The news Golden State Warriors fans, and basketball fans alike, have been waiting to hear has finally been announced.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the MRI on Stephen Curry‘s right knee came back negative; there's no damage. He has only been diagnosed with a Grade 1 sprain, and could be out two weeks.
Wojnarowski said that Curry could return “within 14 days,” but according to an official release from the Warriors, Curry won't even be reevaluated until 14 days from now, meaning he's unlikely to come back until at least that point.
While these results are far from ideal for Warriors fans, the diagnosis could've been much worse. Curry called it a “freak injury” and immediately went to the locker room afterward. In that moment, Curry, as well as everybody watching, feared a much more serious injury than a sprain.
Still, two weeks is a significant amount of time in the postseason. If Curry is able to return exactly two weeks from today, he would miss at least the first 3-4 games of the Western Conference semifinals against either the Los Angeles Clippers or the Portland Trail Blazers. Both teams pose large threats to Golden State if Curry is unable to go for the duration of the series.
Prior to this incident, it was Curry's ankle that had the Warriors concerned and forced him to miss both Game's 2 and 3 against the Houston Rockets. After Game 4, Steph was adamant that the knee injury didn't occur as a result of over-compensating for his ankle.
It's a shame for any player to get injured, but especially when it's the reigning MVP on a team looking to repeat as champions after setting the NBA record with 73 wins in the regular season. It would also be a shame if an injury became the story of the NBA playoffs; hopefully, when all of the dust settles, that won't be the case, and Curry is able to return to the floor in time to have an impact.
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