On Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors suffered yet another bad defeat, this one at the hands of the Phoenix Suns.
Unfortunately, the loss to Phoenix paled in comparison to the bigger loss the Warriors suffered — Stephen Curry, who was forced out of the contest in the game’s third quarter after colliding with Aron Baynes. It was later announced by the club that Curry had suffered a broken left hand.
As for the game itself, there wasn’t much to feel good about if you were Steve Kerr or his team. After carrying a 29-point deficit into the second quarter, the Warriors struggled to find answers. Their defense was again atrocious; they allowed Phoenix to shoot 59.3 percent from the field in the game’s opening frame.
The 29-point deficit they carried into the second quarter eventually swelled to 34, and the Warriors suffered their third wire-to-wire defeat in just four games.
The terrible news overshadowed the fact that Willie Cauley-Stein made his debut.
After being signed as a free agent this summer, the young big man missed the first three games after sustaining a right foot sprain in training camp and missing all of the preseason. In perhaps the only bright spot on the night, Cauley-Stein turned in a solid 12 points and five rebounds in just 12 minutes.
Eric Paschall led the Warriors with 20 points. The Suns’ Devin Booker led all scorers with 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting while Baynes ended the night with 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Obviously, the biggest story coming out of Wednesday night’s contest is Curry’s injury. If the Warriors want to avoid the draft lottery, they’ll need some of their younger players — Cauley-Stein and D’Angelo Russell among them — to step up.
Curry is expected to undergo a CT scan and a timetable for his return should be announced soon.
