{"id":34404,"date":"2016-04-29T08:02:56","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T15:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/livingston-enjoying-the-moment-filling-in-for-injured-curry\/"},"modified":"2016-04-29T08:02:56","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T15:02:56","slug":"livingston-enjoying-the-moment-filling-in-for-injured-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/livingston-enjoying-the-moment-filling-in-for-injured-curry\/","title":{"rendered":"Livingston enjoying the moment filling in for injured Curry"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND, Calif. <\/strong>\u2014 Shaun Livingston\u2019s left leg could have been amputated nine years ago.<\/p>\n

The knee injury he suffered while with the Clippers in 2007 was that severe. Going for a layup, Livingston\u2019s leg buckled backward, parallel to the court, when he fell in a freak accident. He screamed and writhed in agony.<\/p>\n

Now, healthy and reliable, Livingston is making a new name for himself on the NBA\u2019s postseason stage. He has filled in admirably for the NBA\u2019s best player as Golden State moves on to the second round of the playoffs without injured MVP Stephen Curry.<\/p>\n

Livingston scored 16 points in each of his three starts in place of Curry during Golden State\u2019s 4-1 first-round series win against the Houston Rockets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when you go through traumatic events like that, you understand,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cNow, being in this position and playing with guys like Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymond (Green), All-Stars, being on this team, there was a time I was getting waived off teams that weren\u2019t winning 20 games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Journeyman for this guy is practically an understatement. Just 30, the Warriors are already his ninth NBA team. Livingston has played in the most games of his career the past two seasons, 78 each, and emerged as a trustworthy backup to Curry when he comes off the bench with high energy and an aggressive style.<\/p>\n

That night of Feb. 26, 2007, still fuels him. Livingston overcame long medical odds just to get back on the court, and for that he is so grateful each time he laces up his shoes for practice or game day.<\/p>\n

Livingston tore three major ligaments in his knee \u2014 the anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate and medial collateral \u2014 as well as his lateral meniscus, then required extensive surgery performed by renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama.<\/p>\n

Livingston also dislocated his knee cap and tibiofemoral joint. Though the injury could have potentially ended his career at age 21, he still believed he would play again. First he had to walk again.<\/p>\n

After all that, the Warriors love watching him contribute in such a meaningful way as they chase a second straight championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been huge. Not just this series, all year,\u201d Green said after Golden State eliminated Houston on Wednesday night, 114-81. \u201cBut really stepping in for Steph, and it\u2019s different. It\u2019s not the same thing that you\u2019re used to, which is so unique about it. But he\u2019s been incredible for us, always steady, somebody we know we can go to if we need a basket, and taking care of the ball and really running the offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Livingston\u2019s remarkable comeback inspired coach Steve Kerr this season when he was coping with his own trying ordeal, a long leave of absence following complications from two back surgeries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI admire Shaun Livingston. Shaun had probably the worst knee injury that I\u2019ve ever seen, that anybody\u2019s ever seen in NBA history, almost had his leg amputated,\u201d Kerr said this week after being named Coach of the Year. \u201cThink about what it took for Shaun to get back to the point where he is now, several years of rehabilitation. That inspires me, my players inspire me. … People may forget, but if it weren\u2019t for the knee injury, Shaun was headed for a superstar career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Livingston, drafted fourth overall by the Clippers in 2004 out of Peoria Central High in Illinois, was hit with plenty of injury hard luck well before the frightening knee blowout and had yet to even play a full NBA season because of injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing through those experiences, it\u2019s humbling, and never getting too high or too low,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cJust respecting the process, keeping your head down and keep grinding.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has vowed to be aggressive and make things happen at every chance to keep Golden State\u2019s record-setting season going. The Warriors had an NBA-best 24-0 start on the way to a 73-9 record that topped the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls\u2019 previous-best finish of 72-10.<\/p>\n

Kerr was on that team. The encouraging words from the coach mean so much to Livingston.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s played and won championships as a player, and he\u2019s been around,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cHe\u2019s played with the greatest and been coached by the greatest. So to hear those words, it\u2019s very humbling. I\u2019m grateful. I take it in stride, and I just try to let it fuel me.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 6-foot-7, Livingston is a tough matchup because of his length and athletic ability.<\/p>\n

His teammates don\u2019t want him to change a thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been phenomenal, so we\u2019re going to need him to continue to be that way,\u201d Green said. \u201cWe\u2019re not sure how long Steph will be out, but until then Shaun will be holding it down for us. So he\u2019s been big, and we look forward to him continuing to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND, Calif. \u2014 Shaun Livingston\u2019s left leg could have been amputated nine years ago. The knee injury he suffered while with the Clippers in 2007 was that severe. Going for a layup, Livingston\u2019s leg buckled backward, parallel to the court, when he fell in a freak accident. He screamed and writhed in agony. Now, healthy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-34404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34404\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34404"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=34404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}