Seth Curry is not only playing through pain nightly, but knows he’s probably going to have to keep doing so for the rest of the season.
The Nets guard’s left ankle has been an issue since before his Feb. 10 trade from Philadelphia. And he’s been suiting up despite significant discomfort.
“Sometimes, yeah. Most of the time, yeah honestly. I’d say we’re doing a good job of trying to manage it on off days, and getting the proper amount of treatment,” Curry said. “It’s tough just in the sense that I can’t do as much as I want to every day as far as practice-wise and working on my game, getting extra work in.”
Curry didn’t think the ankle would need offseason surgery.
“No, it’s not that. Just more of an extended amount of rest period. Probably a month or so just rest,” Curry said. “But obviously not going to get that now.”
Steve Nash echoed those sentiments before Tuesday’s 130-123 win over the Pistons.
“I’m under the assumption that it’s more rest than anything,” Nash said of Curry, who finished with 11 points and four assists. “But yeah, he’s going to have to manage this thing probably the rest of the way.
“He’s still playing relatively like himself. He’s had some really great nights for us and carried this thing pretty well. He’s a pretty tough character and wants to play, so I think he’ll be OK. If there’s pockets where we can preserve him and limit his minutes, we’ll try.”
Curry entered Tuesday’s game averaging 15.3 points on .485 shooting from deep since joining the Nets.
Ben Simmons (back) hasn’t been able to do any more over the past few days than he had been previously, according to Nash. He hasn’t had a second MRI exam, but still hasn’t been cleared to even go one-on-zero, much less practice.
“It’s the same thing every day. … Y’all put out the same stuff every day, so I’m not gonna just regurgitate the same thing,” Curry said when asked about Simmons’ progress.
“He’s able to obviously pass the ball and move around. You guys seen him during the game, he’s doing it. That’s as much as he’s done,” added Andre Drummond, who said Simmons has essentially been limited to walk-throughs.
“He’s moving around a little bit more. He looks good, he looks happy. In terms of what he’s doing, none of us know: He’s the mystery guy. He comes in in sweats every day, and then God knows what he does after that. So hopefully he’s doing his recovery and he’s getting better each and every day. When we get him back, we get him back.”
Villanova coach Jay Wright revealed on SiriusXM Tuesday that Kevin Durant reached out to talk to and encourage Justin Moore, who suffered a ruptured Achilles as Durant had in the 2019 NBA Finals.
“Justin’s from my area,” Durant said. “Me and coach Wright spent a lot of time this summer and we built a tight bond. If he ever needed something, I told him I was there, and vice versa, and he thought it’d be cool for us to have a conversation. So just letting him know I’m here for him.”
Durant’s 41 points marked the third time he’s topped 40 this season, and the 22nd time he’s cracked 30. Vince Carter is the only Net with more in a season.
Brooklyn was also without David Duke Jr. (G-League), Joe Harris (ankle) and Day’Ron Sharpe (G-League).
Hamidou Diallo (finger), Luka Garza (G-League), Jerami Grant (calf) and Saben Lee (G-League) were out for Detroit.
The Nets started Curry, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Bruce Brown and Drummond.
Durant’s media platform Boardroom will launch it’s first collegiate partnership with St. John’s on Wednesday to enhance the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) resources available to Red Storm athletes.