After shooting the Golden State Warriors to a surprising 131-117 victory Tuesday night, Stephen Curry might not be able to play in Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets Friday, as a balky left ankle is causing him pain.
Stephen Curry injury: Warriors star a game-time decision for Game 3
Curry will need to overcome an ankle injury if he wants to lead the Warriors to victory on Friday.
Stephen Curry a game-time decision for Warriors, coach Mark Jackson says.
— Scott Howard-Cooper (@SHowardCooper) April 26, 2013
If his teammate is to be believed, we shouldn’t be too worried:
Warriors Jarrett Jack on Curry (ankle): "He's playing." We shall see.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 26, 2013
The good news: This isn't Curry's twice-surgically-repaired right ankle, but the left one that he injured en route to a 30-point effort on Tuesday, so there aren't major long-term repercussions at stake here. The bad news is the Warriors can ill afford to have Curry miss any games, as he's the spark plug for a team that's already without David Lee for the rest of the playoffs. Even in front of what will likely be a raucous Oracle Arena crowd, the Warriors would be sitting ducks without their two best players.
More: Golden State of Mind
Curry said on Thursday that if Game 3 had been played Thursday night, he wouldn’t have been able to go. But ankle injuries respond weirdly and change rapidly: Tuesday night, Curry was fine to re-enter the game and finish the job he started, but Wednesday morning, he reported pain. We’ll see what effect 36-plus hours have on Curry, who is pretty essential to the Warriors’ hopes of taking a 2-1 lead over the Nuggets.
Curry played all but four games this season. Without him, the team would likely bump Jarrett Jack into the starting lineup, but it's tough to imagine what the rest of their already strapped rotation would look like.
More from SB Nation:
See More:
