SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors’ best player is not expected to miss much time after leaving Friday’s 131-124 loss to the Pistons with a sore knee.
Steph Curry avoided major damage to his right knee, head coach Steve Kerr said after Saturday’s practice at Chase Center. Curry underwent an MRI, and his official diagnosis is patellofemoral syndrome, which commonly known as “runner’s knee.”
“He’s day to day,” Kerr said, later adding that the team will have to balance chasing wins with managing Curry’s health. “It will be something we really have to monitor, especially before the All-Star break, where we’ve got to see if he can take on his usual workload, or does he have to miss a game here or there.”
The Warriors are already lacking significant scoring punch on the perimeter. Jimmy Butler was lost for the season last week with a torn ACL, and trade candidate Jonathan Kuminga has been unable to play while battling a sore knee.
Late in the third quarter against the Pistons Friday, shortly after finishing and-1 layup over Ausar Thompson with 4:28 showing on the clock, Curry slowly limped back to the Warriors locker room at the 4:04 mark of the period.
After the game, Curry was seen walking around the locker room with a limp, but had no ice or brace of any sort on that right knee.
Even though he is a little over a month away from turning 38, Curry is still the best player on a team expected to be a major player in the trade market, which has a Feb. 5 deadline.
With 4.5 makes from distance per game, Curry leads the NBA in 3-pointers. He was also recently voted an All-Star game starter in his 12th appearance in the exhibition, which will take place in Inglewood in February.
Curry has dealt with injuries this season, missing 11 games this season, including Monday’s matchup in Minnesota with inflammation of that same right knee.
Curry needs to play at least 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards, which means he can only miss six more games this season.
In 25 minutes played on Friday, Curry scored 23 points and made 4 of 10 3-pointers. Without their leader on the floor, Golden State found a way to remain competitive with the top team in the Eastern Conference.
De’Anthony Melton scored 18 points in a smidge over 25 minutes, while Gui Santos put up 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting. Golden State relied on a balanced offense to remain in the game, with eight different players reaching double-figures in scoring.
The Warriors outscored the Pistons 29-23 in the fourth quarter without their superstar, with Brandin Podziemski putting up 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists at shooting guard.
But without Curry warping the defense, the Warriors just did not have the juice to pull out the improbable comeback from down 20 in the second half.
Cade Cunningham showed why he is an All-Star by piling up 29 points and 11 assists for the Pistons, who improved to an Eastern Conference-best 35-12.
The Warriors dropped to 27-23, and will have two additional days off before playing Philadelphia in San Francisco on Tuesday.
The Sixers will be without Paul George, who was suspended 25 games by the league for drug use. George was coming off a 32-point, nine rebound game and a 15-point, five-assist effort in his most recent appearances.
Meanwhile, Draymond Green scored 15 and had seven assists against the Pistons, but made headlines for earning his 10th technical foul of the season. He ripped official JT Orr during his postgame interview.
When reached by the Bay Area News Group on Saturday afternoon, the NBA’s league office told this news organization that Green’s technical foul would not be rescinded. Kerr said he has no talked to Green about his comments or the technical foul.
If Green accumulates 16 technical fouls, he will have to serve a mandatory one-game suspension.
In other Curry injury news, the Warriors announced that Steph’s younger brother, Seth, will be reevaluated in two weeks as he comes back from a bout with sciatica. Kerr also added that Kuminga’s sore knee is improving, but did not know if Kuminga would play on Tuesday.
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