Two point guards who squared off in the last three NBA Finals suddenly face health problems heading into this year’s playoffs.
Stephen Curry was diagnosed with a Grade 2 MCL sprain that was revealed in an MRI performed today on his left knee. Curry suffered the injury in Friday’s game, which marked his return to the court after missing two weeks with a tweaked right ankle. The Warriors announced that he will be re-evaluated in three weeks, which coincides with the start of the playoffs.
In Boston, Kyrie Irving is sidelined after undergoing a surgical procedure today on his left knee. The operation was described as minimally invasive and was performed to remove a tension wire that was inserted when he fractured his patella during the 2015 NBA Finals. Doctors say Irving should be able to resume basketball activities in three to six weeks, which doesn’t necessarily mean he will be cleared to play at that point.
Both teams are locked pretty solidly into second place in their respective conferences, so today’s injury news shouldn’t affect the regular season standings. However, both become more vulnerable in a first-round matchup if Curry and Irving can’t play.
The bottom of the West remains jumbled with the fourth-place Thunder and 10th-place Clippers separated by only four games in the loss column. Realistically, there are seven teams that could face Golden State in the first round, with each presenting a different challenge.
Things are a little more settled in the East, where the Bucks, Heat, Wizards or Pacers seem most likely to land in the seventh seed. Any of those teams could throw a scare into the Celtics, who will also be without Marcus Smart for about six more weeks after surgery to fix a torn ligament in his right thumb and Daniel Theis, who had season-ending surgery for a torn meniscus.
Our question for today is whether the Warriors or Celtics are now in danger of a first-round upset without their floor leaders. A lot depends on the eventual matchups, but do you see either team suffering an early playoff exit? Please jump into the comments section below and give us your feedback.
As a Celtics fan, I’d say the Celtics. Without Irving they can’t win a 7 game series unless it’s the suns or nets
As a Celtics fan, the C’s are obviously facing a greater risk of being bumped in the 1st round when juxtaposed to the Warriors situation. I don’t believe the East being the weaker conference is enough to cover the ground lost in terms of talent between the two teams. The C’s will be without Hayward and Irving, as well as their intangibles superman Marcus Smart (who was a mainstay of Brad Stevens 4th quarter rotations). They will be turning to Terry Rozier, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford to pick up the slack. The Warriors, on the other hand, will be relying on Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. One of these things is not like the other.
injured talent*
I knew I should of went with “Being a fan of the Celtics”.
It definitely hurts the celts a lot losing Kyrie. What hurt them the most for the east playoffs happened in game 1 of the season. Having Heyward and Kyrie they were a huge threat to the Cavs now having neither they are no threat to anyone.
Warriors will be fine in the first round. but Cetics is doomed. Without Kyrie, they lack offensive consistency to beat either the Bucks or Heat in a series.
Irving’s main value is playoff performance. If I had my druthers amd he is still with Cle, He might be just starting the season after holding out or getting unnecessary surgery.
Anyway, Quin Cook has been doing well for GSW, and they have more big guns and a well-practiced system.
Celtics are in danger, but I wouldn’t say they are guaranteed a first round exit. Warriors obviously have other pieces to pick up the slack, but if Curry’s injury goes deeper into the playoffs (along with the bumps and bruises and any potential rust that their other three stars have) it could spell a second round exit depending on the matchup.
I think people forget the depth the Celtics still have. I mean just tonight Terry Rozier dropped 33. With Horford, Brown, Tatum, and Rozier, the Celtics are still in good hands. Plus add in the fact that Marcus Morris has been a total animal lately and Greg Monroe has been huge off the bench for the Cs. They’ll be fine.