The most consequential Wednesday night moment across the NBA came late in the second quarter in San Francisco. Klay Thompson and Jayson Tatum were batting around a loose ball. It fell to the floor and rolled to their left, in the vicinity of Steph Curry and Marcus Smart.
Curry bent down to get it. Smart dove. The result might alter the Warriors’ path forward. Smart’s lunge rolled up Curry’s left leg, bending his foot awkwardly. Curry tried to get up and run in transition but could only limp. He disappeared to the locker room. As of late Wednesday night, Curry was set for an MRI on the top of his left foot. The Warriors were awaiting the results.
Here is the play.
This was only the start of a wild sequence. As Curry limped back, Smart sprinted into the fray and tried to contest a Thompson transition layup, using his right leg to kick Thompson’s arm as he flew out of bounds. The referees whistled the foul, reviewed it and quickly called a flagrant on Smart.
But the Warriors’ staff were up in the official’s face about the other defensive play from Smart, the one that injured Curry. Kerr motioned at them to review it also, made a chopping motion at his leg and then engaged in an extended back-and-forth with Smart, clearly saying: “You could hurt him.”
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“I thought it was a dangerous play,” Kerr said. “I thought Marcus dove into Steph’s knee, and that’s what I was upset about. A lot of respect for Marcus. He’s a hell of a player, gamer, competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game. We’re good, but I thought it was a dangerous play.”
“Even after the Steph situation went down, I’m asking everybody if they are OK anytime I hit the floor,” Smart said. “I make sure everybody is OK. You know, it’s part of the game. Nobody is out here trying to hurt anybody. We just playing the game of basketball.”
JTA's perspective on the Marcus Smart loose ball dive that hurt Curry: "I don't think it was a dirty play. Could've probably been a bit more cautious. But when you play that hard and all you know is to do that…it's kind've like me diving over the scoreboard for the ball." pic.twitter.com/kyfy7PKx2n
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 17, 2022
Any extended Curry absence would have a major impact on the Warriors in the weeks ahead. But it didn’t feel like his disappearance had much to do with the Warriors’ loss to the Celtics. Even with him, they were having a brutal time scoring against Boston. The moment he was injured, the Warriors had only 25 points with 4:21 left in the second quarter.
The Celtics deploy the league’s best defense. They let Robert Williams roam on a non-shooter, protecting the paint. Al Horford is sturdy. Then they swarm the perimeter with Smart, Tatum and Jaylen Brown. That’s why the Warriors started Otto Porter Jr. along with Curry, Thompson and Jordan Poole, flanking an extra shooter next to their three-guard attack.
But it still didn’t work. Much of their motion action was shut down. Williams stoned them a few times at the rim. The Warriors also missed a ton of open 3s early, which sunk them.
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“They sped us up early,” Kerr said. “Once you speed someone up early, those shots that are open don’t seem open. Everything is just sped up and in a rush.”
Poole was the story of the second half. Without Curry, he was handed a high-usage on-ball role and erupted for 19 points to drag the Warriors back into the game. In total, he finished with 29. That’s eight straight games of 20 or more points for the blossoming Poole, whose importance will only grow if Curry misses time.
That appeared to be the expectation of most around the Warriors leaving the arena. Nobody was tossing out timetables, but even Green indicated a belief that, at minimum, they don’t expect to see Curry on Sunday.
That is just the latest injury blow for a Warriors team that can’t seem to line up all its major players together with enough time to create continuity. Green just returned, giving him, Thompson and Curry a total of six quarters together before one of them was injured again. The playoffs are 12 games away and four weeks away. The clock is ticking. The MRI results are expected to be released Thursday morning.
(Photo of Stephen Curry in pain after his collision with Marcus Smart: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
