Curry aims to spice up Warriors’ return
SAN FRANCISCO—Next season began in earnest for the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
The return of two-time NBA most valuable player Stephen Curry, more than four months after he suffered a broken left hand, ruining the season for him and his team, marked another step toward regaining legitimacy in 2020-21 — after this disastrous year mercifully ends in mid-April for the perennial championship contenders.
“We didn’t rush, and we weren’t overly conservative, either,” Curry said of his 58game absence, before returning to the lineup against the Raptors at the sparkling new Chase Center here. “I think it’s kind of right in that sweet spot where I’m just confident in what I can do, and I’m getting my feel back on the court with these next 20 games coming up.”
The next 20 are important to set up the longer-term future, because this season is in the toilet for a franchise that played in five straight NBA Finals, culminating in last June’s loss to Toronto. The Warriors, at 14-48 going into Thursday night, have the worst record in the NBA and it’s only a matter of a couple of weeks before even a mathematical chance at salvaging the season runs out.
But having Curry back and working with young players who will be part of the next wave is vital. That includes Vaughan’s Andrew Wiggins, who was obtained from Minnesota for D’Angelo Russell at the trade deadline, and promising rookie Eric Paschall.
“I was excited to compete and see what the season held as far as our transition as an organization,” Curry said before Thursday’s game. “I’m joining my guys, who I know have been through a lot this season. I’m going to try to finish the season on a strong note.
“It feels like the first day of school all over again, which is exciting, so I feel pretty comfortable and pretty confident with where I’m at physically.
I’m excited to get back out there.”
Curry ended up having two surgeries, to repair the left hand that was broken in the fourth game of the regular season against the Phoenix Suns. He has met every benchmark in his rehabilitation and was originally scheduled to return March 1. He and the team’s medical staff, however, felt a few more days would help and Curry got final clearance this week after a scrimmage with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors.
“It’s going to be a while before comparing the left (hand) to the right, that feels normal,” he said. “There is a new normal that I’m dealing with, but that’s the reality of it. And at this point I can’t reinjure it unless something freakish happens, like it did last time, and there’s a confidence knowing that.”
Curry has been around the
Warriors for this entire lost season and has seen firsthand how all the losses have affected players and coaches. It’s been a monstrous letdown for an organization that was the NBA’s gold standard for half a decade, and one that Curry can’t wait to turn around. It won’t be this season, but the rest of this season will be a part of the growing process.
“It’s going to do wonders for them,” he said of the young
players. “We’ve been telling them that all year. The record sucks, we all know that. We all want to win more games, but in terms of trial by fire out there on the floor, it’s very similar to how my rookie year went. You play through your mistakes, you learn on the fly. You get exposed at times.
“As competitors, no one likes that feeling — walking off the floor with your head down. But for them, you have to look at the big picture, how this is going to provide huge benefits down the road when we get fully healthy. and understand what we’re about as a team. Excited about these last 20 games, what they will mean for next year.”