Knee injury, pelvic contusion, and the latest is a right thumb injury for Stephen Curry, 37. The good news was that ahead of the Warriors’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the player was not named on the injury list. But what’s the long-term solution? Well, Curry has dealt with several blows over the past few months, and this is something Steve Kerr was worried about previously, too, and while Curry’s resilience is legendary, even legends have limits.

Back in November, head coach Steve Kerr opined that 82 regular-season games were way too much. 65 games seemed like a better option. “I’m concerned about the product because I think we are asking way too much of our players,” he had stated, and he felt so strongly about the issue, he even emailed NBA commissioner Adam Silver before the start of this season. But all this also reminds us about Curry missing four consecutive games in 2022, and the coach went ahead and apologized to fans who wanted to see the player in live action.

“Ultimately, the players’ health is the No. 1 factor in our team’s success and even (more) than our fans’ satisfaction in the long run because we want to keep guys healthy throughout the season,” the coach had opined, but it is 2025 now, and it doesn’t look like Kerr has found a solution to his problem. But why is it an issue in the first place? Michael Jordan played in all 82 regular-season games twice when he and Kerr were teammates on the Chicago Bulls. In fact, the Warriors coach himself played all 82 games four times in his NBA career (season 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97). But if we add the playoffs, Kerr actually would have played 385 games across those four seasons!

Well, the Warriors coach has an answer as to why he is against 82 games when he was able to physically put up with it back in the day. “When I played, you didn’t have to run out to 30 feet to cover a shooter. Now, you do. Back then, you played the game at a very small circumference. Now, it’s a big, wide circle, and you have to cover the entire court.” It is true that NBA teams have been pushing boundaries, and in fact, in January 2024, the league also shared statistics on how players on average were missing more and more games, across five decades, as reported by The Athletic’.

NBA’s report also shared that there was no connection between the athletes being load managed (rested) and a decrease in injury risk.

However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver did try to address Kerr and other coaches’ apprehensions but introducing the Player Participation Policy that came into effect from the 2023-24 season, which stated that the players need to play 65 games to be eligible for MVP and other awards. And apparently that’s done the trick. Well, that’s what Silver thinks. “I can tell you that the number of games that players have participated in is up this season, and interestingly enough, injuries are down,” Silver said during the February 2024 All-Star break. “Whether that’s meaningful data yet, I don’t know.”

But we have some new data available. Jeff Stotts (an injury expert), who tracks every game players have missed, shared that as of April 10, NBA players have missed 6,525 games because of injuries. Around the same timeframe last season, the number was 5,681 games missed.

Top Comment by Sportsqueen25

It is too much

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Debate

This debate will go on long enough, and there will be no changes this playoffs. For that, the Warriors face a young, hungry Grizzlies side. Regardless of their veteran experience, they should be cautious.

Stephen Curry’s Warriors should be wary of the Grizzlies

The Grizz might’ve thrown their playoff bids in the bin with an end-of-season meltdown. But their quality has been on display on more occasions than one. The Warriors have indeed won 3 of their 4 meetings this season, but you’d be a fool to bet against a young team in a 7-game series. And former forward Marcus Morris talked about this vividly while on ESPN.

“I think it will be a really tough game. I really like the Grizzlies, like the YNs, they really come into play, right? Like, they’re gonna be excited, they’re gonna be ready to go. But listen, Steph Curry, Jimmy Buckets, Draymond Green, I think they understand the importance of winning this game, getting more rest,” said Morris.

But Stephen Curry got himself injured in their last game of the season. There were concerns about his sprained right thumb being a problem heading into the first game, but injury reports helped fans anticipate what was to come next.

Now it’s onto the most important part of the season. April’s antics begin with this clash of the titans. All the 82 gruelling games are all of the past now.

UPDATE: The Warriors won against the Grizzlies, 121-116.