Stephen Curry Out, Warriors Won't Face LeBron James

Stephen Curry will not face LeBron James in any regular season game after being ruled out Thursday for right knee injury management. The Warriors host the Lakers tonight but are already locked into the No. 10 seed, meaning Curry sits to protect his knee ahead of the play-in. LeBron missed the opener with sciatica, so none of their four meetings this year featured both stars. Curry recently returned from a two month absence, scoring 29 and then 17 off the bench in back to back games, so his health is the key to Golden State’s postseason hopes. Merlin sees the squad balancing short term rest with long term chance. Golden State needs two play-in wins, starting on the road, and a cautious approach to Curry’s minutes makes sense. If his knee holds and the bench keeps producing, the Warriors can still surprise.