Stephen Curry has dinged up his ankle yet again. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Early in Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors star found himself going 2-on-1 against a couple San Antonio defenders. Curry, driving down the left side of the lane, was blocked at the rim.
After landing, Curry took a step then appeared to twist his right ankle as he and Dejounte Murray came together underneath the stanchion.
Curry stood in the walkway for a moment, trying to gather himself. He then limped off the floor and to the locker room, where he was re-taped and evaluated.
Via Twitter:
Steph Curry injures ankle for the 2nd time in 6 days and 4th time this season. pic.twitter.com/A9eVz2lV9H
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 9, 2018
Steph Curry right ankle this season:
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) March 9, 2018
-Sprains it on Dec 4 at Nola (misses 11 games)
-Returns Dec. 30 vs Memphis
-Tweaks ankle after shootaround on Jan. 10 (misses two games)
-All good for 19 games
-Tweaks ankle on March 2 at Atlanta (can't finish)
-Tweaks it tonight, leaves early
After giving things a go, the team announced that Curry would not return.
Curry has already missed double-digit games this season thanks to his right ankle. It’s the same one that was surgically repaired in the spring of 2011, causing him to miss multiple games. The former Davidson star has been battling his right ankle since at least 2009, and has injured it on and off over the years.
We’ve seen the Warriors machine continue to grind away without one or more of its stars, but Golden State will now need to decide how they want to handle the management of Curry’s minutes. It may come down to a situation where they decide to ease off the gas, let Curry rest, and give the Houston Rockets the right of way to the No. 1 seed in the West.
They’re going to want him for a Western Conference Finals and potential NBA Finals run, and the teams below Golden State aren’t going to catch them. We’ll need to keep a close eye on Curry’s minutes and recovery schedule from here on out.