Curry takes Steph forward in Santa Cruz scrimmage
Guard who could return on Thursday has hits, misses
SANTA CRUZ >> Fifteen minutes into his post-practice shooting routine, Steph Curry slipped off his royal blue jersey, revealing a white T-shirt that read “SANTA CRUZ BASKETBALL” on the front.
That blue jersey was the one he wore in Monday’s 5-on-5 scrimmage with the Warriors’ G League affiliate at Kaiser Permanente Arena, his first since undergoing two procedures to repair a broken bone in his left hand, and an important step in his eventual return.
“The real thing is getting bumped around, the physicality of the game, setting screens, fighting over screens, maybe jamming that hand on a fall,” Santa Cruz head coach Kris Weems said. “You have to have those things to feel like you’re ready to go, so hopefully we gave him that.”
“Whenever they deem him ready to play, he’ll be ready to go.”
Though Curry did not return to the Warriors’ lineup on Sunday as he had hoped, the 31-year-old guard could return as early as Thursday against the Raptors. For those involved in the scrimmage, Curry left a positive impression.
Weems separated his roster into two groups — Curry captained the Blue team and forward Jonathon Simmons headed the Gold team — for a session that lasted for three 7-minute quarters.
Early in the scrimmage, Weems called a high screen for Curry in order to get the two-time MVP an easy shot. But, before Curry’s teammate could arrive in time to set the screen, Curry pulled up from nearly halfcourt and drained a 3-pointer. “Nevermind,” Weems told the would-be screen-setter.
Later on, with his defender tightly guarding him, Curry side-stepped into a 3-pointer in the left corner.
“I’m not going to say nothing surprises you, but it’s Steph,” Santa Cruz forward Roger Moute a Bidias said. “He does stuff like that.”
Though Curry also missed several open shots, he didn’t hesitate to shoot or make plays for others. With only a few seconds left, his Blue team down by one in what was a competitive scrimmage, Weems called the final shot for Curry: another high screen.
Curry took the inbound and darted toward the screen, but Gold team’s Jeremy Pargo ran him off the 3-point line and toward the basket, where Simmons and another big were waiting to contest his shot. With three players on him, Curry pulled up from mid-range, but his shot rimmed out. Blue fell to Gold, 49-48.
“It was a pretty good scrimmage,” Pargo said. “One-point victory, I’ll take that.”
“We got a shot off but maybe not the best shot we could have gotten,” Weems said, acknowledging that everyone knew the play was called for Curry. “Why would I draw it up for anybody else? I’m not trying to lose my job.”
Ultimately, it was the job of Weems and his staff to get Curry ready for a return. In Santa Cruz, the Warriors played Curry physically. They bumped him off his spots, showed him different defenses and forced him to guard bigger players.
Though Curry was frustrated that he couldn’t play in Sunday’s loss to the Wizards, Golden State wanted him to participate in this sort of scrimmage — one that would more closely resemble the game action that awaits him after a four-month absence
Since he suffered a broken bone in his left hand against Phoenix on Oct. 30, Curry has worked through a meticulous rehab to regain the strength and feeling in his surgically-repaired left hand.
Following the failed game-winner, Curry went through 90 minutes of shooting drills with player development coach Seth Cooper and consulted with Golden State’s Director of Sports Medicine and Performance Dr. Rick Celebrini.
As he went through his drills on one end of the single court in the 2,505 capacity arena, his temporary teammates worked on the other basket. A few feet from Curry was a banner that listed all of the team’s G League call-ups over the years — including names like Damion Lee, Seth Curry and Quinn Cook.
The few times Curry lost his dribble or missed consecutive shots, he punctuated his mistakes with a frustrated “ARGH” or “Oh, my God.” When Celebrini
paused his shooting routine, he’d run Curry through a series of balance drills and test the strength of his left hand, in which he acknowledges he still experiences occasional numbness and tingling.
This is someone who is, no doubt, anxious to return, but is being monitored closely by an organization with the longview in mind.
A return Thursday would provide up to 20 games for Curry to test his nerve-damaged left hand and build some chemistry with his new teammates before an extended offseason.
And though he’s been frustrated by his extended recovery, a new set of frustrations may await him after joining the Warriors during this lottery-bound season.
Still, as he nears his return, Curry has remained positive. When he walked into the facility at 9:15 a.m., he greeted his teammates and coaches with fist bumps and handshakes. After the intense scrimmage, he pulled several youngsters aside to dole out advice.
“The fire that he plays with, he’s highly competitive, which everybody knows. His habits in practice and going against our guys, that should raise our level of play,” Weems said. “We’re trying to get to where he is.”