Fantasy Basketball Impact: Stephen Curry Injury Re-Evaluation
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The Golden State Warriors are trying to hang on in the Western Conference playoff picture. In their last 10 games, they have gone 4-6 overall. This has been primarily without their two stars, Jimmy Butler, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Stephen Curry, who missed nine of these 10 games with an injury to his right knee.
Stephen Curry Injury Update
Curry has been out dealing with patellofemoral pain syndrome. This injury has to do with bruising and swelling around the knee. On Feb. 19, Curry was said to be re-evaluated in 10 days. So further news regarding his status should be out in the next couple of days.
And while Curry has missed a notable amount of time, the energy around the organization regarding Curry does not seem stressed. Head coach for the Warriors, Steve Kerr, said the following on Curry before the team’s first game after the All-Star break on Thursday against the Boston Celtics.
“We were hoping obviously that he’d be ready for tonight after the All-Star break, but that was not the case. He just needs more time.”
If the re-evaluation for Curry is positive and he is slated to return soon, his role will be as big as ever for this Warriors team. They need star power, currently sitting in the eighth seed with a record of 31-28. They are not in real danger of being relegated out of play-in position with the Memphis Grizzlies sitting in 11th with a record of 22-36. But there should be a real effort from the Warriors to get up to the sixth seed to avoid a potential first-round matchup between the top two seeds, the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Fantasy Basketball Impact When Stephen Curry Returns
Upon Stephen Curry coming back into the Warriors, a couple of players who have helped fill the offensive production of his absence will see a noticeable fall in fantasy value—Will Richard and Brandin Podziemski.
Will Richard
Rookie out of the University of Florida, Will Richard, has seen a notable boost in points scoring and overall production in the last four games in which Curry has been out. Through this stretch, he has averaged 12.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG. All of these numbers are higher than his season averages, including his PPG average at 7.0 PPG.
With Curry back in the picture, all of these statistics will see a hit, and games like his last one, where he logged 30 minutes and scored 21 points against the Grizzlies, will be few and far between, barring the health of other Warriors players.
Fantasy managers who have Richard on their roster should look to drop him and find a player with similar current value to him and a more consistent role night in and night out than Richard for their respective team.
Brandin Podziemski
Third-year player for the Warriors, Brandin Podziemski, has been one of the better fantasy wings in the NBA through this week. In his last three games, he has stuffed the stat sheet, averaging 17.7 PPG, 12.7 RPG, and 6.0 APG. This play should not maintain with Curry being back, especially when it comes to Podziemski’s points and assists numbers. He could still be playable in fantasy basketball, with the Warriors desperate to get production from the wing position.
Pozdiemski is a good sell-high player for fantasy managers, and if he is somehow available on waivers, he should be an immediate add.
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Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops