Warriors’ Kerr: It’s important for Curry to play
SAN FRANCISCO >> During the team’s first practice since the All-Star break, the Warriors got to calling injured guard Stephen Curry “Tom Brady.”
Wearing a red shirt over his practice jersey denoting that he was not allowed to be touched — similar to what a quarterback wears during an NFL practice — Curry went through the Warriors’ full practice Tuesday night, with the exception of a scrimmage at the end.
“I don’t know when he’ll be al
lowed the scrimmage, it’s not this week or anything,” coach Steve Kerr said. “But he looks really good, and he’s gaining strength and gaining confidence.
“He’s putting himself through some brutal workouts, so his conditioning is about as good as it can possibly be for somebody who hasn’t been able to scrimmage because of what he does and how he goes about his work.”
Curry will be re-evaluated on Feb. 28, and intends to play at the beginning of March. He has not yet been ruled out for March 1’s game against the Wizards at Chase Center.
Over the final two months of the season, the Warriors (12-43) will get a 20-or-so game look at Curry along with his new teammates, including Andrew Wiggins, recently acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Timberwolves.
Having played in only three full games without former NBA Finals-winning teammates Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, Curry has not experienced the type of culture shock that Draymond Green has had to deal with in this lotterybound season.
“All these things we have taken for granted over the last five years, we can’t take for granted anymore,” Kerr said. “Steph needs to feel that himself. That’s a big part of this last quarter of the season that he’s going to be part of.”
As the Warriors approach Curry’s return date, they will continue to teach Wiggins more of the playbook, of which Kerr estimates
The Warriors’ Stephen Curry has not yet been ruled out for a March 1game against the Wizards at Chase Center.
he’s been exposed to 40%. In three games with Golden State, Wiggins is averaging 23 points on 57.5% shooting, 4.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 33 minutes per game.
After every practice, player development coach Aaron Miles goes over more of the Warriors’ sets with Wiggins. The hope is that Wiggins will know the offense by the time Curry returns.
“This last part of the season is an important stretch for us to springboard into next year,” Kerr said. “With the trade for Andrew and all the young guys we’re trying to develop and Steph’s return, these are important games.”
• The Warriors did not resign Jeremy Pargo or Zach Norvell Jr. to second 10-day contracts, and plan to sign other players to those spots in the coming days.
Both Pargo, 33, and Norvell Jr., 22, had their contracts expire during the All-Star break. Players can sign up to two 10-day contracts with the same team during a season.
• Kerr is not planning on Klay Thompson playing
this season. Coming off an ACL tear he suffered in last June’s NBA Finals, Thompson does not have a timetable for his return. An update on his status is expected within the week.
“I don’t entertain any thoughts of Klay playing this year,” Kerr said.
• After he helped lead the USA team to a 151-131 win over the World team in last weekend’s Rising Stars game, Eric Paschall acknowledged he felt somewhat slighted by not being chosen as the game’s MVP.
Paschall, who finished with 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting, three rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes, was rebuffed in favor of Miles Bridges, who went for 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, five rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes.
The No. 41 pick in last June’s draft, Paschall was one of only three secondround picks on the USA roster.
“I mean, yeah, but no,” Paschall said of if he felt snubbed. “It’s not the end of the world for me just because, like I always say, I wasn’t supposed to be there. So it’s not a big deal to me. I just went out there and played and tried to play as well as I could, and made sure I had fun.”