Warriors Star Steph Curry Undergoes Hand Surgery; Out At Least 3-4 Months
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry underwent surgery on his broken hand Friday, a procedure that will sideline him for at least the next 3-4 months, team officials said.
Curry flew to Los Angeles for the procedure done by noted specialist Dr. Steven Shin at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute. Shin was also the doctor who operated on New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees' injured thumb earlier this fall.
Teammate Draymond Green said his concern for his friend and teammate had nothing to do with the basketball court.
"It's tough. A lot of people care about the basketball side of it," Green said. "The team being without Steph, obviously it gets way harder without Steph. I worry about the Steph that can't pick up Canon (Curry you son). The Steph that can't toss Ryan and Riley (Curry's young daughters) around. The Steph that can't pass Ayesha a pot because she asked 'Hey can you grab that pot?' That's the Steph I worry about."
Coach Steve Kerr planned to spend Thursday meeting with his coaching staff to prepare for how to move forward with another man down.
The Warriors, who host the Spurs on Friday night with a back-to-back against Charlotte on Saturday, are also missing forward Kevon Looney. He went into the weekend having missed four straight games because of a right hamstring injury and is scheduled to be evaluated early next week by a team of specialists. Looney is limited to controlled workouts with the training staff for now.
"It's a great opportunity for these young guys to play, but it's also a little bit too much. You want to bring along rookies as best you can and we're just putting so much on their plate, but we have no choice with all the injuries," Kerr said.
"I think they just have to seize the opportunity and we as coaches have to help them do the best job they can and continue to learn. When you're a rookie, you see pictures in front of you playing defense that you didn't see in college and so all these things happen very quickly in the NBA — it's a fast game."
Curry broke his left hand in the third quarter of another embarrassing defeat by Golden State, 121-110 to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
The two-time NBA MVP drove to his left defended by Kelly Oubre Jr. and with big man Aron Baynes standing solidly in the paint. He leapt with the ball then came down head first landing awkwardly on his hands to brace himself from the court.
Baynes crashed onto Curry's left hand, leaving Warriors star grimacing in pain, grabbing at his fingers then walked to the locker room with 8:31 left in the third quarter.
Ayesha Curry took to social media Thursday to thank fans and players for their support.
"Our entire family thanks you all for the love and support and PRAYERS for Stephen," she tweeted. "When the love surpasses life's hurdles there is NOTHING you can't overcome. We stand in our belief of impact over legacy. This is Gods way of showing him, you, I , us how to "trust the process".
The Warriors have gotten off to a slow start this season, suffering three blowout losses in their first four contests. And now Curry is sidelined for at least 3 months or more.
Golden State already was without Kevin Durant, who joined the Brooklyn Nets in the off-season as a free agent. Fellow splash brother Klay Thompson is still sitting on the bench in street clothes recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the 2019 NBAS Finals.
Gone, too, are former NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who was lost to salary cap issues and backup point guard Shaun Livingston who retired.
Center Willie Cauley-Stein and veteran forward Alec Burks just returned from injury for the first time this season Wednesday night.
You can't blame Kerr or Green if they look down the bench and wonder, "Who are these guys?'
© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
