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Warriors' Curry (ankle) misses two games, will be reevaluated Friday


Warriors' Curry (ankle) misses two games, will be reevaluated Friday

SAN FRANCISCO – Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will miss the next two games because of a left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated on Friday, the team announced Monday.

Curry suffered the injury during Sunday night's home opener against the LA Clippers. In the third quarter, Curry twisted his left ankle and immediately went to the bench for evaluation.

He returned to the game with eight minutes left in the fourth period but twisted the same ankle. He limped heavily back to the locker room with assistance from Gary Payton II and team security.

After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry considered his injury to be “mild or moderate.” He underwent an MRI on Monday morning.

“The MRI was positive,” Kerr said after practice on Monday. “That's the main thing. No significant damage.”

In addition to Curry, the Warriors will be without De'Anthony Melton for Tuesday and Wednesday's games against the New Orleans Pelicans because he suffered a back injury that the team is describing as inflammation of the right side of his face. He underwent an MRI scan, which revealed no structural damage.

Melton missed 44 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season because of back problems.

Andrew Wiggins is also considered questionable for Tuesday's game because of a back strain, Kerr said. There was no specific moment when Wiggins injured his back, Kerr said, but rather the pain simply flared up.

Coming into the season, the Warriors were extremely confident in their strength, and now they will rely heavily on it. Without Curry and Melton, Golden State's coverage depth in particular suffers.

“I trained myself in the offseason to be able to play 35 to 40 minutes every night,” guard Brandin Podziemski said. “I'm ready for that. I know Buddy (Hield) is the same way – he's fast, energetic and in shape too. I know Steve can rely on me and Buddy.”

Kerr said he would spend the next 24 hours structuring a new starting lineup and rotation. Lindy Waters III, who told Kerr before the season began that she would not be part of the rotation but also said she would be happy to start if needed, will get more playing time. Kerr also said the team would activate Pat Spencer, who is on a two-way contract.

The Warriors will also likely rely more heavily on Draymond Green and Kyle Anderson to fill stronger playmaking and ball-handling roles.

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