Curry suffers MCL sprain, playoffs return still possible

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Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry sustained a Grade 2 sprain of his left MCL and will be re-evaluated in three weeks, according to an ESPN report, citing an unidentified league source.

He could return near the start of the NBA playoffs, which begin April 14, according to the report, which added, "All in all, good news for the Warriors.”

Incidentally, the injury is similar to the one Curry suffered in 2016, which cost him approximately two weeks beginning with Game 4 of the first-round series with Houston.

Stephen Curry (#30) of the Golden State Warriors and Kent Bazemore (#24) of the Atlanta Hawks talk before the game on March 23, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. /VCG Photo

Curry was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Saturday on the left knee injury he suffered Friday night in his first game back from a sprained right ankle, the team announced.

Some initially took it as a positive sign that the Warriors described the injury as a "strain" and not a more severe sprain.

Meanwhile, his team’s twitter handle said on Saturday, “Injury update: Stephen Curry (left knee strain) will not return to tonight's game.”

However, in subsequently announcing that Curry would undergo the MRI exam, it called the injury a "left MCL sprain."

With only 10 games to play in the regular season, the Warriors are most eager to have Curry at full strength for the playoffs.

The Warriors essentially are locked into the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed behind the Rockets, thus giving them the opportunity to rest Curry as much as needed without worrying about affecting their playoff positioning.