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Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors will be out indefinitely after breaking his left hand in the Warriors’ home loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Early in the third quarter of Golden State’s 121-110 defeat, Curry drove to the basket and collided in midair with the Suns’ burly center Aron Baynes, who appeared to land hard on the left arm of the fallen Curry after first trying to take a charge.
The Warriors confirmed during the fourth quarter that Curry had broken his hand, which means that they have now lost both halves of their All-Star backcourt to injury. Klay Thompson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Game 6 of the N.B.A. finals and is expected to be sidelined until at least March — and possibly for the whole season.
According to the Warriors’ broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area, Curry will undergo a CT scan this week to determine if surgery is required and how long he may need to recover.
Wednesday’s loss dropped the Warriors to 1-3 this season. They fell behind the Suns by as many as 34 points — including a whopping 29 points in the first quarter at 43-14 — snuffing out the momentum Golden State had hoped to carry over from Monday night’s victory in New Orleans. A far more painful fate awaited in the second half.
Curry’s exit meant that the Warriors have lost three All-Stars to long-term injuries in their last six official games. In Game 5 of last season’s finals, Kevin Durant ruptured the Achilles’ tendon in his right foot, ending his career in Golden State prematurely before he signed with the Nets in free agency in July.
The lone remaining holdover from Golden State’s core that made five consecutive trips to the finals — Draymond Green — also exited Wednesday’s game early with a back injury.
The roster that remains for the Warriors, apart from the former Nets All-Star D’Angelo Russell, is filled with young, unproven players. Even with a healthy Curry and Green, fears had quickly begun to mount amid Golden State’s 0-2 start that the team did not have sufficient talent and depth to compete for a playoff spot in the ever-rugged West.
“It’s been a tough start for us on many levels,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said after the game, “and obviously this puts us in a tough spot.”
Now there are bound to be widespread calls for the Warriors to focus on draft position in hopes of adding a top pick next season alongside a fully healed Curry and Thompson. Golden State sent a first-round pick to the Nets in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Durant to the Nets and Russell to the Warriors. That pick is 1-to-20 protected, meaning that the Warriors will keep it as long as it falls no lower than No. 20 in next June’s draft.
