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Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry is currently sidelined due to a knee issue. He isn’t expected to return to the Golden State Warriors rotation until after the All-Star break.
According to The Athletic’s Nick Friedell, speaking via the “Steiny & Guru” show on 95.7 The Game, Curry is gearing himself up to propel the Warriors into the postseason. Friedell noted that the veteran sharpshooter is very aware of how Golden State has been written off as a threat in the Western Conference.
“They want to make sure that when he gets back, this isn’t a recurring issue,” Friedell said of Curry. “…Steph is well aware that everybody’s written him off. The entire team knows, hey, nobody thinks we can win. Nobody thinks we can do anything. That’s one of the most competitive dudes I’ve ever seen. He knows that everybody’s sitting there going, I can’t make anything happen this year.”
Friedell continued.
“Again, that doesn’t mean they’re going to go make some insane run to the finals. What that does mean is he’s gearing himself up to make that push in the playoffs because we all agree he doesn’t have that many left.”
Curry has missed the Warriors’ last five games, three of which have been losses.
Warriors’ Curry Is “Trending In Right Direction”
During his postgame news conference, following the Warriors’ 126-113 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Steve Kerr provided an encouraging update on Curry’s injury.
“I talked to Steph earlier, and he said he was feeling better, so he’s trending in a good direction, but it’ll be just day-to-day when he comes back,” Kerr said.
Curry has suited up for 39 games this season. The 37-year-old is averaging 27.2 points, 35 rebounds and 4.8 assists, shooting 46.8% from the field and 39.1% from deep. The most important thing for Curry moving forward will be finding ways to remain on the court.
After all, if Golden State is going to make some noise during the postseason, it will need both Curry and Kristaps Porzingis close to their best, especially now that Jimmy Butler has been ruled out.
Curry Expected Back After The All-Star Break
On Monday, Feb. 9, in his postgame news conference following the Warriors’ 114-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Kerr confirmed that Curry should return after the All-Star break. The veteran head coach did note that his star player would be day-to-day upon being cleared, though.
“That’s the hope (after the break),” Kerr said. “It’s really kind of a day-to-day thing. So it’s hard to predict for sure whether he’ll be playing in that first game after the break, but that’s definitely the hope. The idea is, if he can get through everything this week, then that puts him on pace to be playing then.”
Golden State is currently eighth in the Western Conference, four games behind the Los Angeles Lakers, who sit sixth. Kerr’s team could still avoid the play-in tournament with a run of wins. Having both Curry and Porzingis in the rotation will certainly help.
However, keeping both Curry and Porzingis healthy will be the real challenge. How the Warriors fare in keeping the veteran duo healthy will directly impact how the franchise ends the current season.
Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Miami Heat for Heavy. He holds bylines for CelticsBlog, USA Today and Yardbarker. Adam also covers the WWE and AEW. He has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor
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