Steph Curry returns to practice after missing 6 games with ankle injury.
Curry appears ready to play Friday; Durant, others still a ways off
OAKLAND >> Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant fully participated in a non-contact practice with the Warriors on Wednesday.
It was Curry’s first practice since he sustained a right ankle injury in a game against San Antonio on Feb. 8. Curry has missed the team’s past six games and is targeting Friday against Atlanta for his return to the court. He was cleared Tuesday to fully participate in practices.
“Steph looks great,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s chomping at the bit. We’ll see how he responds the next couple of days before we decide whether he plays or not.”
Durant has missed the Warriors’ past three games because of right rib soreness and will be re-evaluated in a week. Kerr said if the team had scrimmaged, he wouldn’t have let Durant participate.
“I don’t expect KD to play this week,” Kerr said. “But this is not
a timetable, like a two-tothree-days thing. It’s a feel thing.”
Draymond Green (pelvic contusion) did not practice. And Klay Thompson (fractured right thumb) “did some stuff” according to Kerr, but he did not fully participate in practice. Thompson will be re-evaluated today.
The Warriors don’t play until Friday when they host the Atlanta Hawks in their first game of a fourgame homestand. Their next away game is against Sacramento, so they don’t leave California until April 3 when they play the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kerr said with only 11 games remaining in the regular season, he’s going to err on the side of caution with his four All-Stars. The Warriors have been to three straight finals, winning championships in 2015 and 2017. And they’re expected to make another deep playoff run this season.
“It’s not a concern of mine that we’re not going to be able to find our rhythm,” Kerr said. “I’m very comfortable with that.”
• During halftime of a
game against Phoenix on Saturday, Curry sent Quinn Cook a text that made a big impression on the 24-yearold, two-way player.
“I don’t care if you go zero-for-25, that 26th shot you better not hesitate,” Curry wrote, according to Cook.
After struggling with his shot in the first half, Cook had 16 of his career-high 28 points in the third quarter.
“To hear that from a guy like that, and everybody on the team, it really does a lot for your confidence,” Cook said. “And it really shows you I can stop putting pressure on myself and really play my game.”
Cook has started in six straight games while Curry has been sidelined. Over that period, he’s transformed from being timid and out of sorts, into a player who is making a strong case to be on the playoff roster.
He had a team-high 20 points on Monday against the Spurs, scoring nearly twice as much as any of his teammates. In Friday’s loss to Sacramento, he had 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Then in Saturday’s win over Phoenix, he had 28 points on 11-for-17 shooting. Cook said up until now, it’s been difficult to establish a rhythm because he’s constantly shuffling back and forth between the Warriors
and their G-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
“When you don’t know where you’re going to be tomorrow or the next week, it’s tough,” Cook said. “So when I’d come here, I’d play just not to mess up. Play not to step on anybody’s toes.”
But with a string of injuries to the Warriors’ four all-stars, Cook knew that he needed to approach his playing time differently over this past stretch.
“Guys need me to be who I am,” Cook said. “I think the Warriors signed me because they know I can do a certain thing.”
When Cook was asked if he thinks he’s proven to the Warriors that he should no longer be on a two-way contract, he said that’s not his concern.
“I don’t really like to get into that,” Cook said. “The fact that I’m on a two-way is a little more motivation for me. Just to know I’m not where I want to be at.”
That being said, Cook didn’t hesitate when asked if he hopes he’s with the Warriors long term.
“I would love to be with this team for the next 10 years of my career,” Cook said. “That would be the ultimate blessing.”
• Omri Casspi has had some tough breaks this season, including the flu, back spasms and most recently
an ankle sprain that he suffered against Sacramento on Friday that’s kept him sidelined the last two games.
Casspi revealed Wednesday that he was really scared when he rolled his ankle against the Kings because there’s a fracture in his right ankle from when he was a child. He has no idea how he suffered that fracture and he didn’t even find out about it until he was getting an X-ray while playing for Sacramento a few years ago.
“(The fracture) is about as strong as a bone now,” Casspi said. “It probably happened when I was a kid.”
Casspi, who participated in Wednesday’s practice, and he was very relieved that the injury was just a sprain and wasn’t more serious. He said he’s still sore and can’t push himself too hard, and will likely miss a few more days.
Casspi has also been dealing with rumors Cook could take his spot on the playoff roster. The veteran forward, however, said he’s not worried about that.
“First of all, that’s you guys talking,” Casspi said. “I don’t get that feeling from our organization. At the end of the day, I’m focused on getting healthy and playing. That’s all I can control.”