Maybe Warriors coach Steve Kerr is intentionally prodding Stephen Curry. Or maybe he's trying to save his ultra-competitive star from himself.



“Oh, there’s no way he’s playing in the first round,” Kerr said before the Warriors hosted Utah on Sunday night. “There’s no way.”



Either way, Curry heard his coach's proclamation before the game. And there was no doubt in his tone, as he met with media before tipoff Sunday, that Curry accepts the challenge, issued or not.



If there is any good to come out of yet another injury for Curry, it's that the chip is firmly planted on his shoulder and it's as big as it has been all season. This is setting up so that the next time you see No. 30 on the court, it will be in the persona of the Baby Faced Assassin.



He already had an MVP level to remind people about and a Finals MVP to pursue, the missing piece to his collection. Now he's got an injury-prone label to shake...