We have breaking news on the availability of Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Stephen Curry ahead of their matchup with the equally injury-plagued Los Angeles Lakers, led by 41-year-old LeBron James.
Unfortunately, for those NBA fans hoping for a matchup between two NBA legends, James and Curry, this will not happen, according to a Warriors reporter.
Update On Stephen Curry’s Availability, And Why He’s Missing Thursday’s Lakers Game
The latest update from Warriors reporter Anthony Slater at ESPN is that Curry will miss the front end of the upcoming back-to-back, starting Thursday night against the Lakers. This is listed as ‘injury management.‘ Slater points out that this means no Curry versus James matchups this entire season.
This must be extremely disappointing for the league in general, with the two faces of the NBA for many years unable to play each other this season due to various injuries.
Presumably, this means Curry will be available for the second game of the back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
From the Warriors’ point of view, there is little need to push Curry, since their play-in status is assured, and the key is to ensure his knee is strong as they attempt to make a push for the playoffs via the play-in tournament.
An injury management process will be required for Curry after the team described his injury as ‘runner’s knee.’ Essentially, this means swelling and pain around the knee-cap area, making it a frustratingly long rehab for the superstar.
The good news? Curry himself emphasized there is “…nothing structurally wrong with my knee…it is a new normal, though.” In terms of getting used to playing on the knee post-injury.
Curry has been a welcome return to the Warriors lineup recently after the future Hall of Famer missed 27 straight games due to a bothersome knee injury. Playing off the bench against the Houston Rockets and the Kings on April 5th and 7th.
Curry knocked down five three-pointers on his way to 29 points in 26 minutes against the Rockets in an impressive return. He then came down to earth slightly, scoring 17 in 25 minutes against the Kings, going 4-11 from three and committing three turnovers.
Curry will sit out Thursday’s game against the Lakers, along with Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Quentin Post, all of whom are listed as out. They may be viewing the Kings, then the final game of the regular season against the LA Clippers, as the game to get the aforementioned players back, as a tune-up before the play-in tournament begins.