Can Warriors survive without Stephen Curry with tough stretch ahead?

On Thursday, the Golden State Warriors announced that star guard Steph Curry was diagnosed with an oblique abdominal tear and will be shelved for at least the next two weeks. The 38-year-old suffered the injury midway through the first quarter of Wednesday’s 115-108 loss to the Houston Rockets.

For a team and organization that has orbited around Curry’s generational gravity for nearly two decades, the loss is significant. Prior to Wednesday’s loss (Curry played just five minutes), he had been averaging near-identical production to his 2016 MVP season.

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The 18-year veteran has been able to shoulder a seismic load — due to the absence of Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porziņģis’ abrupt decision to step away from basketball citing health reasons — handling the ball more than ever and converting shots at the most efficient rate, all while minimizing turnovers. Curry has been the driving force for the 8-4 Warriors, who have won eight of their past nine games, which is nothing short of a testament to his greatness amid a loaded Western Conference and a team that, on paper, pales in comparison to its peers. 

The Warriors will be without Stephen Curry for at least two weeks.

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The Warriors’ next seven games offer quite the challenge. In the coming fortnight, Golden State will face San Antonio, Dallas, Memphis, Boston and Portland, which have all won more than 60% of their games to date. But amid those upcoming hurdles, there’s a strong belief within the locker room that the roster as-is can withstand Curry’s absence in the short term. 

“The spirit of this team is better,” forward Draymond Green said to reporters following the game. “We’re more certain of who we are, what makes us a good team. That puts us in a better position to be successful without him as opposed to where we were last year.”

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Green’s assessment checks out. In 317 non-Curry minutes, the Warriors have been able to outscore teams by 14 points, according to PBP Stats, a substantial improvement from last season (Golden State lost those minutes by a whopping 135 points). The improvement of fourth-year guard…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/can-warriors-survive-without-stephen-curry-with-tough-stretch-ahead-192852877.html

Author : Kelly Iko

Publish date : 2026-11-12 19:28:00

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