Stephen Curry. Image via: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Draymond Green explains why this Warriors team is better prepared
He had just hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter. The Warriors lost 115-108, which ended an eight-game winning streak, and now face a stretch without their best player. Golden State went 13-26 in the 39 games Curry missed. This year the Warriors are 1-1 without him and 8-4 overall, but the roster is short-handed again. Lendeborg led the Warriors with 25 points and 10 rebounds against Houston and averages 21.7 points and 7.4 rebounds this season.
Stephen Curry will miss at least two weeks after an MRI confirmed an oblique abdominal tear. Shams Charania reported the team is preparing for an absence of two to four weeks, with three or four weeks or longer possible. Green does not see a team that is lost without its star.
Coach Steve Kerr said concern was high even before the scan results came back. Kerr said Curry told him he had “tweaked something in his abdominal area” and that it had never happened before. Speaking after the loss, Green said “The spirit of this team is better,” and argued the group knows who it is and what makes it good.
The Golden State Warriors shared the diagnosis Thursday, one day after the guard left a game in Houston holding his right side. Moments later, Curry was heading to the locker room. The Warriors will re-evaluate Curry in two weeks, and the date marks a checkpoint more than a return. A clearer picture of the rehab should come after that second look. Curry talked with teammates at halftime, then left the arena for the MRI. Last season is the benchmark. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are out long term with knee injuries, and Kristaps Porzingis is away from the team. Brandon Williams has a hamstring strain, and Will Richard has a torn UCL in his left thumb. Green pointed to two players in particular. Yaxel Lendeborg gives Golden State someone who can take the ball and create an advantage, and Brandin Podziemski has played better. Green added that the rookie will often be the best player on the floor and needs to see it fast.
He thinks it gives Golden State a better shot at winning without Curry than it had last year.