Warriors' Curry out at least 2 weeks; Smart suspended 3 games
Stephen Curry's oblique tear is the headline in the Bay, while the NBA has ruled on the punch thrown at Charles Bassey.
The big one: Curry is hurt
Start with the news that will set the tone for the Warriors' next stretch. Stephen Curry will miss at least two weeks with an oblique abdominal tear, per ESPN.
The timeline is the part to watch. ESPN's sources say the Warriors are bracing for him to be out closer to a month. A two-week absence is a speed bump. A month is a detour, and the roster will have to find a different rhythm without its conductor.
The facts here are thin. There's no word yet on a return date beyond that range, so treat "at least two weeks" as the floor and not the forecast. The bigger question is how the offense runs when the player who bends defenses just by walking into the gym isn't there. Expect the ball to find other hands and the pace to feel different.
The Bassey incident gets its penalty
The other thread comes out of Wednesday night's loss to Houston. Rockets guard Marcus Smart threw a right hook in the third quarter that grazed the nose of Warriors center Charles Bassey, per ESPN. Smart was ejected from the game, which Houston won.
The league followed up Thursday. The NBA suspended Smart three games without pay for the punch.
Two details stand out. The punch only grazed Bassey, and the league still came down with a three-game ban. Losing a guard for three games is real money and real minutes, and that's the league's way of saying you don't get a pass for a swing that mostly missed. Whether the Warriors feel that's enough is a fair debate, but the ruling is in.
What it adds up to
Put the two items side by side and it's a rough 24 hours for Golden State. The Warriors lost a game, lost their franchise centerpiece for a stretch, and got a suspension ruling that doesn't give them anything back on the court.
The next few weeks are a test of depth and patience. Without Curry, the supporting cast has to carry more of the load, and a month is a long time to be searching for answers. Watch for any official update on the injury, because the gap between "two weeks" and "closer to a month" will shape every lineup decision from here.
The Warriors have a stretch to survive. How they do it will tell us a lot.