Steph Curry has been playing with the flu for the past week. After an exhausted Curry shot 1-for-6 from three-point range second half Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns, including an airball, Steve Kerr decided to sit him Wednesday night as the Golden State Warriors visit the Sacramento Kings.
Kerr described his superstar as “wiped out,” ruling Curry out immediately after the Warriors’
victory. “I don’t care what the doctors say, we got to get him some rest,” he told reporters. “I’ll make the decision right now: He’s not going to play. He needs some rest. He’s been sick. All the travel, everything just caught up to him.”
What complicates the Warriors’ attempts to win at the Golden1 Center without Curry is that they’ll also be without Jimmy Butler, who had to leave Tuesday’s game with back soreness. Butler was almost held out of Tuesday’s game, so playing on a back-to-back was unlikely even before his back bothered him.
By Butler’s own description, that’s like fighting crime in Gotham City without Batman or Robin. However, the Warriors’ dynamic duo will have two days to get well before having to face the Denver Nuggets on Friday, a team led by Nikola Jokic, AKA “The Joker.”
The Warriors also listed Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski as “questionable” with a rib injury and wrist injury, respectively, but neither has been ruled out. That could mean a heavy workload for Jonathan Kuminga, who was a sign-and-trade target of the Kings this summer. The Kings never made a realistic offer for the young forward, who has seemingly seized a permanent spot in the Warriors starting lineup. Now he has a chance to show them what they were missing by haggling over the protections on a first-round pick.
Curry’s ailment seems to just be an illness, which bodes well for a few days of rest getting him back to normal by Friday. Butler’s back injury feels like something that might linger, though as a man who is also past his 36th birthday, I can attest that maybe his back is just going to be slightly sore every day for the rest of his life?
The Warriors will be facing a Kings team that’s missing three of its regular starters. Zach LaVine will miss Wednesday’s contest with his own back injury, while Domantas Sabonis is out with bruised ribs. Keegan Murray has been out all season with a thumb injury, and he remains out this week.
What does that mean? Likely a very youthful rotation for the Warriors, with Moses Moody, Kuminga, and Quinten Post getting plenty of opportunities, while the Kings will go the other way and lean on DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook in a special treat for mid-range enthusiasts and fans of mid-2010’s All-Star Games.
What else might it mean? A Buddy Hield revenge game in the city where he (mostly) started his career. If he has a big game, we’ll hear him declare that he’s Nightwing, or Damian Wayne, or Azrael, or even Alfred Pennyworth. Can’t wait!
