The Warriors might just be OK without Stephen Curry
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Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you've had an excellent week and have an even better weekend ahead of you.
Remember how we talked about the Western Conference being a bloodbath this season? Dropping one game here or there could mean the difference between being the No. 2 seed or falling to the play-in tournament.
So it seems the Warriors could have some big problems ahead.
After a win against the Raptors on Thursday, the Warriors are 41-29 and neatly placed at the No. 6 seed position in the Western Conference. Golden State is 1.5 games up on the Clippers for the No. 7 seed and two games behind the Grizzlies as the No. 5 seed.
The problem is Golden State just lost its best player for an unknown amount of time. Stephen Curry is out at least a few days after an MRI confirmed he suffered a pelvic contusion against the Raptors.
The injury doesn't seem too serious — Curry tried to come back in and play before the Warriors ultimately sat him down. This shouldn't keep the point guard down for long. However, the problem is that any downtime could mean a significant tumble in the standings.
Ultimately, things could be fine. The Warriors' schedule isn't that tough over these next few weeks. And since Jimmy Butler entered the lineup following the Warriors' trading for him, the non-Curry minutes for the Warriors haven't been too much of a problem — Golden State has a +9.8 net rating with Curry off the court. Having another legitimate shot-creator who can score for himself has helped this team a ton.
Still, losing a player like Curry, even for a limited time, is no easy feat to overcome. We'll see if the Warriors can tread water. We'll also see if treading water is even good enough in this Western Conference.
The Boston Celtics are EXPENSIVE
We knew the Celtics' sale would be expensive after the Suns sold for $4 billion a few seasons ago. The Dallas Maverickssold for $3.5 billion last year. Even Michael Jordan's Charlotte Hornets sold for a hefty $3 billion.
As arguably the best franchise in the NBA, you knew the Celtics' price would be at least $5 billion. But $6.1 billion? Guys. That's insane. That's how much the Boston Celtics went for, though. Bill Chisolm of Symphony Tech Group went through with the purchase earlier this week.
That's 17 times more than what the Grousbeck family purchased the team for in 2002.
The Grousbeck's purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 20, 2025
In 2025, the family sells for $6.1 billion.
💰💰💰 https://t.co/YYFCjU2O9b
Talk about a come-up, you guys. Sheesh.
Shootaround
— Follow our live blogs for March Madness on the men's and women's sides. There are NBA and WNBA prospects playing in these games galore.
— Bronny James pulled off something that hasn't been done since Magic Johnson was a Laker. This is interesting. Is Bronny good?!?
— Here are the best NCAA tournament matchups that NBA scouts can't wait to watch.
— Bryan Kalbrosky has the best shooters in March Madness ready to go for you.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Warriors might just be OK without Stephen Curry
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