Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows who to blame for Golden State superstar Steph Curry’s series-altering Grade 1 hamstring strain suffered in Game 1 of the NBA’s Western Conference semifinals.
And as others have noted, Kerr is also of the opinion that the NBA’s congested playoff schedule is at fault for the star’s four-game absence, which severely obstructed the Warriors’ chances of advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
Despite a lack of rest between playoffs jeopardizing Curry’s health, Kerr doesn’t expect the league to give players the priority over profits.
“I think all the complaints of the wear and tear, and the scheduling, are all valid,” Kerr told Yahoo! Sports’ Tom Haberstroh in his latest feature story. “But they all fall on deaf ears because of the dollar sign.
“I don’t think the league’s constituents are willing to give up any money, that’s the problem. But we all know this is not healthy or sustainable if you want guys to survive out there and not have injuries.”
Prior to his injury in the second quarter of Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Curry played 42 minutes in Game 6 and 46 minutes in Game 7 of their previous series against the Houston Rockets. With travel in between, the 37-year-old played three games in five days.
Haberstroh detailed a conversation between Kerr and the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, Rick Celebrini, on why Curry had suffered his first hamstring strain in his 16-year career.
“Do you think Steph pulling his hamstring has anything to do with playing 48 hours after logging 46 minutes of Game 7 in Houston?” Kerr asked Celebrini.
“One hundred percent,” Celebrini told him. “If he had an extra day or two … we can’t prove this, but I have no doubt based on our understanding of the scientific literature that the hamstring injury was the result of inadequate recovery and fatigue.”
Similar to Kerr, Denver Nuggets star Aaron Gordon recently cited Curry in his plea for the league to offer players more rest in between playoff games.
Gordon, with a similar congested playoff schedule under his belt, played through a Grade 2 hamstring strain during do-or-die Western Conference semifinals Game 7.
“I think everybody could [benefit],” Gordon told reporters before mentioning other derailing injuries to Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard. “You saw it around the league: Steph with a hamstring, JT, Dame.
“There are guys all around the league suffering fatigue-based injuries because the games are just so closely stacked together. It would just be nice for one or two more rest days throughout the postseason, just so we can come back fresh and compete.”
In a league known for its increasing parity and physicality, surely a rise in games isn’t the best for player health.
In efforts to protect once-in-a-lifetime stars like Curry, Kerr acknowledges everyone is going to have to work together on a solution.
“We’ve got to try something,” Kerr told Haberstroh. “It’s going to take representatives from the players’ association, the coaches association, the owners, the league and the TV partners to actually acknowledge all of this.”
