Stephen Curry‘s pelvic contusion only forced him to miss two games, but the Warriors star said after making his return on Friday vs. New Orleans that he expects to “feel it for a while,” as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN notes. Still, Curry, who suffered a hairline fracture in his tailbone when he fell hard onto courtside stairs during the 2020/21 season, was relieved not to get a similar diagnosis this time around.
“I think that (this time it didn’t) break anything or have any bone damage, was mostly just a deep serious contusion that I’ll feel it for a while,” Curry said. “But I can play and I can’t make it worse as long as I don’t land on it again.”
Curry made just 7-of-21 shots across 34 minutes in Friday’s win over the Pelicans and spoke after the game about needing to work on his timing and endurance. But head coach Steve Kerr believes that getting a week off at this point of the season – even if he spent most of it recovering from an injury – will benefit Curry this spring.
“I thought he looked great,” Kerr said, per Youngmisuk. “He was moving really well. Took care of the ball. I thought Steph played an excellent game. He probably missed his last five or six threes, so the numbers don’t look great, but he looked like himself. And I think the week off did him a lot of good.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- With Warriors guard Gary Payton II sidelined due to a thumb injury, Kerr believes there’s an opening for forward Jonathan Kuminga to step up and take on some of the defensive responsibilities that the team had given to Payton (Twitter video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “It opens up an opportunity for JK to be that defensive stopper, the guy we’ve relied on Gary to be,” Kerr said. “JK’s the obvious guy. Put him on the best offensive player, pick up full (court), harass people like Gary does. I’m going to ask JK to do that. It definitely opens up more minutes for him if he’s effective with that.” Kuminga, who have averaged just 23.4 minutes per game in eight contests since returning from an ankle sprain, didn’t have one specific defensive assignment on Friday against a New Orleans team missing most of its top scorers.
- Speaking to NBA insider Chris Haynes on the first episode of the Haynes Briefs YouTube show, Jazz guard Isaiah Collier said that not being selected to participate in last month’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend motivated him and added “fuel to the fire” (Twitter video link). As Andy Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required), the Jazz are making a strong promotional push to get Collier a spot on an All-Rookie team, dedicating a section of their website to making his case for consideration. It has been up-and-down season for the first-year guard, but since he entered Utah’s starting lineup on January 5, Collier has more assists than anyone in the NBA besides Trae Young, Nikola Jokic, and James Harden.
- While Tilman Fertitta has indicated that he’ll resign as CEO of Landry’s Inc. if he’s confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino, the Rockets owner won’t be stepping away from his controlling interest in the NBA franchise, writes Erica Grieder of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I have been advised that during my service as Ambassador, the Embassy may address particular matters affecting the financial interests of the National Basketball Association, of which the Houston Rockets professional basketball team is a member,” Fertitta wrote in a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. “The agency has determined that it is not necessary at this time for me to divest my interests in the Houston Rockets because my recusal from particular matters in which these interests may pose a conflict of interest will not substantially limit my ability to perform the essential duties of Ambassador.”