Last night, the Nuggets came into the Warriors’ arena and casually snapped their seven-game winning streak—without Nikola Jokic. Surprisingly, a lot of the blame fell on Stephen Curry, who shot 6 of 21 from the field and committed seven turnovers. After the brutal loss, Steve Kerr made a concerning confession about Steph’s health: “He’s tired. Steph’s been carrying us for a month. He’s tired. We’ve gotta get him some rest. You can see it. He doesn’t have his energy right now.”

Moreover, Kerr emphasized that the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ needs at least a night’s rest to feel rejuvenated and could “potentially” miss tonight’s back-to-back encounter against the Bucks. Turns out, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Steph will not suit up tonight, as he is using a rest day to manage his lingering back issues. He even mentioned during yesterday’s presser that his availability depended on how his back felt. “Feel like more so my back what I was dealing with the last couple days. Will see how that responds tomorrow but otherwise feel pretty solid.”

Sure enough, this is a massive blow for the Bay Area team because Curry has been their best player, averaging 24.3 points and over six assists. And they will miss his firepower tonight. In his absence, the onus will fall on Jimmy Butler to carry the scoring load and lead his team to victory. Of course, he has been solid since moving to the Bay Area, averaging 16.8 points and nearly six assists.

Talking of Steph’s return, he is likely to be back in the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Raptors. That’s because he is not facing any long-term problems and even shut down the notion of his tiredness, “I feel fine. Obviously, I didn’t play great at all so everybody, including the coach, is gonna try to figure out why. Mostly the turnovers, dumb plays all night. You expect to have a level of consistency and whatnot, so when it doesn’t happen, it becomes a question.” Funnily enough, he was even hesitant about missing tonight’s game.

Steve Kerr claims Stephen Curry “Put up a Fight” when asked to Rest against Bucks

With only fourteen games remaining in the regular season and a playoff spot at stake, Curry wants to play as many games as possible to boost his team’s chances. But Kerr realized that rest was necessary for the superstar. However, Steph didn’t take it very well initially, as the head coach revealed, “He’s fine physically. His back was fine last night. You know he put up a fight last night when I told him I wanted to give him a night off.” He eventually “understood” Kerr’s point.

The head coach also highlighted how exhaustion has affected Steph’s recent performance, “When he’s emotionally tired, it affects his decision making. So, he’s been turning it over last couple games. He’s a little out of sorts.” Even last night, he scored only 20 points and looked a bit weary running his usual plays.

Kerr also assured that there is nothing to worry about and Steph will be back soon, “We got lots of experience with Steph. We know him well. Just needs a night off once in a while and he’s for sure earned it. He’s carried us on the road trip and he’s been amazing. But the last couple games, I think the fatigue has shown and so give him a night and he’ll be right back out there Thursday.”

But for tonight, the Warriors must find a way to protect their home court against the mighty Bucks while Stephen Curry rests. Do you think they can do it?