Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here and subscribe to the “Section 415″ podcast wherever you listen.
The Warriors returned to the Bay Area from their All-Star break travels refreshed, head coach Steve Kerr said.
But not Steph Curry.
Curry, who turns 38 in less than a month, wasn’t feeling healthy enough to participate in intra-squad scrimmages on Wednesday as his runner’s knee remains a problem. He hasn’t played in February, and the week off for the All-Star festivities apparently wasn’t enough for him to recover.
The Warriors hoped Curry and new center Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles tendinitis) would be ready to help spur a surge after the All-Star break. Instead, Curry is ruled out for the Celtics game on Thursday — his sixth straight absence. Porzingis said he felt good after playing live at practice Wednesday and is listed as questionable.
Curry’s injury is officially termed Patellofemoral pain syndrome. Commonly known as “runner’s knee,” the injury causes pain in the front of the knee or kneecap area. It’s commonly caused by overuse, and can take weeks, if not months, to heal. Kerr described it as “a little nebulous” and “a little tricky.”
Kerr said Curry will possibly get another MRI. The team medical staff evaluated him Wednesday night, with more information to come Thursday.
“He’s been on All-Star break, but he had someone with him working with him the last couple of days,” Kerr said. “Came back today, and it just wasn’t quite feeling right. These guys know when they’re right and when they’re not. He knew it wasn’t the right thing to go back into a full practice.”
When a player misses multiple weeks, they often need to ramp back up their conditioning to return to game action. The Warriors have five more February games: Boston on Thursday, Denver on Sunday, a back-to-back in Memphis and New Orleans next week, and the Lakers at home on Feb. 28.
One consequence of this lingering injury: Curry will almost certainly become ineligible for end-of-season honors like the All-NBA teams. Thursday will be his 17th missed game of the season, meaning he’d have to suit up for every remaining matchup to reach the 65-game minimum.
More relevant to the Warriors is their postseason push. Their goal is still to escape the play-in round by climbing to the sixth seed. They’re 4.5 games behind Minnesota for that spot.
Curry absences make accomplishing that exponentially tougher.
1 day ago
5 days ago
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Golden State went 2-3 in the five games Curry missed before the All-Star break and is 6-10 without him this year. He’s averaging 27.2 points and 4.8 assists, leading the league in 3-pointers made and attempted per game.
“It’s rather critical,” Kerr said of getting Curry healthy. “Obviously, we know the drill: we have to have Steph if we expect to do anything. So, it’s one of the reasons we held him out [Wednesday]. We’ve got to be certain, he’s got to be certain. But, we really feel strongly that Kristaps can help us and we can hold down the fort while we’re waiting on Steph.”
Porzingis likely to debut vs. former team
Nine months ago, Porzingis and Al Horford were trying to defend a championship with the Boston Celtics, clinging to hope until Jayson Tatum suffered his season-ending torn Achilles in the second round.
Now, somehow, they’re teammates again. And about to play together for the first time against their former team, too.
“Weird, weird,” Porzingis said Wednesday. “If somebody said that while we were in Boston, that this would be the scenario, who would believe this?”
Porzingis has acclimated well in his early days with the Warriors, hanging back during the All-Star break to prepare for his team debut. Golden State traded Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield for him, a low-risk bet on an uber-talented player with big injury question marks and a $30 million expiring contract.
Porzingis, if healthy, will give the Warriors a look they’ve never had. A true stretch center who can protect the rim, he projects as a wonderful pairing with Draymond Green.
In fact, he scrimmaged on the same team as Green on Wednesday.
“Draymond’s super, super experienced,” Porzingis said. “Very vocal. I love Draymond, man. I can see how important he is for this group, for this team. And he has been important for this team. Cool to see him close up.”
Porzingis hasn’t played since Jan. 7 and has only registered 17 games this season. He has dealt with POTS and Achilles tendinitis. He tried to gut through injuries in last year’s playoffs, but clearly wasn’t himself. Reflecting on that saga Wednesday, he said he didn’t want to throw a “pity party” for himself.
“Now I feel like I’m in a good spot,” the veteran said. “It didn’t work out perfectly in Atlanta, but I’m in a good place now, in good hands. Looking forward to building back up from this point on.”
Porzingis tried to be cagey about his status for Thursday’s game, but hinted that he’ll face off against his former team.
“Questionable, but I’m feeling good, ready to go,” Porzingis said.
Porzingis will be on a minutes restriction to start, likely around 15 per game. He’s used to playing in short bursts because of all the times he has been injured in his 10-year career. He famously missed over a month before returning for Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals, scoring 21 points in 20 minutes.
“I used to hate playing short spurts, especially coming back from something,” Porzingis said. “Because when you’re out there for a little period of time, it’s almost hard to get in a rhythm. You don’t want to go in and chuck the first shot. But sometimes I do now, because I know I’m playing short time.”
Notable
• The Warriors signed 6-foot-5 guard Nate Williams, filling the third two-way spot vacated by Pat Spencer’s elevation to the roster.
Williams spent his senior year of high school at Prolific Prep in Napa before playing four seasons at Buffalo. Williams has played 47 NBA games since entering the league as an undrafted rookie in 2022.
• Seth Curry (sciatica) will start on-court workouts and live play this week, the team announced. He has been sidelined since early December and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. The Warriors initially signed him as a depth guard option, but he has played just two games — logging zero minutes with his older brother.
• Add this one to the list of 2025-26 Warriors Quotables…
Where do you feel like Brandin Podziemski’s game has been at the past few weeks before the deadline?
“I think the All-Star break will have been really good for him,” Kerr said. “I think all young players really need those four, five days to recharge the batteries. Same thing with Quinten Post, Will Richard. I sensed with all those guys that they were running out of steam a little bit. That affects the shot, affects the decision-making. I think the break was great for everyone.
BP is a player who’s impacted winning for us for three years, and I think that will continue. He’s still finding his way, given he wants to be great. So he, at times, is too ambitious. I talk to him about that. I love the ambition, I love that he wants to be great. I just think that it’s still a process of figuring out exactly who he is as a young player, which is very common.”