OAKLAND – Warriors general manager Bob Myers didn’t want to believe it, couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that fans at Oracle Arena would sit idly as Stephen Curry sailed overhead.
That’s what happened Wednesday during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
“Message to the fans: If it happens again, catch the man,” Myers told CSNBayArea.com.
He was joking, we think. Given Curry’s value to the franchise, maybe not.
Curry was chasing a loose ball in the second quarter when he lunged over a couple courtside seats in hopes of saving it to his teammates. The MVP failed, landing hard on the metal floor at the bottom of the lower bowl.
The entire building went quiet. Though Curry got up, bruised but continuing to play, Myers was disappointed.
[RELATED: Despite puffy elbow, Curry 'fine' after flying into stands]
“He went over, and from my seat, he disappeared,” Myers said, relieved that Curry did not leave the game. “Disappointing is the right characterization of it. I’d expect more from our fans. I’d hope if our fans have an opportunity to catch him, that they would. But I can’t sit here and judge because I didn’t see the replay. I don’t know what happened.
“But sacrifice your body for Steph. If you want to come to the game and he’s flying into the stands, catch him. That’s my message to the fan base.”
Again, Myers was joking. We think.
Regardless, those fans – cowards? – sitting courtside turned away as Curry went airborne. They wanted no part of cushioning the fall of the 6-foot-3, 185-pound point guard.
Myers only hopes those craven folks can live with themselves – especially if they’re Warriors fans.
“I would hope that if that were something he was injured by, that people would feel some remorse,” Myers said. “At least we need some kind of letter of apology from somebody, at minimum. I think I’ll get it on my desk tomorrow.”
And with that, the GM was off. He was laughing, perhaps because the Warriors had won. Or maybe because Curry proved in the third quarter – when he scored 17 of his team-high 28 points – that he capable of thriving even without fan assistance.
Yes, Myers was joking. We’re pretty sure of that.
