NBA action is picking up, and off the bat, the defending champion Boston Celtics are looking good, the Los Angeles Lakers are turning heads, and the Washington Wizards are, well, losing. Now, with all that’s going on in the league, we can’t blame you if you haven’t been on top of all the happenings. Here are three you might have missed:
Steph Curry’s Sprained Ankle Might Miss Some Games
The Golden State Warriors’ promising start to the season took a major blow Monday after a 112-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on their own home floor. Worse, the Dubs’ Steph Curry had to leave the game after spraining his left ankle twice—first at the tail-end of the third quarter and then in the eight-minute mark of the final frame. This time, Curry had to exit the game for good and limp to the locker room.
Curry, the two-time league MVP, is expected to miss at least two games this week with what is suspected to be a left peroneal strain, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. He will be reevaluated on Saturday. Until then, Warriors fans will be on pins and needles as Curry has had a long, brutal injury with ankle injuries.
Joel Embiid Gets a Technical… and He Hasn’t Even Played Yet
Early this Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, who is yet to play this 2024–25 NBA Season due to a hurting left knee, nonetheless received his first technical foul of the year a day after the Sixers’ 118-114 OT win over the Indiana Pacers on the road.
The technical foul was assessed after the NBA reviewed game footage of the Sixers’ thrilling victory. Embiid received the tech for waving a towel as the Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard was about to shoot a free throw in overtime. The Sixers big man also celebrated after Nembhard muffed his freebie.
“Embiid waves a towel on the bench in an attempt to disconcert the free throw shooter. A technical foul should have been assessed,” the NBA announced in its last-two-minute report of the Sixers-Pacers game.
There remains no return date for Embiid, who believes he won’t be playing the backend of back-to-backs this season.
Spanish Coach Jordi Fernandez Earns First Win in the NBA
The Brooklyn Nets’ Jordi Fernandez, the NBA’s first-ever Spanish head coach, notched his first win in the big league also on Monday, when the Nets topped the Milwaukee Bucks, 115-102, behind a spirited effort from Cam Thomas and Dennis Schroder.
The Badalona, Spain native earned his breakthrough victory in front of his parents, closest friends, and extended family, who all trooped to the Barclays Center to support Fernandez, who got to keep the game ball as souvenir.
“It’s very special to come all the way from starting from the bottom in the NBA, and working really hard and move up, and move up, and some good moments, some tough moments, different teams, friends, memories,” said Fernandez of his milestone.
