Last week, Steph Curry injured his right ankle for the fourth time since December, and hasn’t returned to game action for the Golden State Warriors. I wrote at the time that Curry should probably just sit out the rest of the regular season.
Then on Wednesday, the Warriors announced that Klay Thompson suffered a fractured thumb in the team’s game on Sunday, and said he would be re-evaluated on March 22.
And on Friday night, Golden State announced that Kevin Durant is out at least two weeks after an MRI revealed he suffered an “incomplete rib-cartilage fracture” in a collision with Karl-Anthony Towns on Sunday.
Injury update: Kevin Durant underwent an MRI today that revealed an incomplete rib cartilage fracture. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) March 17, 2018
So, Curry, Thompson, and Durant are all currently out with injuries. And as I suggested with Curry, Steve Kerr and the Warriors should really just keep these players out until the NBA playoffs, even if they’re medically cleared (particularly in the case of Curry with it being four injuries to the same ankle in a few months).
The Warriors are currently 2.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Getting homecourt advantage is absolutely valuable, but it’s not as big of a deal to the Warriors as it would be to the Rockets or any other team. The Warriors have been there and done that. They’ve been to three straight Finals and won twice. They’re more difficult to beat at Oracle Arena without question, but they’re still pretty damn tough to beat in *any* arena, as evidenced by their 16-1 run last postseason.
What we know that the Warriors do need for sure is their star talent to be healthy and on top of their games when they inevitably meet the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. With a healthy Curry, Durant, and Thompson the Warriors will be favored against any team, regardless of where four of the seven games are played. But if any of those players are injured (especially Curry or Durant, obviously), you’d have to really like the Rockets’ chances.
Just keep Curry, Durant, and Thompson on the sidelines (or ideally at home or in the training room) over the final 13 regular season games. The value in playing in these games just isn’t good enough, even if the three stars are feeling better. And even in the first round against a 7-seed, the Warriors should be cautious. Golden State will cruise to the Western Conference Finals as long as these players are healthy.
UPDATE: And now Draymond Green has suffered a pelvic contusion during Monday night’s Warriors-Spurs game. X-rays were negative, at least.
Draymond Green left the game with a pelvic contusion. X-rays were negative. He will not return tonight.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) March 20, 2018
