READY TO GO
Fraser convinced Curry still has his MVP-level skills after months of rehab
SAN FRANCISCO >> There were times in early January when Stephen Curry would lose his dribble, look down at his surgically repaired left hand and yell, “Wake up!”
Since breaking a bone in his left hand in a game against the Suns on Oct. 30, Curry has undergone multiple surgeries, meticulous rehab and many moments of frustration as he deals with lingering nerve damage.
“I’m getting used to what the new normal is,” Curry said. “It definitely feels different than the right (hand), but you can try to get it to the point where, when you’re actually playing basketball, you don’t think about it.”
As soon as Sunday, Curry could make his
return after being sidelined for 55 games. It has been an arduous process, and one that won’t stop when he finally takes the court. Still, this is an important development for a Warriors team that, since losing Curry, is focused on preparing for next season.
Nothing embodied the Warriors’ recent dynasty more than Curry’s 30-foot jumpers, ambidextrous finishes and dazzling dribble displays, all of which required the use of his left hand.
After watching Curry participate in his second contact scrimmage on Wednesday, assistant coach Bruce Fraser is convinced the 31-year-old Curry still has the skills that made him a two-time MVP.
This is because of the work Curry and his team have put into his rehab. After two surgeries, he returned to light on-court work two months ago before advancing to contact drills and scrimmages earlier this month.
During that time, Fraser worked with Dr. Rick Celebrini, Golden State’s director of sports medicine and performance, to build a program that combined strength-and-conditioning work with basic basketball drills.
On a typical day, Curry would arrive at Chase Center in the morning, eat a meal, meet with his hand specialist for an hour, work out in the gym and then begin his basketball conditioning work with Fraser, all before seeing his hand specialist again at night.
Fraser estimates Curry could be at the facility for nearly 10 hours a day.
To improve Curry’s conditioning, Fraser and Celebrini instructed Curry to exert himself with sprints and game-style basketball movements, and built in rest periods in which Curry would practice stationary shots. As Curry built up his conditioning, they increased the time between rest periods.
It took a couple of weeks after Curry underwent his second surgery and doctors removed the brace on his hand until he was comfortable enough to catch and shoot. As the strength in his left hand improved, so did his range. By late January, Curry was taking 100 3-pointers a day and making shots at his usual rate — and once made 94 out of 100.
“His numbers are as good as they’ve ever been,” Fraser said.
If there is a concern, it’s with his handle. Still dealing with tingling and numbness in his left hand, Curry will occasionally lose the ball when dribbling. Though rust from not playing for nearly four months is a factor, Curry and those around him acknowledge it will take some time for his handle to be as tight as it once was.
To help Curry regain the feel in his left hand, assistant
coaches ran through catching drills in which they fired passes at angles that forced Curry to use his left hand.
They even got creative with a kick-ball style drill, in which Curry kicked a basketball to video coordinator Nick Kerr, who passed to player development coach Luke Loucks, who passed to Fraser, who passed to Curry on the move for a catch-and-shoot attempt. More than a way
to break up the monotony of tedious rehab, it was a way to simulate the unpredictable movements of the in-game experience.
“He’s been out for four months,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s done a ton of individual work but, to put someone in an NBA game, you’ve got to feel really comfortable that everything’s there conditioningwise, strength-wise. A lot of that you can’t simulate unless it’s actual basketball.”
Last week, when it was announced Curry would participate in his first scrimmage, his teammates cheered. They’ve sat next to Curry in the locker room and on the bench, and have seen the work he’s put into getting back onto the court. After Curry was cleared to travel a month ago, he’s joined the team on the road and has been generous with giving advice to several of his young teammates.
During these scrimmages, Kerr paired Curry and Andrew Wiggins — acquired before the trade deadline — to see how they played together. Over the next 20-plus games, they’ll have a chance to develop some chemistry before next season.
“It’s been great seeing how he makes the game easier for his teammates,” Wiggins said of Curry. “He demands a lot of attention.”
Though the Warriors could risk favorable lottery position by bringing Curry back, they are prioritizing him getting to know his teammates on the court while giving him a chance to exercise his nerve-damaged left hand in game action.
Among the flurry of roster moves over the last year, Curry returning to form may be the most important thing to lift the Warriors back to contention.
“Does it ever return to normal?” Frasier said. “That’s to be determined. But, from what I’ve seen so far, he’s back to Steph Curry.”