Steph Curry Out: What Does It Mean For The Warriors?

The Golden State Warriors will be without Steph Curry for an extended period of time, the team announced Sunday morning. The former MVP suffered partial tears to his tibiofibular ligaments in Saturday’s game against the Mavericks, limping off in the third quarter and never returning to the game. While the X-rays came back negative, it could be effects of a recurring injury. Curry was involved in a similar play in Thursday’s game against the Nuggets, when he again banged knees with an opponent.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Curry would be out until at least the All-Star break, which takes place in mid-February, meaning that the Warriors will be without their superstar point guard for at least three weeks.

What Does Steph Curry’s Injury Mean For Warriors?

This won’t be the first time that the Warriors are forced to play without Curry for a sizable stretch of games. He missed 11 straight games early in the season with a different injury concern, and the team fared about as well without him as they do with him. Golden State was 6-5 during the time that Curry missed, one game over .500, which happens to be exactly where they stand at the time of writing (27-26).

That isn’t to say that the team is any better, or even remotely the same, without Stephen Curry. Golden State currently sits in 7th place in the West, and are tightly bunched in with 9 other teams that are all within 3 games of each other. A small losing streak could spell doom for the Warriors, as they are just one full game from being bumped out of the playoffs altogether.

A Soft Schedule Could Help

Luckily for them, the Warriors will only play two games away from San Francisco between now and the All-Star break, as they have struggled mightily on the road this season. They have home dates against the Thunder, Lakers, and Wizards, which will give them a good opportunity to at least remain afloat in the standings.

Golden State’s schedule doesn’t truly tighten up until the second week of March when they play the likes of the Grizzlies, Bucks, Suns, and Clippers, but they’ll need to learn to win continuously without their star player if they want to keep their playoff aspirations alive in 2023. The West is so tightly packed, that Curry could come back to an entirely different look in the standings. All it would take would be a couple of losses, and the defending champions could be on the outside looking in during the postseason.