Stephen Curry has an oblique abdominal tear and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, leaving Golden State without its leading scorer just as a six-game stretch begins. The Warriors confirmed the MRI result on Thursday, a significant escalation from the right-side soreness that forced Curry out of Wednesday's 115–108 loss in Houston. There's no confirmed return date: two weeks is the next medical assessment, not a promise he'll be back on the floor then.
Curry left with 6:25 remaining in the first quarter against the Rockets, having scored three points in fewer than six minutes. Golden State couldn't complete the comeback without him, and Houston ended the Warriors' eight-game winning streak. The official game record confirms the 115–108 final. It was a jarring change for a side that had climbed to 8–3 after opening the season with three losses; Golden State are now 8–4, and the question has shifted from how far their momentum can carry them to how much of it they can preserve.
The numbers explain why the absence cuts so deep. Curry has averaged 27.8 points, 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds across 10 starts, shooting 50 per cent from the field and 45.7 per cent from three, according to the club's injury update. Those aren't simply points to redistribute. Defences have to follow Curry well beyond the arc and react to his movement before he even touches the ball. Without that pressure, Golden State's other creators will face more defenders positioned to help, and its cutters won't automatically find the same gaps.
There was at least a useful glimpse of how the Warriors might respond. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored 25 points and collected 10 rebounds in Houston, while Brandin Podziemski added 22. Both kept Golden State competitive after Curry's exit, and both now have a clearer offensive responsibility. Lendeborg can attack as a scorer and decision-maker rather than waiting to finish a possession; Podziemski's ball-handling and willingness to move the ball become more important when the usual gravitational centre of the offence isn't there. That's a demanding assignment, but Wednesday showed Golden State have more than one route to a good shot.
The guard rotation is another immediate pressure point. The San Francisco Chronicle's Warriors reporting identifies De'Anthony Melton as a leading candidate to take Curry's starting spot, while backup Brandon Williams is also dealing with a hamstring injury. Melton's potential move would change the balance of the first unit, not replace Curry's shooting and creation like for like. Steve Kerr could lean more heavily on Podziemski to organise possessions and use Lendeborg as a secondary hub, but no new starting five has been announced.
It's not an injury arriving in an otherwise healthy squad. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody remain out with long-term knee injuries, and Kristaps Porziņģis has been away from the team. Warriors injury coverage following the club announcement also notes the strain on Golden State's backcourt depth. The temptation will be to ask the remaining players to reproduce Curry's scoring by committee. A better target is to protect the quality of possessions: give Lendeborg touches where he can make a decision, keep Podziemski involved as a passer and scorer, and make opponents work defensively rather than relying on a procession of difficult isolation attempts.
The calendar doesn't offer much breathing room. The Warriors' official schedule has them visiting San Antonio on 13 November for an NBA Cup group game, then New Orleans on 16 November, Dallas on 18 November and Memphis on 19 November. Boston visit on 22 November, followed by Sacramento on 25 November. Those six games all fall before the two-week re-evaluation window closes. The San Antonio trip will be the first real test of Kerr's revised backcourt plan, not a chance to wait for the medical news to improve.
Golden State have already shown they can recover from a rough start, winning eight straight before the Houston setback. Now the challenge is less glamorous and arguably harder: build an offence that doesn't depend on the constant threat of Curry's next three-pointer. Lendeborg and Podziemski have earned the chance to take more responsibility. Whether the Warriors can stay competitive through this stretch will depend on how well those responsibilities fit together, not on pretending any one player can be Curry.
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