Warriors overcome nervous moment after Steph’s minor injury departure originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — The scariest sight for the Warriors and their fans Friday night was not the avalanche of turnovers that left scars on their 109-106 preseason victory over the rival Sacramento Kings.
No, the worst of it was seeing Stephen Curry and health/performance specialist Dr. Rick Celebrini walking into the locker room late in the second quarter and not returning for the second half.
Did a few Golden State hearts skip a beat?
“Always,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Steph is Steph, so. I was assured at halftime that he was fine. X-rays were negative. It was anything too concerning.
“But, yeah, you always get nervous when he gets hurt.”
Fortunately for the Warriors, and their fans, the issue that led to Curry’s abrupt departure was no more than a jammed right index finger that is not deemed serious. As Curry’s teammates were romping about the court in the second half, he was going through an individual workout.
Such precaution is prudent, as it would have been beyond silly to imperil the franchise player in a preseason game — though Kerr had planned to push Curry beyond the ragged 16 minutes he spent on the court.
“He was going to actually play into the third quarter tonight for the first time (this preseason),” Kerr said. “But when he jammed his finger, it made no sense to send him back out there.”
Bullet dodged. If ever there were a snapshot that illustrates the imperceptible margin of error for these Warriors, it is Curry’s health. If he’s available, they can be good enough to scare even the NBA’s certified elite. If he’s not available, they’re an average team trying to stay relevant in the unforgiving jungle that is the Western Conference.
The upside to Curry’s early departure is that it gave the other Warriors considerable room to exhibit their goods. At one point in the fourth quarter, trailing by three, Golden State was represented by Moses Moody, De’Anthony Melton, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Lindy Waters III and Pat Spencer.
Kerr eventually emptied his bench, playing 16 players, with the three under two-way contracts — guard Reece Beekman, center Quinten Post and guard Pat Spencer — sharing the floor with Gui Santos and Waters. It was that group’s 13-4 run over the final 3:30 that secured the win.
The youngsters weren’t always disciplined, but they never stopped scrapping and hustling. Playing as if jobs and rotation slots were at stake — in some cases they were — they delivered the kind of crowd-electrifying grit too often missing last season.
It was enough to overcome Sacramento’s 93-66 advantage in field-goal attempts, much of which was direct result of Golden State’s 24 turnovers. The Kings scored nearly one-third of their points (35) off charity.
The Warriors wasted no time, gifting Sacramento eight points off seven first-quarter turnovers. The starting lineup — Gary Payton II, Moses Moody, Kyle Anderson, Draymond Green and Curry — was a novelty, and it showed.
“I wanted to play a little different group and see what that looked like,” Kerr said. “It did not look good. We did not have spacing, obviously. Then (the Kings) went to some zone defense.
“But that’s what preseason is about. We haven’t even worked on zone offense yet. It’s good to see all this stuff on tape and start to put the work into other areas. The turnovers were a result of poor execution. That’s on us as a coaching staff, and poor pace.”
What was apparent was that the Warriors have enough quality players to exhaust opponents — if they can follow their indefatigable leader.
“Everybody was a part of that group that just came in and gave all they had,” Jonathan Kuminga said of the closing group. “I think that’s the way it’s going to be for us all year. Just giving as much energy as you have, because we’ve got a lot of people. If you’re tired, somebody else can come in and pick up where you left off.”
Sounds good. But over the course of a full season, Curry is this team’s only route to true prosperity. He needed help in this game, as his 16 minutes featured 2-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-4 from distance, four assists, three rebounds and four turnovers. He was beneath his standard, and his teammates had his back.
There will be nights, however, when Curry will have to carry his usual heavy load. Nights when he is the margin between victory and defeat. The Warriors welcome that, because it means he’s on the court in uniform rather than on the bench in street clothes.
Though it was briefly worrisome, Curry is relatively unscathed. The Warriors and their fans can breathe easy.
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