Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were both out of the game against the Houston Rockets on Thursday, with hopes that they will be ready for the Warriors’ second game of the back-to-back when they play Minnesota on Friday night.
Curry has been dealing with pain in both of his knees. He had an MRI on November 26, which showed no serious damage, but he is still feeling discomfort around his kneecaps and missed the game against the Thunder the next day.
Green is out because of tightness in his left calf. With both of these key players unavailable, Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga were expected to start against the Rockets.
“I always enjoy these type of games,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Obviously I would rather have Steph and Draymond, but I like seeing our other guys get opportunities.”
Before Thursday, the Warriors had lost five straight games, all by 10 points or fewer, as they started a stretch of three games in four nights at Chase Center.
The Warriors have not set a clear schedule for when Curry will take rest days, but Kerr said they will regularly talk with the training staff to check on how Curry, who is 36 and in his 16th NBA season, is handling things physically.
Kerr is encouraged by Curry’s agility and movement despite the knee pain.
“Steph’s knee stuff the last couple weeks with three in four games and he’s in pain, we’re not playing him,” Kerr said. “We can’t play him every game through this stretch every game and expect him to get through it. … We have to help him get through the woods on this one.
Same thing with Draymond, otherwise you’re chasing your tail and then guys end up missing weeks at a time. It’s nothing more than the training staff helping them get through the woods and hopefully over the long haul that means they end up playing more games than they otherwise would’ve.”
