Warriors star Steph Curry out for at least 2 more weeks with shoulder injury
Stephen Curry partially dislocated his left shoulder in a Dec. 14 loss
to the Indiana Pacers.
>Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) walks off the floor after
their 123-107 win against the Boston Celtics at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News
Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: December 24, 2022 at 11:28 a.m. | UPDATED: December 24, 2022
at 3:33 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/24/warriors-star-steph-curry-out-for-at-least-2-more-weeks-with-shoulder-injury/

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors won’t have Stephen Curry for at least two
more weeks — and most likely even longer — as he continues to nurse a
shoulder injury.

While a recent re-evaluation by the team’s medical staff found Curry was
making “good progress” in his recovery from a partial dislocation of his
left shoulder, coach Steve Kerr said Saturday that the Warriors
superstar is “still a ways away from playing in a game.”

Curry, 34, injured his non-dominant shoulder while trying to strip the
ball from Pacers big man Jalen Smith in a Dec. 14 loss. Curry has since
been able to do some work in the weight room and put up shots Friday and
Saturday morning, according to Kerr.

“Everything seems to be going pretty smoothly,” Kerr said of Curry’s
recovery process.

But Curry is still not close to being ready to return to practice. He’ll
be re-assessed in two weeks, meaning another update should come around
Jan. 7. The Warriors have seven games from now until then, including
their Christmas Day clash against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Andrew Wiggins (strained thigh muscle) and JaMychal Green (health and
safety protocols) will also be shelved for that 2022 Western Conference
semifinals rematch Sunday. Meanwhile, Donte DiVincenzo is expected to be
back in the Warriors’ rotation for the opener of their eight-game
homestand after missing back-to-back games in New York with a major head
cold. He said he’s feeling better, though still dealing with some
lingering congestion and pressure in his head. He doesn’t think that’ll
impede his performance.

“I’m fine, I’m going to play tomorrow,” DiVincenzo said. “It’s gonna be
a grind, but it’s what we get paid the big bucks for.”

While Curry being out for at least another two weeks doesn’t come as a
surprise, it’s still a massive blow for a team that has struggled to
string together more than three consecutive wins — something it’s done
only once this season.

Curry had been the Warriors’ lone lifeline for the first two months of
the season before he went down with his shoulder injury. He was
averaging a team-high 30 points while shooting 50% from the field and
43.4% from 3-point range. Curry has also posted 6.6 rebounds and 6.8
assists per game.

The Warriors have won only one of their seven games without their
captain this season and have gotten off to a rough 15-18 overall start
to their title defense. They’re coming off back-to-back distressing,
30-plus-point losses to the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, which
dropped them to 3-16 on the road this season.

Golden State’s eight-game homestand is its longest of the season, which
gives the Warriors a chance to turn their season around.

“Just get some wins, that’s the most important thing,” Kevon Looney said
of this upcoming stretch. “Continue to get better, continue to build
good habits… start building in the right direction so when he does come
back we can take off.”

Doing that at Chase Center, where they’re 12-2, seems like the best
place for the Warriors to figure it out. But it won’t be easy. Four of
their next seven incoming opponents own above-.500 records.

They’ll first welcome the 20-11 Grizzlies, who are coming in hot off a
25-point win over the Phoenix Suns Friday and looking for vengeance
after the Warriors sent them packing in the postseason last May.

Without Curry’s scoring power and gravity and Wiggins’ defensive
prowess, the Warriors could be in trouble as they try to fend off the
athletic and physical Grizzlies and snap a two-game losing streak.

Even though the Warriors are currently 11th in the Western Conference,
Kerr said the team isn’t worried about their record just yet.

“Because we’re hammered with injuries, this is not a case where we’re
saying, ‘Alright, we’ve got to win a certain number of games.’ This is
more about internal improvement and understanding where we are in the
season,” Kerr said. “There’s a huge chunk of the season left, so the
incremental improvement, internal improvement over the next couple of
weeks while we’re at home will lead to better habits, lead to more wins
long term.”