The Golden State Warriors had a decent surge in December and January, positioning themselves comfortably in the Western Conference playoff picture before star PG Stephen Curry sustained a knee injury on January 30.
Ahead of Thursday’s bout with the Cleveland Cavaliers at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Warriors have gone 9-17 during Curry’s 26-game absence, but they are the No. 10 seed in the West with six games left in the regular season. Despite Curry’s extended absence, there is a recent update on his status.
Let’s take a closer look at the latest Stephen Curry injury update and what it could mean for the Warriors moving forward. We’ll also cover how Curry’s injury could affect your PrizePicks NBA picks for tonight’s game and beyond.
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Stephen Curry Injury Update: When Will Curry Play?
Curry was unable to take the court for Golden State’s loss on Wednesday to the San Antonio Spurs, marking his 26th consecutive absence. Before Thursday's bout with the Cavaliers, he’s been cleared for full-contact practice.
Curry will not make his awaited return on Thursday, as today's NBA injury report has him out. However, Shams Charania of ESPN reported Golden State is targeting his return on Sunday vs. the Rockets. It goes without saying that the Warriors would love to have him healthy for a postseason run, meaning he could have a minutes restriction to finish the regular season.
Before the injury, Curry was logging 27.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 4.8 APG, paired with a 58.5% effective field-goal percentage and 39.1% 3-point percentage. His 27.2 PPG was the most in his career since the 2022-23 campaign, when he posted 29.4 PPG.
While Curry has been sidelined, Warriors SG Brandin Podziemski has seen his usage rate increase to 20.8% and his APG jump to 5.0 without Steph on the floor, per databallr. Podziemski’s assists projection is sitting at 4.5, and his fantasy score is at 31, via PrizePicks, for Thursday’s clash vs. the Cavaliers.
Stephen Curry Injury Impact on Warriors
The Warriors are currently the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, which means they are in the Play-In Tournament. Golden State is projected to face the No. 7 Phoenix Suns in the tourney, but things could change with the Warriors 2.5 games back from the No. 9 Portland Trail Blazers and three games from the No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers.
According to PrizePicks Team Picks, the Warriors possess a 3.44x payout to make the playoffs and a 1.21x payout on missing the playoffs. The uncertainty surrounding Curry’s health, despite the recent update on his potential return, still isn’t providing much confidence in their postseason outlook.
With six games remaining on their schedule, the Warriors also have a 2.12x payout to reach 40 or more wins and a 1.26x payout to fall below 40 wins.
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Make Cavaliers vs. Warriors Picks on PrizePicks
The Warriors have sorely missed Curry, and they’ll still be playing without their All-Star guard on Thursday vs. the Cavaliers. However, Curry is making progress toward a return and could be active before the regular season concludes.
You can make Cavaliers vs. Warriors picks on PrizePicks and earn real money if you’re correct. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats. With PrizePicks Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states. On Team Picks, you can also make predictions on Team Futures and Win Totals, and earn money if you choose right.
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