to be extremely inconsistent thus far this season. Should that not happen, Golden State will be battling for its playoff lives once Curry does return from injury.