Curry might return Saturday against Thunder
SAN FRANCISCO >> Steph Curry practiced with the Warriors on Friday morning and there's a chance he'll return to their lineup for Saturday night's rematch with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Head coach Steve Kerr said Curry looked good in practice and should be considered questionable while he recovers from a sprained knee. He's missed the last two games.
“Some of it will depend on how he responds to today's practice,” Kerr said.
The Warriors will certainly be without Gary Payton II as he recovers from an ankle sprain suffered in the team's 128-109 loss to the Thunder on Thursday. An MRI revealed no major damage, “but there were some things on the MRI that he felt, in terms of pain, to rule him out for tomorrow.”
Kerr said Payton won't be out long and he's considered day-to-day.
The Warriors are also without Draymond Green, who will be out for the rest of the homestand while he serves his five-game suspension for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.
There might be temptation to blame their fivegame losing streak on the absence of key players, but Kerr won't take the bait. He said the Warriors have been searching for their identity all year.
He said he's been particularly unhappy with the pace.
“We always had an identity here, pace and ball movement,” Kerr said. “Right now we're (15th) in the league in pace and we're not playing fast. The ball doesn't feel like it's moving well. I think those two things can go hand in hand.”
Watching the tape, Kerr said he too often sees his ball carriers moving slowly up the floor to begin a possession.
“We're walking the ball up the floor, sometimes even on missed shots,” he said. “We're just jogging up the floor. We have to throw it ahead and create more advantages.”
He added, “It's obviously way harder to create an advantage without Steph. But we have to be able to do so and those are the things we worked on (at practice) today.”