The Warriors comfortably beat the Suns in a 118-107 victory at home. But bad news followed this victory for the Warriors as Stephen Curry has been benched for tomorrow’s game against the Kings.
At the end of the game, Stephen Curry addressed the media first at the press conference, where he addressed the possibility of missing tomorrow’s game due to illness.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright though… Kick it to the curb and get back to full strength,” said Curry initially on his sickness. “Tonight, the gas tank was on E,” he further added while explaining how the cold impacted his game. But Curry remained positive and said he will consult the team doctors before deciding.
Subsequently, Steve Kerr spoke to the media and explained that he is taking the executive decision to bench Stephen Curry, no matter if he gets a clean bill of health to be available for tomorrow.
“Oh, for sure, he’s wiped out right now. So I don’t care what the doctors say, we’ve got to get him some rest. I’ll make the decision right now. He isn’t playing tomorrow. He needs some rest; he’s been sick, and all the travel and everything seem to have caught up to him. So, getting some rest and hopefully he will be available in Denver,” said Kerr.
Curry finished the game while leading all scorers for the franchise with 28 points, combined with four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block. While he stuffed the box score, he struggled with shooting. He went 9-of-23 from the field (39.1%), and still the Warriors won.
Devin Booker led all scorers for the Suns with 38 points, three rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Before the game, he compared himself to Curry and is now leading the rebuilding Suns back from the aftermath of a failed superteam.
During the game, the Warriors decided to bench Jimmy Butler for the night after playing him for only 14 minutes in the first half. After the game, Kerr confirmed that he is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Kings due to his lower-back soreness. Thereafter, reporters also inquired about Draymond Green’s availability for tomorrow.
“We’ll see, we’ll see. We have to assess where he is as well,” said Kerr while casting a shadow of doubt over the two key veterans’ availability for tomorrow.
Kerr concluded on a positive note, however, that he is excited for the Warriors’ bench players who will get an opportunity to showcase their talents in the absence of Stephen Curry and potentially these other veterans tomorrow.
Considering that Kerr has been complaining about how well other teams that don’t have their star players play against the Warriors, this will be their chance to show that they can win without their star player as well.
