"Warriors point guard Stephen Curry had his sprained right ankle evaluated by team doctors before Saturday night's game against Utah, and he will hop a plane to Charlotte to meet with his surgeon Monday.

The most realistic projection is that Curry will return to the lineup next Saturday at Charlotte.

It's hard to imagine that he'll fly cross-country to play in the Warriors' home game against Miami on Tuesday. It doesn't make much logistical sense to fly back from Charlotte for Thursday's home game against Orlando, just to double back.

Instead, he can stay in Charlotte and get some home cooking and rehab, and then he can greet his teammates when they play the Bobcats on Saturday.

"It's not fair to say somebody steps into the role of Steph Curry," coach Mark Jackson said. "He's a top-notch point guard in this league, and they don't grow on trees. He complements Monta Ellis very well, forcing the defense to not cheat on either one of them.

"It hurts not having him, but at the same time, we have to make the adjustment."

Curry has sprained his surgically repaired ankle three times in a 16-day period this season, most recently in a noncontact play at San Antonio on Wednesday. That made for seven sprains, plus surgery and rehab, on the same ankle in the past 15 months.

Stanford surgeon Dr. Timothy McAdams, the Warriors' orthopedist, evaluated Curry on Saturday night."