Kerr on Steph Curry injury: “no point in being too up or too down”

February 6, 2023 by Lets Go Warriors

What a roller-coaster ride the last 48 hours. Steve Kerr summed it up after the Golden State Warriors practiced yesterday. “This is the hand you’re dealt, you play it,” Kerr said. “No point in being too up or too down.”

Prior to that, Andrew Wiggins took the podium and reminded us diehard fans of how we love his chuckles:

Let’s Go Warriors 💦💛💙 @LetsGoWarriors

Chuckles brought to you by @22wiggins 😁💛💙 Full video: youtube.com/watch?v=htdTMd… [link in bio] #wegetthebestcomments 👍👍💛💙 #Warriors #GoldenStateWarriors #GSW #DubNation #LetsGoWarriors #AndrewWiggins instagr.am/reel/CoTtCS8gp…

Obviously, tonight Wiggs will have to put that face away and bring out the other one as they face a rematch of the up-and-coming OKC Thunder, the first of a few weeks of games without Stephen Curry — see details below.

This post includes the latest and greatest news, along with the usual notes, quotes and video from the win over the Dallas Mavericks the other night, all in reverse chronological order.

Speaking of the Mavs, who like the Warriors have also struggled mightily in the standings this season, head coach Jason Kidd at the pregame presser made an observation: “…each possession will mean something after the (All-Star) break, which doesn’t happen a lot of times because a lot of times you’ll have four teams clinch and they’re trying to stay healthy, and trying to get a rhythm before the playoffs start. But I think the playoffs are going to start a little earlier than normal.”

Before we get into Warriors-Mavs, here’s a video that includes, of all things, Zaza Pachulia dancing with a knife in his hands at his postgame birthday party at Harlot (CeeLo Green performed!) and Klay Thompson executing what looked like a record-breaking paper airplane toss at FanFest for the season ticket holders yesterday, held right before practice at Chase Center:

• Golden State Warriors guard Ryan Rollins will undergo surgery to repair a Jones fracture of his 5th metatarsal in his right foot, the team announced today. The procedure is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 8. An update on Rollins’ status will be provided following the procedure, but he is expected to miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season. (Warriors PR)

• Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will miss “a couple of weeks” because of a lower left leg injury, starting with Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources confirmed to The Chronicle on Sunday. (CJ Holmes)

• Steph Curry has missed 15 games this season. In those 15 games, Jordan Poole has averaged 27.7 points, 4.2 assists and 4.9 turnovers. The Warriors are 14-16 with Poole starting this season, and 13-10 when he comes off the bench. (Dalton Johnson)

• Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who exited last night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks with 2:01 remaining in the third quarter due to a left lower leg injury, underwent a series of examinations last night. An MRI last night confirmed that Curry suffered partial tears to his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane as well as a contusion to his lower leg. He will not play in tomorrow’s game against Oklahoma City and additional clarity on a potential timeline will be established in the coming days. (Warriors PR)

• Steve Kerr after practice makes it clear Steph Curry’s injury news is more positive than negative with what it could have been: “I’m not a doctor so I didn’t know those ligaments existed… He’s going to be out for a little bit. We’re going to re-evaluate in a couple days. The good news is, he’s gonna be back… He’s going to come back this season and hopefully sooner rather than later, but we’ll know more in a few days… Just got through a stretch without him… held our own. We know we can hold our own now. We went through this last year… went on a great run in the playoffs.” (Dalton Johnson, Shayna Rubin)

• Kerr said he’s viewing this from a “glass half full” perspective. Jordan Poole will start with Steph Curry out. (Kerith Burke)

• Kerr talked with Steph Curry last night. Steph’s fear was the injury could have been season ending. The MRI made him very happy: “When a guy gets an MRI, your biggest fear is that this is going to be a few months and that’s it. So even though we were all secretly hoping it would be day-to-day, we knew it could have been more serious than that… Last year we had a little cushion that we could play with based on the start to the season we had… this year… battling with nine or ten other teams… largely the same group of players… this group has been through a lot and has the experience to get through what we’re facing.”

• On the next steps with Steph out: “Really examining those games (when they went 6-5 without him)… which combinations worked best… remember, we were without Wiggs as well… give them a roadmap for how we need to play.”

• On the rotations: “We’ll figure all that out by tomorrow… yeah, Jordan is gonna start… we have some options.”

• On how disappointing it was to have Steph just come back, only to go back down again with an injury: “It’s disappointing but it’s all part of it… this is the hand you’re dealt, you play it… no point in being too up or too down… play and coach basketball every day… we’re all lucky to do it… reality of the line of work we’re in.”

• On any timeline for Steph’s injury: “Just too early to tell, and even to put an estimate on it would not do justice to anybody.”

• On if he’s talked to Steph: “The first thing he said to me was, ‘The good thing is, I’m gonna be back.’ This is not season-ending, and that was his fear of going into the MRI. He’s in really good spirits and I think the rest of the guys are, too. We’ll keep on forging ahead.” (Dalton Johnson)

• Andrew Wiggins after practice on news of the injury to Steph Curry: “Never good to see one of your teammates get hurt… try to play hard for him and stay competitive.”

• On weathering the storm: “We’ve had a lot of injuries this year… at the end of the day we’re all comfortable on the court… we’ll be fine.”

• On getting his legs and wind back despite the illnesses: “finding my rhythm… getting back to usual.”

• On what’s going through the locker room with the illnesses: “no one’s down and out or anything.”

• On what the symptoms he was dealing with: “Regular cold symptoms, but I felt it a little bit more (chuckles).”

• On what the fans ask about at fan fest events: “Basketball, what it like to be in the NBA, what it takes… Stephen Curry (chuckles)… I forgot to mention it (to his family)… the championship, the Warriors itself, dunking on people (chuckles).”

Brian Sutterer MD @BrianSuttererMD

Translating Steph Curry’s injury update

• Steph Curry will miss tomorrow’s game against the Thunder as the Warriors continue to test and determine the extent of his leg injury suffered last night against the Mavericks, per sources. Official diagnosis/timetable could take a couple days to determine. (Anthony Slater)

• Golden State’s Stephen Curry is expected to miss multiple weeks with a left leg injury, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. (Shams Charania)

• League source: Though there is no solid timeline yet, the Warriors are “hoping” Stephen Curry (L knee) can return shortly after NBA All-Star break ends on Feb. 23. In line with Curry missing ‘multiple weeks’ reported by Shams Charania. (Monte Poole)

• I’m told Stephen Curry avoided serious structural damage in his lower left knee after an MRI on Sunday. But caution, pain tolerance and an eventual return to conditioning once that pain subsides will keep the 34-year-old out at least a couple of weeks. (CJ Holmes)

• JaMychal Green postgame with ABC on his season so far: “Been a battle for me… personal growth.”

• On team chemistry: “It gets fun when you’re playing the right way… everybody on the floor was just scoring.”

• On Steph’s injury: “He gonna be okay. That’s the first thing that I asked… next person gotta be ready.”

• On Draymond: “When I see him scoring that helps my confidence.”

• JaMychal Green postgame podium recap on closing games: “We just gotta slow it down… get away from what we’re doing… stagnant and trying to make the hero plays.”

• On what he was going through adjusting: “Just locked in, out of my own way… over-thinking.”

• On if he was thinking too much during his absence: “I’m not quite sure… before I got COVID I was stating to turn it around… just continue to play free.”

• On when Kerr told him he might not be playing: “I was frustrated, not gonna lie… in the gym just staying ready… gotta stay a professional.”

• On the team’s season so far: “Up and down season… we click, take a hit… just gotta get some wins in a row.”

• JaMychal Green postgame on-court on seeing Steph Curry injured:”The heart dropped… looks like he’s good, though.”

• On the game recap: “Just had to play our game, limit turnovers… gotta finish better… something we gotta work on.”

• On his contributions tonight: “Just gotta stay ready. I had a slow start.”

• Donte DiVincenzo postgame on being the defensive closer: “I gotta be better defensively, more disciplined… I take pride in that role, for sure.”

• On how they closed things out: “We could’ve been better. We played three and a half quarters of good basketball… going away from what got us the lead.”

• On if that’s been a trend and how to avoid it: “Yeah it’s tough… but there’s been flashes of what we can be… aware of what we need to clean up… we aware of it… tough schedule in the NBA is when you have games and no practice… the more we can practice… it’s gonna be beneficial to us in the long run.”

• On JaMychal: “He looks very comfortable… he’s ready to go at all times. I can feel that with him… making the right play… we share that bond… being integrated…

• On why they didn’t close out the game well: “We were taking some contested threes, some iso buckets… it’s hard to guard that (kick-outs)… once we got back to that everybody’s confidence got back.”

• On Steph’s injury: “Truthfully I had no idea, I came out… looked down and said where’s Steph.”

• On Steph and Draymond and illnesses and what guys are going through: “We gotta weather the storm. Those guys have a lot of mileage on their bodies… the better we can play… it takes the load off of them, it takes the minutes off… scrimmaging in practice, stuff like that… we as the younger guys… me, Wiggs, even Loon, JP, we have to help those guys… something we could’ve done better at tonight.”

• On the big lineup affecting the team: “starting lineup to me at least doesn’t matter as much… second unit is still playing together a good stretch, the non-Steph minutes… to start the season we went with that lineup and it was the best in the league… when we come off the bench gotta be ready to play.”

• Donte postgame with ABC on if he talked to Steph: “Actually I did not see him. I didn’t even know he went out of the game… locked in… we’re ready for whatever comes.”

• On the game recap: “Getting downhill and making the right decision… we got away from it a bit in the second half.”

• On the Kuminga dunk: “I wish I had a camera… always good to see him playing with confidence.”

• Draymond Green postgame on closing games: “We stop doing the things that worked… you don’t go away from it and we tend to do that quite a bit… hard for Steve to get a call in every time, you’re under pressure… we gotta do a better job of executing.”

• On the approach vs Mavs: “They don’t have much rim protection. Get to the paint… mindset to score… the game get tough, we kinda go away from it.

• On if he’s heard anything about Steph’s injury: “Nah idk… I just finished my lift. Check in with him when I get out of here.”

• On when Steph left: “It was so sudden, I didn’t even realize he left the bench… you get a lead you let your guard down… quite the thing with this team.”

• On Jonathan Kuminga: “He’s a special talent… once you get on the floor you use what you got.”

• On if the closing is mental: “It’s a focus thing more so than mental toughness.”

• Om flipping back to Looney for good: “We know what that lineup is capable of… one of the best all year… more of what we’re used to.

• On if he’s still feeling anything with his calf: “No. It’s just tight but I’m fine.”

• On JaMychal: “since he’s been back from the injury he’s been playing really well… early in the season… it didn’t go well for him… kinda a casualty of war… a coach loses confidence in you and you have to gain that back. That’s a process… true professional. He’s had some DNPs… he’s a guy that’s gonna help us.”

• Steve Kerr postgame podium on Curry: “that’s all I have is he’s gonna get an MRI… I haven’t talked to him or Rick (Celebrini).”

• On if the injury was related to the lower leg contusion: “idk anything… anytime somebody’s gonna get an MRI there’s gonna be a concern.”

• On what he felt when Steph limped over: “this has happened many many times over his career.”

• On managing minutes: “I’ve been concerned about the minutes over the last ten games for both Steph and Draymond… we took them out a little bit early… kept them out a little longer in the second quarter too.”

• On closing the game: “I didn’t think we closed the game well at all… a lot of mistakes… thrilled with the win but disappointed with the way we closed the game.”

• On going with Donte late: “Yeah so Donte is the defensive choice in that decision.”

• On the stretch where they attacked the paint: “More the nature of the game. We knew they were gonna go small.”

• On J-Mike tonight: “JaMychal was probably our player of the game… the toughness inside, the scoring… that position was manned well… and Loon and Draymond all night.”

• On going 6-5 without Steph: “Yeah, sure… we do have some game film to lean on… we’ll be ready for OKC regardless.”

• On JaMychal Green’s season: “J-Mike has been great… I went to him a couple weeks ago and told him we were gonna start playing small… I get it, I’ll be ready when you need me… been around this game a long time so he understands how things can change in an instant.”

• On going back to Looney: “I’m gonna go back to that. We got a good look at the small lineup… 9 games… our best bet is to start the bigger lineup. We know that the five-man unit… either number one or number two in the NBA… keep pushing… we’re looking for a spark.”

• Steve Kerr postgame with ABC on what he knows about Steph’s injury: “Just that he’s getting an MRI.”

• On anything more about the knee:’”The knee to knee contact is really painful… that’s what the MRI is for.”

• On closing games: “We made some of the mistakes that we’ve been making… hanging our heads a little bit… but we can get there… largely the team that just won the championship… we’ve got work ahead.

• On JaMychal Green: “I just like that he’s so professional… he just said Coach I’ll be ready… the last couple weeks he’s been great.”

• On Kuminga scoring 1K points as youngest Warrior: “finding different angles to cut and ways to score.”

• On the trade deadline, if Steph’s injury affects that: “the younger guys haven’t been through it… always a time of year when there’s rumors… your name could be mentioned… keep practicing, keep going… usually nothing happens.”

0:00 GRATITUDE, Draymond probable, Klay+PBJ avail, Luka/Wood out

12:00 Kerr calls out “bicep” which is Wiggins tiki-taka off a Steph Curry curl

13:15 Klay with the 0.2 catch-and-shoot (both plays within first two minutes)

14:00 10min05 Q1 Klay scores on an inbound play

14:15 good tiki-taka action early on 10min00, Draymond Green three, timeout Kidd

15:30 the starters have come in locked in, but without Luka and having that non-locked-in bad habit as PART OF THEIR SUBCONSCIOUS (Steph & Dray). But that’s understandable after a decade of establishing a bad habit of not locking in on opponents that you don’t have appropriate fear for, be it CHA/DET/ORL/CHI/etc or teams with their stars out with injury.

19:45 8min35 Q1 JaVale McGee gets a catch and shoot from the bench!

21:15 7min27 Q1 Wiggs messed up a play, Steph showed frustration

22:00 6min30 Q1 Dray throws the ball away vs good D by Dwight Powell, that’s part of his character, Jordan Poole then first sub for Wiggs

23:15 6min10 Q1 Spencer Dinwiddie tech, that’s what young refs do, they want to assert themselves and sometimes go overboard

23:45 6min00 Q1 Steph corner splash reverse pass by Dray

25:15 Steph corner three NOT the result of a “rocket screen” (who knows what that means?)

25:45 4min22 Q1 Steph takes an obvious charge, James Capers no call!

27:30 3min40 Q1 Poole turnover vs 3 guys late shot clock, can someone look up all his turnovers to see average time remaining on shotclock?

29:00 Yuri Asian: “bench Poole” but factually that’s not happening because in the NBA they have scripted rotations and players are expected to adjust on the fly and be good enough to

32:00 2min35 Q1 JaMychal Green dunk putback then extra pass to Donte DiVincenzo for 3 wow

33:30 1min46 Q1 Jonathan Kuminga dunk!!! Deliberate move, took his time

35:45 1min03 Q1 Donte lead pass, JP not looking for it, but both of them say “my bad”

36:30 0min43 Q1 JP rushed 3 with 12 on the shot, sometimes talent overrides decisions

38:30 0min09.3 Q1 Josh Green off-ball foul vs JK: will JK lose composure if that’s a foul on him? Moot point

44:00 11min11 Q2 Ty Jerome pushes Donte to get to the baseline, but DFS draws the foul on Dray

44:45 10min50 Q2 JK DOMINIQUE WILKINS STYLE!!!! Btw great cross-court pass and subsequent cut with the ball in Dray’s hands, by JK

47:00 9min00 Q2 JK swat, then finish, so athletic!

53:15 Jerome wearing No. 10 reminds Dean Agan if Tim Hardaway, Sr. number will be retired, it reminds me of David Lee

55:00 “Wiseman not playing smh” — but weren’t people throwing him under the bus to trade him just last month? Wonder who these new people are (or are they the same complainers?

55:30 Maple Jordan fade shake 5min30 Q2

56:15 4min30 Q2 was the lob to J-Mike by Steph on purpose to him? No, bad pass off the board to JK!

57:45 Klay with the great hard cut 3min45

1:00:00 diatribe on why Wiseman isn’t playing: NBA IRL is greater than NBA2K

1:07:45 Anthony Tsai: “classic Kidd going at Steph”

1:09:00 Dray and J-Mike are your leading scorers at halftime!

1:11:00 Kyrie and the reason why he asked to be traded right now (via Chris Haynes)

1:12:30 the Chinese dad syndrome of Joe Tsai

1:21:45 why our 3rd quarters haven’t been strong (see Boston Game 6 roster)

1:28:15 9min41 Q3 Dinwiddie taking Wiggs 1on1 is a byproduct of the Luka Doncic offense

1:32:45 6min46 Q3 on why Kerr didn’t call timeout when the lead went down to 14 (Steph hit a 3 then Wiggs hit a 2): sometimes you don’t want the other team to feel more confident, you don’t want to show any fear of them going on a run

1:47:45 Steph knee-on-knee vs Dinwiddie? 2min01 Q3

1:58:00 10min30 Q4 JK might’ve traveled and palmed before the lefty scoop

2:00:00 8min55 Q4 doesn’t seem like we’ve run any offense past an initial PNR (JK missed 3, JP dribble dribble fade-away 2, Jerome missed runner, Dray missed 3). We’ve seen this with the mixed unit in the last few games where they don’t run anything

2:03:30 out of the ATO: we finally ran some offense (Dray fake handoff)

2:04:30 7min55 Q4 JK with a great call for Dray to repost, later J-Mike congrats

2:06:15 7min14 Q4 JP doesn’t complain on bad calls, JK should do the same

2:0745 6min45 Q4 tiki-taka to Dray, “when I say tiki, you say…”

2:09:30 5min28 Q4 Wiggs posting up, athletic move, fouled, JK can also do that

2:11:00 4min46 Q4 Looney called for rebounding foul, but Mavs already had the ball so in the future when things go badly we can rely on those two for post-up need-buckets

2:12:30 4min00 Q4 mental lapses: Donte bad turnover then an and-one the other way

2:13:15 3min48 Q4 another one right away: Klay bad turnover, foul, penalty

2:14:45 3min11 Q4 Dray DPOY block saves the day Wiggs (another turnover), good timeout by Kerr, but our KM JOHNSON stays positive and that’s what you need to do IRL, not lose composure when things go terribly awry. We’re back to bad habits: Steve ought to really look into that subconscious mind stuff imo.

2:18:00 Dray winced in pain 2x after the block of THJ

2:18:45 JP shoots a 3 as the ATO?!? Then another foul (by Wiggs)

2:20:00 2min27 Q4 Dray 3 was actually the best shot, that’s what happens when there’s no Steph

2:20:30 1min58 Q4 sure enough, JP bad turnover despite not dribbling too much, DPOY saves the day: game ball goes to Dray

2:23:00 1min40 review of foul by DFS on JP layup: did DFS touch the rim? DFS stuck his arm out??

2:25:00 next play: you have to know THJ wants the three

2:25:30 next play: Looney oreb + got fouled (lucky!)

2:26:45 Klay over-jumped the rebound but Donte got it lol, bad turnover by Wiggs, bad turnover by Bullock: this is AAU game!

2:29:00 Klay omg the last turnover smh

2:32:00 that was an embarrassing win

3:19:30 Breyonna Leone reports Steph is “walking fine and it’s feeling better. Just a hard hit.”

3:28:45 on Poole playing too much iso ball: like Draymond said, it’s the team feeling the pressure and Donte said, they need more practice together

4:36:45 Breyonna (insider) says Steph’s injury might be a bone bruise

5:21:45 CRAZY: Steph had to get injured for us to find out Breyonna is an insider

• Spencer Dinwiddie is available for tonight’s game at Golden State. (Mavs PR)

• Klay Thompson and Patrick Baldwin Jr. have been upgrade to available tonight for the Warriors. Steph Curry is still probable and Draymond Green is questionable. (Dalton Johnson)

• Steve Kerr at Mavs pregame presser says he expects Draymond Green to play tonight: “Still subject to warmup but I expect him to play.” (Kendra Andrews, 95.7 The Game)

• On the Warriors’ inability to get away from the .500 mark: “The biggest thing is not closing. We’ve had probably close to 10 games that were right there for the taking.” (95.7 The Game)

• On the status of Klay and Draymond: “Probable. I’m expecting Draymond (right-calf soreness) and Klay (non-Covid illness) to play, but I expected them to play the last game too, then Draymond warmed up and we had to pull him. Still subject to warm up, but I expect him to play.” (Warriors PR)

• On LeBron chasing the NBA scoring record: “Pretty amazing. I think, for most of us, back then, the record would never be broken. To see LeBron do it over the last 20 years is pretty remarkable. A great testament to not only his ability but his durability. He’s just a machine. He’s healthy and a physical force night after night. I also appreciate the fact, that for most of his career, he’s been a point-forward more than a scoring wing. So it’s ironic that the all-time leading scorer is a guy more known, at least for much of his career, as a passer. Shows you how great he is and how versatile he is.” (Warriors PR)

• On Wiggs’ recent stretch of games and their overall record: “The last part of the question is tough. I mean, we’ve been .500 literally all year. Never more than two games above or two or three below. It’s hard to tie our performance to any one thing. Wiggs was great in the first 30 games. To me, he was even better than last year. I thought he was having an all-star-caliber season and then the injury combined with the illness has really knocked him back. When he came back, whenever it was, a few weeks ago, his first few games were a little rough. He didn’t have his conditioning and didn’t have rhythm. I think, despite the ball not going in the hoop last game. I thought he was really good in Denver. Played (Jamal) Murray well, he attacked the rim, got to the rim, took good shots, and they just didn’t go in. So sometimes you have to look carefully and decide ‘did a guy look good and the shots didn’t go in or did he not look good’? I thought he looked good. I think in all three games on the trip he looked much more like himself physically and aggression-wise. I fully expect him to keep that going, and as that happens the shots will start to go in.” (Warriors PR)

• Kevon Looney is back in Warriors starting lineup vs. Dallas. Jordan Poole back to bench: Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green, Looney. (John Dickinson)

• Jason Kidd pregame presser on which players are available tonight: “Maxi (Kleber) is doing good, had a good day yesterday, so we’ll continue on that path. He’s out. C-Wood (Christian Wood) scrimmaged, came out of that ok, so we’ll see how he feels and continue—hopefully at some point he’s back. But he’s out tonight. Davis (Bertans) is out with a left calf strain and probably will be out through the All-Star break, so when we come back we’ll see where he’s at. Then the best for last was Luka (Doncic), right heel contusion, healing day-to-day, doing better, but will not join us in Utah so he’s out tonight and will be out in Utah and we’ll see where he’s at after that Utah game.” (Warriors PR)

• On the expectations of Dinwiddie with Luka Doncic out: “Yeah I think it’s similar to Luka being double-teamed, we play a lot of vantage basketball so we understand where we have to be on the spots. Just last name changes with Spencer doing it. Just learning from that last game against New Orleans is we got wide open looks, we have to make some these, and that’s our job. But I think without L.D. I think everyone just has to play their role. Sometimes you will feel that you have to do more because Luka has set the table for everyone. But I think we’re getting comfortable playing without Luka and that’s also a good thing because when he does come back that just makes us stronger.” (Warriors PR)

• On if there have been a lot of missed opportunities this season: “Yeah, I think through an 82-game season there’s going to be a handful of games where you probably shouldn’t have lost, or you shouldn’t have won, and that just—it works out that way. Is it always even? No, as a coach, as a player sometimes you always feel like you’re on the shorter end of the stick, that you’ve lost games that you should have won. But this year’s a little different. Everybody’s bunched up in the Western Conference, and game by game you can go from fourth to 10th. It just will make for exciting basketball after the break. The playoffs will arrive early and I think the league and the players are going to be up for that. It’s basketball that each game, each possession will mean something after the break. Which doesn’t happen a lot of times because a lot of times you’ll have four teams clinch and they’re trying to stay healthy, and trying to get a rhythm before the playoffs start. But I think the playoffs are going to start a little earlier than normal.” (Warriors PR)

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