A clean steal, an uncontested attempt to score, and then falling hard to the ground, which led to a gruesome injury. Moses Moody had returned after a 10-game hiatus and was the team’s high scorer before his knee buckled in the overtime win against the Dallas Mavericks. The American Airlines Center went silent, Stephen Curry was shocked, and Steve Kerr put his hands to his face, realizing even before the MRI that it was serious.

Results confirmed that it was a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. It’s a season-ending injury, not a career-threatening one, which the head coach was grateful for. “It’s the tendon, no damage to cartilage and bone. And so that’s the good news,” said Kerr on Willard and Dibs podcast. “And you know, that allows it to be a pretty basic surgery.”

Moody would have been facing a career-ending situation if he sustained a tendon tear, cartilage damage, and a bone fracture all in all. Dr. Nirav Pandya, a leading orthopedic surgeon and professor at UCSF, took to social media to explain the surgical details and the timeline for NBA players’ rehab.

“During the surgery, since the patellar tendon doesn’t completely heal itself since it’s ruptured, the patellar tendon is actually sewn back into the patella. The typical recovery for this surgery is 9 to 12 months. If you look at the percentage of players who make it back, it’s somewhere between 75-90% based on which study you read.”

So, Moses Moody won’t appear in the Warriors‘ colors, at least at the start of the season. It’s a shame because he had the best season of his career, with 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists, while shooting a career-high 40.1% from the three-point line. The incident happened with 1:13 left on the clock in overtime when Moody stole the ball from Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg.

He went up for an open dunk and, as he came down from the rim, his left knee buckled, and he sprawled on the floor. He couldn’t get back on his feet and was eventually stretchered out of the court. With 10 games left in the regular season, the Warriors are without Jimmy Butler (season-ending ACL injury), and the absence of Moody makes the next stretch even tougher.

Steve Kerr on Stephen Curry’s return

Six of their final 10 opponents are playoff or play-in teams, creating a far more demanding path. But Steve Kerr emphasized that the franchise will not rush Curry back under any circumstances.

“Today’s a good day to reassure our listeners that if we don’t feel good about it, then he’s not going to play,” Kerr said on the same podcast. “We’re not pushing him into anything if things aren’t really clear.”

Stephen Curry had already missed the Warriors last 22 games due to runner’s knee issue which has limited his physical activity even on the sidelines. Previous reports confirmed that the 36-year-old would be back for scrimmage in Atlanta before the team traveled to Dallas. But the sesson never transpired, while the Warriors were optimistic that it wasn’t a setback.

To be clear, the Dub Nation’s Play-in spot is not under threat. But Steve Kerr knows that more wins now will propel them to eighth, as they are just 2 games behind the Clippers. The 8th seed hosts the winner of the 9v10 game, meaning they are likely to have home-court advantage in their crucial second play-in game.