Curry expected to return Saturday
The Warriors are targeting a Saturday return for guard Stephen Curry, who has missed the past 10 games with a sprained right ankle.
“I doubt he’ll play tomorrow with a back-to-back,” head coach Steve Kerr said Thursday after practice. “I don’t think that makes much sense. He’s probably going to want to, but I think it’s more likely he plays Saturday. If all goes well, I expect him to play Saturday. Even if (the scrimmage) goes well, I would not expect him to play tomorrow.”
Curry went through practice Thursday, which included about 30 minutes of reviewing plays, before participating in a 3-on-3 scrimmage. He will get evaluated by team doctors Friday. Because the team wants to be cautious with Curry, it is unlikely to ask him to come back and immediately play both ends of the upcoming back-to-back set: Friday against Charlotte and Saturday against Memphis.
With around a minute left in the Warriors’ 125-115 win in New Orleans on Dec. 4, Curry lunged for a steal, missed and tried to stop himself from falling. His foot turned awkwardly, sending him tumbling. Curry climbed to his feet and limped toward the visitors’ locker room with a team trainer.
An MRI exam confirmed that he’d sprained his right ankle, but also that the ankle was stable and structurally intact. The initial diagnosis — that Curry would miss at least two weeks — raised a question that Golden State hadn’t answered since a slew of right ankle sprains limited Curry’s 2011-12 season to 26 games: How would it handle an extended regular-season stretch without the face of the franchise?
The good news for the Warriors is that they’re as equipped as any NBA team to weather the absence of a player of Curry’s caliber. With the two-time MVP sidelined, Golden State has gone 9-1.
Reserve forward Omri Casspi, who sprained his right ankle late in Wednesday night’s 126-101 rout of Utah, is considered questionable for Friday’s game after missing practice Thursday.
Backing Durant: Count the reigning Defensive Player of the Year among those who think Kevin Durant should be the Defensive Player of the Year front-runner this season.
“If I had a vote, I'd vote for him right now,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said.
Durant is putting together his best defensive season to date. A player who had never averaged more than 1.6 blocks per game is second in the NBA behind Indiana’s Myles Turner with 2.3. With Curry out the past 10 games, Durant has anchored a league-best defense.