Steph details bilateral knee tendinitis after slow start back originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Steph Curry returned to the Warriors lineup Saturday after missing a match due to bilateral knee tendinitis.
Much like his Golden State team as a whole, Curry struggled in the first half before finding a rhythm later, although it wasn’t enough in one game. 113-105 road loss against the Phoenix Suns.
After the game, Curry was asked about the condition of his knees after his short timeout.
“They felt good tonight,” Curry told reporters, referring to the pain in both of his knees. (with Anthony Slater). “It was a tough start. I had to play better in the first half, get back going. I was just testing, to see how they would react with a little break, but it was good until ‘at the end. When you missed a bit – I was only out for one game – the juice started flowing in the second half and I hope that continues.
Curry failed to convert on one of his five shot attempts from the field in the first half, but a strong third quarter helped him salvage a 23-point night on 8-for-21 shooting.
Although he suffered several leg injuries during his 16-year NBA career, Curry explained that this problem was new to him.
“It can become a stubborn problem if you don’t take care of it,” Curry explained. “Luckily, Rick (Celebrini) has been great in trying to give me a protocol to follow on a daily basis, knowing that it’s something I can anticipate and not continue throughout the year, which is the plan .
“So it doesn’t worry me at all. It’s just that the further you go in your career, the more things come up, and you just have to figure it out.”
After all, Father Time doesn’t get defeated often, even against players of Curry’s caliber. But the 36-year-old remains optimistic about how he has responded to his current knee pain, adding that no knee is worse than the other.
“Honestly, I was happy to get through this one playing 30 (minutes) and not feel like it was going the other way, I felt like I was pretty strong,” detailed Curry. “It got stronger as the match went on.”
Curry said he doesn’t know if this specific illness will force him to miss more games in the future.
“Whether it’s a back-to-back here or there, we’ll decide that as we go along,” he said. “I’m just trying to control how I feel and I know it’s not a forced decision. It’s a smart decision.”
The Warriors have two more days off before their next game Tuesday at the Denver NuggetsCurry therefore has more time to get his legs up and rehabilitate in the short term.
