After Steve Curry’s shoulder injury, what’s next for the struggling Warriors?

Indianapolis – about 30 minutes away the Warriors dropped to 2-13 on the road, Steve Curry He sat in his Indianapolis locker with his left arm slung at his side in a steady position. The coaching staff wrapped a huge ice pack around the top and back side of it injured shoulder. The already shaky situation of the warriors has hit an even larger swath of turmoil.

Curry had 38 points on 19 shots late in the third quarter vs Pacers, and expended so much energy that he delayed his return to the locker room at half-time to catch his breath. He had 27 points, but his team was down 20 points.

Steve Curry’s walk to the locker room was delayed in the first half after scoring 27 but still trailing the Pacers by 20 pic.twitter.com/bjbg3rqQbj

– Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 15, 2022

Curry was part of a quick comeback in the third quarter. The warriors started Jonathan Cuminga in Kevon LooneyIn his place, he switched to a smaller, faster, and more diffused offense that cut the Pacers’ lead from 20 to five in less than six minutes. Curry had 11 in the quarter and 38 in the game when he hit A.J Galen Smith Drive, grab all the ball while inadvertently sending this Warriors season into another superficial turn.

This is the play where Steve Curry came in holding his left shoulder. He’s still in the locker room as the fourth quarter is about to start. pic.twitter.com/NDKEbHfuho

– Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 15, 2022

Curry felt an immediate pain in his left shoulder. He caught it, collapsed off the play, tripped on the scorer’s table and eventually on the bench after the Warriors called a timeout. After a brief conversation with Drew Yoder, the team’s director of medical services, confirmed the troubling upset, Curry walked into the locker room with Rick Ciberini, the chief medical decision maker.

Here is that moment.

Steph Curry to the locker room during timeout in favor of that left arm. pic.twitter.com/zZtpjFe8Kt

– Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 15, 2022

In this clip, you can see Curry keeping his left arm still. He still hung like that after the game as Curry wandered around the locker room, before and after he was frozen. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Thursday and plans to travel with the team to Philadelphia. The tests would give them a firmer idea of ​​a potential schedule, but the post-game sense from those around the team was that the injury would force some sort of multi-game absence that would presumably stretch through the rest of the road trip.

“Maybe it would be more difficult if Steve was out for a while,” said Steve Kerr. “I mean, if he gets out, it will definitely get harder. But we just have to persevere. You just keep playing and you keep fighting.”

The postgame locker room was not despondent. Besides the discomfort and additional therapy, Carrie was in a normal mood. Assuming the tests don’t reveal much more damage than initially expected, this may just be a speed bump. But the 14-15 Warriors really put up a tough challenge before their best player went down. The close range just got more complicated.

So what’s next?

This would be an important stretch for Jordan Paul

When Curry fell in March with a sprained foot, Jordan Paul Climb to a completely different level. led the NBA In the 3s in March and April, they averaged 24.7 points on 47.3 percent overall and 41.9 percent deep.

They don’t necessarily need him to reach his peak, but they will need Paul to be more efficient and protective with the ball than he has been lately. Paul went on to shoot 8 of 22 and committed four turnovers against the Pacers. He went 6 of 17 with four turnovers to open the ride in Milwaukee. He has only made five of his last 23 attempts.

“The most important thing we’ve been trying to work on with Jordan is to slow down,” Kerr said. “He’s just in such a hurry. He’s got so much ability. I think sometimes the most capable guys when they’re young are the ones who make the most mistakes because they’re trying to learn what they can and can’t do. He’s so talented, so quick, so cunning.” So much so that he often gets himself into trouble.”

Will we see more Musa Modi?

Although there is no Andrew Wiggins And the Clay ThompsonWarriors did not go to Musa Modi For the first 18 minutes against the Pacers. Kerr had a two-way player T Jerome ahead of Moody in the preliminary spin.

But the warriors struggled with Jerome, Anthony Lamb And the Jamical Green on the field together. They were -17- in Jerome’s first nine minutes. That prompted Kiir to throw Modi there. He hit a corner 3 and sneaked a layup in his first few minutes on the court. Down by 20 at halftime, Kerr rearranged his rotation in the third quarter and Moody was the first to sub off the bench.

Moody finished with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, three assists and many other useful plays inside the sidelines. Moody and Kuminga, who started the second half, played a key role in keeping the game competitive, nearly stealing a late win. green f Donte Divincenzo She also played big roles.

“I’m really happy with his play,” Kerr said when asked if Moody had earned more runs. “He’s got his chances and he’s made the most of them. Every game is different. What made this year difficult is that you’ve had different youngsters, different groups and lots of new people. So we’re trying to find the right combinations. But Musa did a great job and I imagine he’ll be there for the next game.” “.

Steve Kerr on the tonight’s rotation and the second half playing Jonathan Cuminga and Moses Moody. pic.twitter.com/o0miyTV2Kp

– Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 15, 2022

Thompson will return Friday against the Sixers. Wiggins gets a re-evaluation Thursday and his return is on hold. So it might be hard to find Moody for several minutes on the wing, but it’s hard to imagine he didn’t get a place higher up the pecking order than Jerome.

So what is a non-curry alternation?

If Wiggins can come back soon it will be Poole, Thompson and Wiggins, Draymond GreenLooney starting lineup. Kuminga continues to work his way into a larger piece of the spinning pie, and Kerr showed on Wednesday that Kuminga is an option for beginners if they decide on a faster style and a different look is needed.

After Kuminga, DiVincenzo emerged as the most reliable option off the bench. He started in Thompson’s place Wednesday night and had 15 points and eight rebounds, making a pair of base 3s to keep the Warriors close by the stretch. They were plus-19 in Divincenzo’s 38 minutes and -24 in his ten minutes off the bench.

“My focus is not on the end of the attack,” he said. “It comes to me. But when I hit the edge, good things happen. When I can get downhill, I can get other people’s shots, the defense scrambles and the ball can find me again. When you play basketball the right way – and that’s the right way, In my opinion, driving and kicking and swinging, all that movement – that’s when guys get good shots.”

He has also become one of the quiet leaders in the locker room.

“We needed more energy,” said DiVincenzo. “When things don’t go our way, when calls don’t go our way, there’s standard gameplay for the Golden State Warriors. I think the bigger message is we have to play like the fearsome Warriors. That’s the most important thing. We have to have that energy.”

What does the schedule look like?

The Warriors, going 2-13 on the road, finished their longest drive of the season with these four games: at Sixers, wild birdsAnd the NixAnd the networks. Those last two in a row next week, Tuesday and Wednesday. They then have an extended break before the start of an eight-game Christmas Homestand against grizzly.

(Photo of Steve Curry holding his shoulder in the second half Wednesday night against the Pacers: Trevor Roskowski/USA Today)