Golden State Warriors All-NBA star Stephen Curry sustained a left shoulder subluxation, the team announced Thursday, an injury that league sources tell The Athletic caused damage to Curry’s labrum. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks, league sources say. Here’s what you need to know:
- Curry exited in the third quarter of Wednesday’s contest versus the Pacers after partially blocking Jalen Smith’s shot and did not return to the game. He immediately clutched his left shoulder and jogged up the court slowly and appeared to be in pain, before a timeout was called.
- Curry had 38 points in 30 minutes of play, hitting 11 of 19 shots, including five 3-pointers.
- Draymond Green also picked up two fourth-quarter technicals and an ejection in the Warriors’ 125-119 loss.
- The Warriors said an official timeline for Curry’s return will be provided in the coming days but he will not need surgery.
Warriors' Stephen Curry has a labrum injury in his left shoulder that is not expected to require surgery, sources say. Details on @TheRally: pic.twitter.com/6ox6W2UiN5
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 15, 2022
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What Curry’s saying
Curry spoke to reporters Friday about his shoulder injury.
“From what I know about shoulder injuries and situations like that, anytime you can avoid getting surgery that’s great news,” Curry said.. Trust the process on trying to figure out how to get pain-free quickly, and then getting the strength back and then working your way back into it. It’s interesting because it’s the first time I’ve done it, and those usually take a little longer than if it’s a recurring thing. I just got to trust the plan we have and do my work.
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“There’s (no treatment) right now, it’s just letting it settle. Once you get pain-free, then you work on getting your mobility and range of motion back, strength back and then back to basketball activities after that. The back end should be a lot quicker than the front end from what I’ve been told.
“Surgery would’ve been 4-6 months. Nobody was trying to deal with that right now.”
How big of a loss is Curry?
As massive as it gets in the NBA. Curry is an upper-tier MVP candidate having one of the best seasons in his historic career. Entering Wednesday night, the Warriors had outscored teams by 151 points with Curry on the court this season and had been outscored by 127 points when he’s off the court. They’re already mired in mediocrity, entering Friday’s game against the 76ers with a 14-15 record.
Any extended Curry absence would leave them extremely vulnerable to a slide that could put their eventual playoff position in jeopardy. — Slater
Who fills in for Curry?
Jordan Poole will start in his place just as he did late last season when Curry sprained his foot and missed the final month. During that period, Poole broke out, averaging nearly 25 points per game on 47 percent shooting and better than 41 percent from 3 on high volume. Klay Thompson was also hot at the time.
That allowed the Warriors to hold onto the third seed. They’ll need that combination to score efficiently over this next stretch to keep their record respectable. — Slater
Curry’s offensive impact on the Warriors
When on the court this season, Curry improves the Warriors’ offensive efficiency by 19.0 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. That trails only Nikola Jokic (+21.7) for the largest such swing among qualified players this season (min. 100 minutes played).
Required reading
- After Steph Curry’s shoulder injury, what’s next for struggling Warriors?
- Warriors’ free-throw disparity problem on display in blowout loss in Milwaukee
- From the Boston Celtics to New York Knicks, ranking every team’s shooting and why it matters
- Deadline to opt out of NBA collective bargaining agreement extended to Feb. 8
(Photo: Ron Hoskins / NBAE via Getty Images)