Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said it would be surprising if star guard Stephen Curry was forced to miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury.
The Warriors' season continued with a 114–101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, giving Golden State a 31–30 loss and its second consecutive loss. Curry has not played since January 30 with what the team calls "runner's knee", creating uncertainty over the timeline of his return.
In a report published Wednesday by Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, Dunleavy addressed the possibility of Curry being sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Dunleavy said, "It would be very surprising to me; very, very surprising." "But I'm not ruling anything out. I'm not a doctor and things can happen a certain way. I don't want the headline to be, 'Steph could be done for the year' because I'm not ruling it out. But just because he's not playing right now, I just have to accept that yes, definitely, there's a chance. But we don't expect it."
Stephen Curry continues rehab as Warriors monitor timeline of knee injury
Curry last appeared on January 30 in the Warriors' 131–124 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The 37-year-old finished that game with 23 points, two assists, one rebound and one block in 25 minutes. He shot 7 of 16 from the field, 4 of 10 from 3-point range, and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line.
Despite missing time, Curry remains one of the league's most productive scorers this season. Through 39 games, he has averaged 27.2 points, 4.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 46.8% from the field, 39.1% from beyond the arc, and 93.1% from the free-throw line. He has logged 31.3 minutes per contest.
The Warriors provided a medical update on Sunday that indicated Curry was continuing to progress.
"The re-evaluation concluded that Curry is making continued progress. He will be re-evaluated in 10 days," the team said.
Additional reporting suggests the Warriors remain cautious about their franchise cornerstone as the regular season enters its final stretch.
ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel reported Tuesday:
"While the expectation was that Curry would return to the court after the All-Star break, the reality of his situation is that he was still dealing with right knee issues, which led to him taking more rest and the Warriors doing more imaging on his knee, which came back clean. Although he's been doing little behind the scenes, Steph still has to go through full, comprehensive workouts on the court."
Curry aims to return before playoffs amid Warriors' cautious approach
Seagal continued:
It will be important for Steph to be available for the play-in tournament, as this will ensure he is 100 percent healthy for whoever they face in the first round playoff series.
That's why there's no rush to get him back, and that's why sources say he'll be back as soon as possible, but he's unlikely to return until after this date, the beginning of the Warriors' six-game road trip against the New York Knicks on Sunday, March 15.
To be completely honest, it might be in the Warriors and Curry's best interest to put things off indefinitely until after this road trip, as seven of the Dubs' final 10 games of the season will be in San Francisco. The Warriors have time on their hands as they aren't moving anywhere in the play-in standings, which is why Steph's return doesn't really make sense right now.
As of right now, there have been no conversations about the Warriors ruling Curry out for the remainder of the season, and sources said, he specifically wants to return before the playoffs to try to build some momentum for this team.
For now, Golden State will attempt to stop its decline in the Western Conference standings without its star guard. The Warriors are currently in eighth place in the conference as they begin a three-game road trip starting Thursday against the Houston Rockets at 4:30 p.m. PT on Prime Video.
