Injury watch: Dieng's season is over, Penda's hamstring costs 20 games, Curry's ankle is minor
Opening week arrives with the Thunder down a player for the year, the Magic down three, and the Warriors' star nursing a minor rolled ankle. The details come from the Locked On podcast hosts.
- The Locked On Thunder hosts report Ousmane Dieng suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in a preseason game against the Indiana Pacers and is out for the season. m:…8510
- The Locked On Warriors hosts report Steph Curry suffered a minor rolled ankle in an open practice; coach Steve Kerr confirmed it is not related to his knee. m:…1574
- The Locked On Magic hosts report Noah Penda suffered a partially torn right hamstring in the preseason finale against Miami and is expected to miss roughly 20 games. m:…7660
- The same Magic hosts say Franz Wagner is dealing with a sore right shoulder and Jace Richardson is day-to-day with a sore lower back. m:…7660
- The Warriors hosts say Moses Moody is recovering from a ruptured left patellar tendon suffered in March, expected back between late December and early January, with Jimmy Butler expected back between January and February. m:…1574
Curry's scare is the good news
The hosts of the Locked On Warriors podcast report Steph Curry suffered a minor rolled ankle during an open practice session — and that coach Steve Kerr confirmed the injury is not related to his knee. The episode's projected opening-night starting five is Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lindeborg, Nate Santos and Draymond Green, with Green shifting into an off-ball facilitator role and the 6-foot-9, 241-pound Lindeborg taking over primary playmaking duties. m:…1574
Lindeborg's preseason form is part of why the hosts are calm: they say he averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds over his first five preseason games, while Green's preseason assist-to-turnover ratio sits at 6.3 to 1.5 — relevant on a team the hosts describe as one of the league's worst at protecting the ball last season. The episode also notes Kirk Lacob has said the Warriors needed to acquire players who can create offense, shoot, defend in space and defend at the rim — the job description Lindeborg is now filling. The NBA season begins Tuesday with a triple-header of Celtics-Pistons, 76ers-Knicks and Thunder-Spurs, so Curry has days, not weeks, to be ready. m:…1574
The Thunder lose Dieng for the year
Oklahoma City's loss is the serious one. The hosts of the Locked On Thunder podcast report that Ousmane Dieng suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during a preseason game against the Indiana Pacers and is out for the season. The episode also notes Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams missed preseason games with injuries — a rough health ledger for a team the same hosts rate as a title favorite, and one the hosts say has winning a championship as its primary goal this season. m:…8510
Orlando has three problems
The hosts of the Locked On Magic podcast report three injuries at once. Noah Penda suffered a partially torn right hamstring in the preseason finale against the Miami Heat and is expected to miss approximately 20 games. Franz Wagner is dealing with a sore right shoulder, and Jace Richardson is day-to-day with a sore lower back. m:…7660
The timing matters, the hosts argue: they say Orlando's ability to avoid the play-in tournament may depend on its record while Wagner is sidelined, and note the Magic's best player played only 34 games last season. The same episode still has the hosts expecting Wagner to play 75-plus games and qualify for All-NBA honors — a bet that the shoulder is a scare, not a saga. For context, the hosts put Orlando's over-under win total at 42.5 or 43.5 and project the offense to climb from 18th last season to between 11th and 15th — a jump that assumes Wagner is on the floor. m:…7660
The longer rehabs
The Warriors episode also runs through the longer rehabs on its own roster: Moses Moody is recovering from a ruptured left patellar tendon suffered in March and is expected back between late December and early January, while Jimmy Butler is expected to return between January and February. Around the league, the same hosts have Portland's Shaedon Sharpe out with injury until approximately March. m:…1574
The day-to-day cases — Curry's ankle, Wagner's shoulder, Richardson's back — get settled when the official injury reports post before opening night. The season-enders are already settled. m:…1574 m:…7660
What is still unresolved
- Whether Curry's ankle keeps him out of any of the season's first games.
- The exact nature and timeline of the Holmgren and Jalen Williams preseason injuries.
- Whether Wagner's sore shoulder costs him any regular-season games.
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