I was watching last night's Warriors' game on a roughly one-hour delay, and had accidentally seen on social media that Stephen Curry had hurt his shoulder before I saw it in "real time." With the future known and calamity inevitable, I held my breath every time Steph bumped into someone, fell to the floor, or generally played the game the way we all expect Steph Curry to play the game.
And what a game he was having.
Steph scored 27 points in the first half last night against the Indiana Pacers, and was — again — valiantly putting the Golden State Warriors on his back, keeping the Dubs within striking distance, but seemingly using every ounce of his strength and superpower to do it.
The Dubs would go on to lose 125-119.
Golden State was playing the second game of a back to back; they'd lost on Tuesday to the Milwaukee Bucks 128-11, and their dismal play on the road this season seemed to be continuing.
Not if Steph had anything to say about it, though.
When Curry finally exited last night's game, he had 38 points, shooting 11-19 from the field and 5-10 from three, with seven rebounds and seven assists. He was on his way to a 50-point night and/or a triple double. "[Curry] now has 250 career 30-point performances," NBC Sports reported. "Only 20 other players in NBA history have done so at least 250 times. Curry also has scored 30 or more points in 16 of the 26 games he has played this season."
But let's not forget about the impending doom that some of us knew was coming.At one point, Steph collided with a Pacers' player and grabbed his shoulder.
But he was fine.
Warriors' announcers Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike mentioned that Curry had collided the night prior with a Bucks player, so for a moment it seemed as if the injury might have been a cumulative effect. Fitzgerald and Azubuike went on to marvel at the aberration of humanity that is the 34-year-old, 14-seasons-in-the-league Wardell Stephen Curry II. His powers seemed to be growing before our very eyes.
The actual moment that led to Steph's injury was completely innocent looking. The Pacers' Jalen Smith was driving to the basket when Curry reached out with his left hand and got all ball — but Steph immediately winced and grabbed his shoulder.
Steph left the game. At the postgame press conference, head coach Steve Kerr said that Curry would get an MRI today. "In the locker room after the game, Curry was seen sitting at his locker with his left shoulder wrapped in ice, eating and laughing with teammates," ESPN's Kendra Andrews wrote. "After removing the ice, Curry did not appear to use his left arm much for mundane tasks, such as taking items out of his locker or opening doors."
About an hour ago as of press time, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, citing sources, reported that Steph Curry "is expected to miss a few weeks with the left shoulder injury he suffered Wednesday," according to NBC Sports.
The Warriors current six-game road trip includes the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, and then the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
The Dubs will play the Memphis Grizzlies on Christmas day.
Top Image: Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images