Stephen

Curry

Curry will sit out Friday’s game due to pain in both knees. His absence changes the entire Warriors ecosystem on the offensive end of the floor. Buddy Hield, Andrew Wiggins, and Jonathan Kuminga will all have more opportunities to score. Brandin Podziemski will also be in the mix for a more significant workload, which could be the catalyst that the second-year guard needs.

Curry led all scorers in this one, and he did all he could to get his team a much-needed victory. Down 111-107, Curry knocked down a key triple with a corner heave over LeBron James on an inbounds pass. Austin Reaves hit both of his free throws on the Lakers’ next possession, and Curry calmly drilled a wide-open logo three to tie up the game at 113. His efforts came up short as Austin Reaves blew past Andrew Wiggins for an easy layup with a second left, and Golden State dropped its second straight game and third straight at home. The Warriors head to LA to face the Clippers on Friday, and Curry will look to build on his monster scoring performance and get the Warriors back in the win column.

It’s remarkable that the Warriors were even in the game against the Pacers given how bad Curry played. For the second time in three games, he just had an off night when it came to shooting. It was certainly an uncharacteristic performance for the 36-year-old point. He somewhat saved his night by making all four of his free throws and dishing out seven assists. Curry was still a +6 in 35 minutes in the six-point loss. He’ll look to bounce back on Christmas Day against the Lakers.

Curry went off in this one, leading the Warriors in points and assists. The 36-year-old point guard was a +20 in 34 minutes in the 10-point victory. He bounced back in a big way, dropping 31 points and seven 3-pointers after failing to hit a shot from the field in Thursday’s brutal loss to the Grizzlies. If anyone was going to rebound from a game that bad, though, it would be Curry. He’s hovered around the top-50 in fantasy value over the last few weeks.

Thursday’s game was shocking, not only because of the Grizzlies’ margin of victory. Curry missed all seven field-goal attempts, matching his career-low with two points. The last time he scored that few points in a game was March 8, 2018, against the Spurs, and he left that contest after two minutes due to an injury. Also, this was the first game in which Curry and Draymond Green failed to make a shot from the field.

Curry had a double-double and made 7-of-13 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Still, his game wasn’t without faults as he scored 26 points on 19 shots, had two turnovers and was -10 in 35 minutes in the 10-point loss. Ultimately, the 26 points were a positive as his recent lack of scoring had dropped him out of the top-50 fantasy players in the last two weeks.

Curry was originally questionable with a neck injury, but will suit up for this one. He’s missed five games on the season. It’s possible that facing Klay Thompson and the Mavericks gave him some extra motivation to play in this one.

Curry has missed five games this season, most recently sitting out the Warriors’ December 5 win over the Rockets. His absence would significantly impact the rotation, with Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski taking on more prominent roles within the offense. Both players are already rostered in most standard leagues, with Hield being a little easier to find on waiver wires.

It wasn’t a big game for Curry in what ended up being a low-scoring game as the Warriors fell 91-90 to the Rockets Wednesday. Curry had just 19 points on 17 shots, made just 3-of-9 attempts from behind the 3-point line and had only five assists. Despite a full stat line, Curry couldn’t get much offense going in this one. His lack of scoring recently has his fantasy value outside the top-50 over the last two weeks.

The 30 points are the most Curry has scored in a game since November 12, when he dropped 37 in an NBA Cup win over the Mavericks. The downtick in scoring has impacted Curry’s value, with the Warriors guard ranked just outside the top 50 in 9-cat formats over the past two weeks. However, he remains a 1st-round player regarding season-long value, so there isn’t anything for fantasy managers to worry about. Golden State visits Houston on Tuesday in an NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup, with the winner headed to Las Vegas for Saturday’s semifinals.