Stephen Curry‘s pelvic contusion only forced him to miss two games, but the Warriors star said after making his return on Friday vs. New Orleans that he expects to “feel it for a while,” as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN notes. Still, Curry, who suffered a hairline fracture in his tailbone when he fell hard onto courtside stairs during the 2020/21 season, was relieved not to get a similar diagnosis this time around.
“I think that (this time it didn’t) break anything or have any bone damage, was mostly just a deep serious contusion that I’ll feel it for a while,” Curry said. “But I can play and I can’t make it worse as long as I don’t land on it again.”
Curry made just 7-of-21 shots across 34 minutes in Friday’s win over the Pelicans and spoke after the game about needing to work on his timing and endurance. But head coach Steve Kerr believes that getting a week off at this point of the season – even if he spent most of it recovering from an injury – will benefit Curry this spring.
“I thought he looked great,” Kerr said, per Youngmisuk. “He was moving really well. Took care of the ball. I thought Steph played an excellent game. He probably missed his last five or six threes, so the numbers don’t look great, but he looked like himself. And I think the week off did him a lot of good.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- With Warriors guard Gary Payton II sidelined due to a thumb injury, Kerr believes there’s an opening for forward Jonathan Kuminga to step up and take on some of the defensive responsibilities that the team had given to Payton (Twitter video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “It opens up an opportunity for JK to be that defensive stopper, the guy we’ve relied on Gary to be,” Kerr said. “JK’s the obvious guy. Put him on the best offensive player, pick up full (court), harass people like Gary does. I’m going to ask JK to do that. It definitely opens up more minutes for him if he’s effective with that.” Kuminga, who have averaged just 23.4 minutes per game in eight contests since returning from an ankle sprain, didn’t have one specific defensive assignment on Friday against a New Orleans team missing most of its top scorers.
- Speaking to NBA insider Chris Haynes on the first episode of the Haynes Briefs YouTube show, Jazz guard Isaiah Collier said that not being selected to participate in last month’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend motivated him and added “fuel to the fire” (Twitter video link). As Andy Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required), the Jazz are making a strong promotional push to get Collier a spot on an All-Rookie team, dedicating a section of their website to making his case for consideration. It has been up-and-down season for the first-year guard, but since he entered Utah’s starting lineup on January 5, Collier has more assists than anyone in the NBA besides Trae Young, Nikola Jokic, and James Harden.
- While Tilman Fertitta has indicated that he’ll resign as CEO of Landry’s Inc. if he’s confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino, the Rockets owner won’t be stepping away from his controlling interest in the NBA franchise, writes Erica Grieder of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I have been advised that during my service as Ambassador, the Embassy may address particular matters affecting the financial interests of the National Basketball Association, of which the Houston Rockets professional basketball team is a member,” Fertitta wrote in a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. “The agency has determined that it is not necessary at this time for me to divest my interests in the Houston Rockets because my recusal from particular matters in which these interests may pose a conflict of interest will not substantially limit my ability to perform the essential duties of Ambassador.”
Kuminga should move into the starting lineup. Last night the starters were standing around at the 3pt line not driving to the basket. Chucking up 3 pt shots and missing. The team is much better when they attack the basket.
A summer reading assignment for the Warriors. JK, Podz, Moody, Post, Santos need to rent a place together a month or two before the start of training camp. They need to go to a gym everyday and shoot a 1,000 shots each from the free throw line and different points on the 3pt line. Their accuracy from those areas has been atrocious this season. It probably cost them a few games.
You need to watch some games, Post has been over 40% from 3.
You missed something very important. They are the Warriors future. They are working on a common goal. It is called chemistry.
Giants74 , I’m with you all the way on that one.
Everyone blames Curry for the “slangin 3’s” epidemic, but the Boston Celtics are way more to blame, at least Curry usually shoots with a 40+% clip! Boston puts up 60 a game at “whatever” %
arc89 , I agree. Amongst NBA analytic geeks, the use of Jonathan Kuminga is one of the most discussed topics. The numbers show 2 very interesting facts about the use of Kuminga, one that supports you and the other… well, unfortunately, Steve Kerr disagrees with us that GSW should be attacking the basket more and shooting less 3’s.
TWO STATS
1) At the time of his injury, more than ANY player in the league, JK’S offensive counting stats rise/fall disproportionately with the amount he plays. (Not surprisingly, he plays best when he starts.) That supports your argument of starting him.
2) Offensively, Second Spectrum shows that the worst way to deploy JK is to place him in the corner. As with Draymond, GP2 and Santos, opposing teams will not guard him in the corner, and guard our other outside shooters and the interior. In other words, if you see Kuminga being sent to the corner in the half-court, expect our offensive efficiency to be much worse.
Second Spectrum shows that the best place to position Kuminga is on the wing, where all opposing teams guard him closely. As with last year, Kuminga is top 5 in the league in getting a high % shot attempt off the bounce when positioned on the wing. This also translates to GSW’S most effective offensive configuration over the last 1.75 seasons, with the team’s overall shooting percentage going up by 6% when Kuminga is used this way.
So, the analytics show that, offensively, JK can be used in both a very effective way and a very ineffective way. That’sthe book around the league on Kuminga, as with GP2 and Gui. If you see them running to and standing in the corner on every play, defend someone else.
The bad news: since JK’s 3rd game back from injury (not in his first 2 games), Kerr is telling him to go to the corner. Kerr has commented on this publicly over the last week (twice that I’ve seen), saying that JK will not be used in the same way as before the injury, even when Butler is not on the floor, because the Warriors are using a different offense now, targeted at spreading the floor to get better 3 point looks. For example, Kerr says that when playing with Hield, Hield will go to the wing and JK to the corner, not the opposite as we’d seen before.
All of which is to say Kerr wants to spread the floor and shoot more 3’s.
A Warrior expert too I see ……. you must watch ALL games lol …. howDUdoit
Knicks say high and Bucks say I don’t think so
Bridges 38 mins, 26 pts. OG 36 mins, 31 pts
Al, I am no expert! But I watch almost all Warriors games, and go to a lot of home games. If I gave you the impression I felt I understood the Knicks like you do, it was an accident :–)
When the kids are grown up and gone, at least there’s NBA League Pass, right?
“… it is not necessary at this time for me to divest my interests in the Houston Rockets because my recusal from particular matters in which these interests may pose a conflict of interest will not substantially limit my ability to perform the essential duties of Ambassador.” Of course not! 😂😂😂
Not many talking about how GSW, with its 6-man youth-core of Kuminga, Moody, Post, Podz, TJD & Santos, are simultaneously rebuilding, reloading and contending at the same time. No other team is doing this. It’s unbelievably hard to do, especially with a HC who is the worst man for the job for it.
Yes, the youth players will make rookie mistakes, to expect more of them is silly. But all are developing, slowly, thanks to Kerr and his idiotic hatred of playing tall players. Also Kerr really did a terrible job developing Kuminga and Moody for some reason. Playing 2W players who werent on the team the next year over Moody and Kuminga was infuriating to watch in person, and was just utterly pointless in the long run. Kerr stinks. This is proof. Why not just run both them out til they come right (which they have, both are ready-now and should be playing 30+ MPG).
Moody’s poster dunk last night was incredible. He has so much Kawhi Leonard about his game it’s ridiculous. It’s just about unlocking it, which Kerr is the worst HC in the league at doing. There’s also nothing Kerr does that’s better than any HC, aside from the “skill” of “riding Curry to victory”. The Grizzlies FO showed the courage the Warriors FO doesn’t have, but should. Anyone could do better than big-hating Kerr.
I’ll give you Donovan for Kerr straight up.
DaveyJ, I’ve had problems with your takes in the past, but I agree with almost every point — at least in principle, if not degree :–)
– The small-ball fetish goes on.
– It’s impressive that GSW has been able to identify and develop 6 young “keepers” while simultaneously contending.
– If Kerr had down a better with Moody & Kuminga, they’d be further along and GSW would have won more games along the way. (See my post, above.)
– I’ve previously believed Moody would develop into a strong rotation player, but not a starter on a contending team. But the evidence is piling up in your favor, isn’t it?
Once again FankStein shows who he is. Never concerned about the truth. Just adulation
link to statmuse.com
Steph not even in top 25. Although a respectable.390% …….
Warriors put up 5th most threes in L.
Yet their % is tied with Lakers at 36%. At 15th in the L. All these years and still doesn’t look things up before posting. When will you learn
You missed the worst part about Davey Js takes. You would think, after over a decade in the NBA, Klay, Curry, and Draymond would know what a bad NBA Coach looks like. They would know who is screwing up their success. But, they have never complained about Kerr. Curry, the biggest name in franchise history, has never Kerr needs to go. Does anyone really believe that Draymond would hold back?
Giants74, Active players rarely complain publicly about their coach. They’d be hurting their team, and themselves even more.
Check out Markus Thompson’s biography on Kevin Durant. KD and Kerr had a LOT of friction. KD felt Kerr was misusing him in year 2 and 3, but never complained publicly. Not all of Kerr’s players think highly of him.
Two things can be true: Kerr was a great fit in the Warriors first 5 seasons AND has been much less effective since. It’s common in the coaching profession, especially with older coaches. See Larry Brown, Lenny Wilkins, Bill Bellichik, etc
Warriors are not a contender. Only the lost can’t comprehend that. Imo Kuminga shouldn’t start. He should be backing Jimmy and learning. Jimmy can play the 2. Thats when you can play them together. A developing player. Is best served backing up and learning. From one of best to ever play that position. Kuminga can be a sixth man. He is avg 25 mins. He is 22. Leave him the Frealk alone. You are going to ruin it. Like you did Wuseman. He is not your savior. He needs to develop ……