Stephen Curry will not play on Wednesday due to a sprained left ankle. He was fine at shootaround today, but it acted up on him when he returned to the arena. C.J. Watson is probably in for big minutes and production tonight with this news. Curry will likey finish second in rookie of the year voting to Evans.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Toronto: Jose Calderon returned to the starting lineup for the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday and hit 3-of-8 shots and a 3-pointer for nine points, three boards, six assists and two steals. He had been playing better than this off the bench, but the fact the Raptors won should mean more starts for Calderon.

Toronto: DeMar DeRozan hit 7-of-12 shots for 19 points in 35 minutes of Wednesday’s win. DeRozan is averaging 15 points over his last five games, but doesn’t do much else

Chicago: Jannero Pargo started again for the Bulls in place of injured Derrick Rose (wrist), but played just 17 minutes. He had nine points, four assists and five steals, and we’re not sure why he didn’t play more tonight.

San Antonio: Richard Jefferson stayed hot with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting Wednesday night. Jefferson has started the last four games and been hot. He’s shooting 63. 8 percent from the field in those games and is averaging 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. With Tony Parker out, the San Antonio Spurs are deferring to Jefferson more as a playmaker.

Orlando: Dwight Howard had just nine points, seven rebounds and one block in Wednesday’s blowout of the Spurs. Howard also went 3-for-8 from the free throw line.

New York: Bill Walker started in place of Wilson Chandler (ankle) and had eight points in 23 minutes on Wednesday night. Chandler is in danger of being shut down for the season, so Walker is going to see consistent minutes the rest of the season. We’d expect most nights to be better than this, but he’s not much of a passer or rebounder.

New York: David Lee had 29 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and block in 44 minutes of work on Wednesday night. Lee is showing no signs whatsoever of letting up. The 44 minutes are the most he’s played since Jan. 16 and it’s even more encouraging that coach Mike D’Antoni left him out there despite the blowout.

Atlanta: Jamal Crawford hit 14-of-24 shots and three 3-pointers on his way to 33 points in Wednesday’s loss. He’s had a nice season and is playing especially well with Joe Johnson out with an Achilles’ injury.

Shaquille O’Neal left Thursday’s game against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter after taking a hard foul, has suffered a “significant right thumb sprain” according to TNT’s David Aldridge, and will not return to the game. Shaq’s short-term future doesn’t look bright, and Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson are worth a look if Shaq is out. Varejao has better size for the position, and projects to be a more consistent option than Hickson, who will provide more upside and scoring possibilities. Both will struggle with foul trouble.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Boston: Coach Doc Rivers said Thursday that Paul Pierce’s thumb is not healthy enough to sustain contact during a game, and that he could miss “a couple of games of for sure.” “We just want to get him to the stage where if someone hits it he can sustain the hit, and right now if someone hit it it would go right back to where it was at,” said Rivers.

Oakland: C.J. Watson will miss Thursday’s game due to the flu and a possible appendicitis according to team officials. The Golden State Warriors are decimated by injuries, which means that Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry are strong candidates to play close to a full game, and Anthony Morrow and Anthony Tolliver will get more touches.

Utah: Andrei Kirilenko made it through Thursday’s practice and is expected to play Friday against the Sacramento Kings.

Sacramento: With Jason Thompson out for up to two weeks with a back injury, Kings beat writer Ailene Voisin reported that Spencer Hawes worked with the first team during the portion of Thursday’s practice that was made available to the media. His status for Friday’s game against the Jazz is still unknown, although beat writer Sam Amick said he would be surprised if he didn’t suit up.

Sacramento: Jason Thompson will miss up to two weeks with two non-displaced transverse processes fractures in his lower back, which were confirmed by X-rays taken Thursday.

Chicago: Joakim Noah missed Thursday’s practice due to a prescheduled doctor’s appointment about his plantar fasciitis.” No worries,” Noah said. “I’m just trying to get back as much as I can and help this team. I’m hurting, obviously, but it’s the end of the season right now and I want to be there for my team and I want to be as ready as possible come playoff time.”