Warriors star Stephen Curry tells Anthony Slater of ESPN his right knee injury is “trending in the right direction,” but he’ll miss his third straight game on Saturday and it doesn’t sound like his return is imminent.
“It’s a matter of learning as I go what works rehab-wise,” Curry said. “Because it’s still painful. You have to try to get rid of all the inflammation and pain. It’s something we still have to monitor and injury-manage, but it’s something where, if I come back too early, it could flare up.”
The 37-year-old guard also addressed the trade addition of big man Kristaps Porzingis, who has been limited to 17 games this season due to multiple ailments.
“I’m learning some Latvian,” Curry said when asked about Porzingis. “I’m just hoping that he’s healthy, first and foremost, so that he can do what he can do on the floor. Him and Al [Horford] won a championship together. Different context, but there’s a familiarity and skill set and size and presence that we’ve been looking for a while.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Horford was pleasantly surprised to learn he’d be playing with his former Celtics teammate again, and he’s optimistic about the veteran center’s fit with Golden State, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “It was special, it was just really fun,” Horford said of playing with Porzingis in Boston. “We all know everything he can do. He can shoot the three, can post up, draw fouls, kind of play the mid-range offensively. He’s just very potent. Defensively, protects the rim. I’m just looking forward for him to be here and help us, because I feel like he’ll be a big help for us.”
- Head coach Steve Kerr said the team’s medical and performance staff, led by Rick Celebrini, vetted Porzingis’ health prior to completing the trade, Johnson adds. “I don’t think we would have made the trade if we didn’t think he could be healthy and consistent in terms of being in the lineup, so that’s the plan,” Kerr said. “Obviously he’s got to get here and Rick has got to work with him, but Rick and the staff did their due diligence. There’s a hope that we can really help him get right. When he’s right, he’s a hell of a player. We’re looking at a guy who really fits what we need: Size, space, shooting, rim protection. Every team needs that, but we’ve always needed that since I’ve been here. We’ve never really had a player like him.”
- Kerr concedes Golden State may not be a title contender in the wake of Jimmy Butler‘s torn ACL, but he still thinks the team has the potential to do damage in the playoffs, Slater writes in another story for ESPN. “We still have a good team,” Kerr said. “A very good team. Even without Jimmy, we can make a playoff run. The ceiling is absolutely lower. I’m not going to sit here and lie.”
- Former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green likes Porzingis’ fit with the Warriors, per Nick Friedell of The Athletic. The longtime forward/center also admitted to being nervous about being involved in trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. “It got nerve-wracking towards the end,” Green said after Thursday’s comeback win over Phoenix. “But yeah, it is what it is. Move forward. It’s not something I want to get used to, though.”
Riding this thing until the wheels fall off. Yet will promise the world and be a never ending source of conjecture. Anonymous sources of course.
They should bring Klay back just so they can have more old fragile potentially injured playes on their roster. They can’t all be hurt at the same time, right?
Yup, you’re so right. Thompson has played only 90% percent of the games he could’ve since leaving Golden State.
Watch this to remember what these guys were like 11 years ago:
link to youtube.com
It’s a young man’s game. Sometimes you can’t forget, even if your memory is not consistent with the present situation.
Their medical staff must be amazing – concluding they can do what no one else has been able to accomplish.
Porzingis is 8 feet Steph Curry
He can shoot from 35 feet