Warriors' Stephen Curry drops hint on availability in Clippers, Suns games
12/26/2024 01:55 AM
The Golden State Warriors lost a hard-fought duel against the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. After a back-and-forth fourth quarter where Stephen Curry, LeBron James and the rest of the two teams traded haymakers, Austin Reaves got to the rim and finished a game-winner with one second remaining to give the Lakers a 115-113 win.
Despite the loss, Curry left it all out there on the floor. The Golden State star finished with 38 points and was very efficient from everywhere on the floor: 14-for-24 overall and 8-for-15 from 3-point range. Curry splashed home a trio of triples in the final minutes to give the Warriors a chance to win before Reaves sent them home empty-handed.
Additionally, Curry played 36 minutes in this one, which is significantly more than what he has been averaging this season. Excluding the 2019-20 season where he only played in five games, Curry’s 31 minutes per game this year are his lowest since the 2011-12 season where he only made 26 appearances.
After Wednesday’s loss, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said that Curry could sit out one of Golden State’s next two games — a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns — to rest. Curry didn’t rule out playing in both games, but he did acknowledge that resting is something on his radar according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Steve Kerr said a rest night for Steph Curry is possible on this upcoming back-to-back (at Clippers, vs Suns). Curry said no decision has been made, but "when the knee stuff popped up, (selective rest) was part of the conversation." pic.twitter.com/tB0QyHm7IR
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 26, 2024
“I know when the knee stuff popped up, [resting] was part of the conversation,” Curry said, per Slater. “Obviously, still dealing with it to come capacity. I think how we’ve been approaching it, play the game, see how you feel the next day, figure out a routine. It wouldn’t surprise me if I didn’t play, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I got to play too.”
With this version of the roster, the Warriors absolutely need Curry to be on the floor in order to give them a chance at stacking wins together. This is a team in desperate need of another winning streak after a very cold stretch of play that has seen it fall from the top of the Western Conference down into the play-in range. If Curry is missing games, that will become much harder for it to do.
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