Lowell Cohn: All eyes on Stephen Curry’s foot

HOUSTON - Quite a feeling to have the most famous foot in America.

That is the case with Stephen Curry. The man with the famous foot, the right foot to be precise. Think about it. Do strangers holding microphones and lugging cameras ask you about your right foot? Just appear out of the blue with foot talk. With the license to ask about your foot.

And these strangers aren't actually asking about you. Questions like: “How's life?” “Do you have the blues?” “What means the most to you when you add it all up?”

Deep questions.

Curry has been reduced to a foot. His whole meaning these days is foot-related. The foot questions have a context. Can Curry play against the Rockets on Sunday, especially now that the Warriors lost a game without him?

Foot anxiety.

So, there was Curry walking off the practice floor at the Toyota Center and coming into a gray hallway near the visiting locker room and leaning against the wall - literally backed up against the wall - talking about the famous foot. Not minding it, either.

He said he played 3-on-3. “It was normal practice protocol for guys coming off injury and guys who don't get a ton of minutes. It was a good session. Played a couple of games. Got some rhythm and got through it.”

Meaning his foot didn't fall off.

Will he play Game 4?

“I have no idea.”

He's as much in the dark as we are. A case of the foot being in charge of the superstar.

More foot questions:

Is he pain free?

“Pretty close.”

How was his explosion and change of direction?

“Awful. I don't have that much, anyway. But I was rusty, just got to get the flow and the mechanics. When you miss that much time, literally not doing anything, it's tough.”

If he plays how will he play?

“If I'm playing, I'll be aggressive. I'll do exactly what I usually do. Whether I make or miss shots, I think we'll live with that as long as I'm on the court. I expected to play (Thursday) based on how I felt.

“When I got here (Wednesday) and we had practice, it didn't feel quite right. I felt another 24 hours of healing and treatment would get me there. I was pretty confident I could have gone. But talking to Coach and Bob (Myers) and the athletic training staff and doctors, there was still some healing that needed to be done. It was their call. If I would have gotten the green light, I would have definitely played and felt confident going out there. Hopefully, that leads to even more confidence come Sunday.

“I've been pretty honest about how I feel and making sure I don't do anything to damage my ankle even further. Along with that I think I can play through a little bit of discomfort, especially in a playoff. They have the thought, if there's any ounce of instability or doubt, to be on the more cautious side.

“Any player that loves to play the game is going to push to get out there. It's kind of hard to sit out. It's a tough feeling, so you just stick to the process and, hopefully, Sunday I can get as close to 100 percent as possible and get confidence from everybody I'm ready to go.”

He also said this - this is a big one: “You don't want to give away games in the playoffs. I don't think we've had that thought process that we can just get by without me, as if that was a smart decision.”

Meaning he respects the decision for him not to play. But he's dying to play. And he's pushing to play. And he can play - in his mind.

Cut to Steve Kerr. He was in the muggy, humid arena sitting against a table. The scribblers and camera-people rushed him. Foot. Foot. Foot.

“Steph looked good,” he said footwise. “Reported no pain. Seemed to be moving well. We'll see how he responds. Hopefully (Saturday) without any repercussions we'll just put him through the full practice and see how it goes.”

Because Kerr is relentlessly polite, he answered foot questions. There were more to come. But imagine how he felt. It's never fun to talk foot, especially a bad foot. Especially if the foot is someone else's. Does anyone enjoy talking foot?

He had two more foot-related insights.

“If he's lobbying (to play), it would only be because he's not right. We're hoping everything goes smoothly and we don't have to have a debate.”

Meaning Kerr wants no foot debates.

“Everything becomes easier with Steph on the court. The game expands. The amount of court the defense has to guard increases. The spacing becomes easier and everyone has more room to drive.”

Meaning Curry is very good. Have you noticed?

Here's the rub. It's impossible to know the problem with the famous foot. With the Great Foot. Curry talks about his ankle as if it's the offending appendage. The Warriors say he “turned” or “tweaked” his ankle. That almost certainly is wrong. The film shows no turnage or tweakage. Almost surely no ankleage.

He was running straight ahead when something went kaflooey. At first, Kerr talked about the Achilles' tendon. Curry had been reduced to the Achilles. Forget the whole foot. He was an Achilles. Later, Kerr backed off the Achilles. Who knows why? He refuses to answer all Achilles questions. But I think we're dealing with an Achilles. And that leads to this:

If I'm right, Stephen Curry is the most famous person since Achilles chased Hector around the walls of Troy whose “Achilles' heel” actually is his Achilles' heel.

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at cohn.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.