SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors approached the third game of the 2024-25 NBA season knowing the competition would be much more challenging than it was in the first two. What they didn’t know is whether they would meet it.
They did not, and it gets worse.
The Warriors not only lost the game, 112-104, to the Los Angeles Clippers but watched Stephen Curry limp off the floor after rolling his left ankle with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
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Steph exited the game after sustaining an apparent ankle injury pic.twitter.com/eo1n9Wkx3E
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 28, 2024
After a brief trip to the locker room with the team’s medical specialist, Dr. Rick Celebrini, Curry returned in the fourth quarter but left for good 13 seconds later.
Steph appears to aggravate his ankle injury and heads to the locker room pic.twitter.com/AllTixka32
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 28, 2024
“He’s doing OK,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He used the word ‘mild’ or ‘moderate.’ He’s obviously sprained that ankle many times before. He doesn’t think it’s too bad, but it’s a concern.”
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Steve Kerr provides an update on Steph Curry's ankle injury pic.twitter.com/yD7IdOTIHE
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 28, 2024
No matter what Golden State’s roster looks like, any injury to Curry is the nightmare scenario. Most of the team’s offense is designed in a way to maximize his unique skills as a shooter, passer and man of constant motion. For years, everything has revolved around Steph.
With Curry likely to miss some time, this is where the Warriors will find their depth tested under the worst conceivable conditions. Kerr must explore contingencies, the first being who would replace Curry in the starting lineup?
Andrew Wiggins, who finished with a team-high 29 points, 11 of which came during a stirring fourth-quarter comeback attempt, is first in line to carry a heavier scoring burden.
“I don’t know,” Kerr said. “Wiggs is off to a great start and had a big night tonight. He’s an obvious candidate to get the ball to more.”
The Warriors trailed by as much as 13 (with 7:35 remaining) but got within one with 3:47 remaining. It was not enough, however, to overcome earlier self-crippling tendencies. They committed 21 turnovers, many unforced, off which LA scored 21 points.
“They were great defensively,” Kerr said of the Clippers. "Forced a lot of turnovers. Really got into us, and we didn’t handle the pressure very well. Turned it over way too many times.
"We’ve got to understand, most games are like this. They’re going to come to a handful of possessions. And if you give 10 possessions away, it’s going to be really hard to win. And I thought we gave 10 possessions away.”
The Clippers also exposed the Warriors' lack of interior size, as 7-foot, 250-pound Ivica Zubac had his way in the paint, scoring 23 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and providing most of the power behind a 58-38 advantage in paint points.
Zubac is one of few interior beasts in the NBA, and the Warriors are not built to contend with such mass. It’s something they’ll have to monitor as the season progresses.
“Every time they needed a bucket, they seemed to get one from him,” Kerr said. “There’s ways you can try to combat it. You can double-team, you can try to deny him the ball in the post. But a lot of the stuff he got was loose balls, playing off [James] Harden and [Norman] Powell and just finishing.”
It was clear, too, that Clippers coach Tyronn Lue stressed defending Golden State sixth man Buddy Hield, whose sizzling start in the first two games was its greatest source of offense. Hield faced a variety of defenses, finishing with eight points on 3-of-14 shooting, including 1 of 9 from distance.
If Curry misses significant time, the Warriors will need Hield to get closer to his earlier form. They’ll need Wiggins to continue his strong play. They’ll need Jonathan Kuminga, averaging 8.0 points through the first three games, to pick up his production.
“We’ve got a deep team,” Kerr said. “We’ve talked about it. We’ve got a lot of guys who can play, so we’ll be ready.”
Meanwhile, they’ll hope they won’t have to wait long, if at all, for Curry to return.