Warriors hopeful Curry can play Sunday
Team wants guard to scrimmage more
Steve Kerr would like for Stephen Curry to scrimmage more before being cleared to play. Though the team is still hopeful he can play Sunday against the Wizards, nothing yet has been made official.
“He’s been out for four months,” Kerr said of Curry, who has missed most of the season with a broken left hand. “He’s done a ton of individual work. But to put someone in an NBA game, you’ve got to feel really comfortable that everything’s there conditioningwise, strength-wise, a lot of things you can’t simulate unless it’s actual basketball.”
Since being cleared for contact on-court work last Saturday, Curry has scrimmaged only twice. With an upcoming stretch that includes three games in four nights, there isn’t much opportunity for Curry to get in a meaningful scrimmage before his hopeful return date on Sunday against the
Wizards at Chase Center.
Kerr said he will likely simulate a scrimmage on Friday, when the rest of the team prepares to travel to Phoenix for Saturday’s game against the Suns. But even that won’t reflect what awaits Curry in an NBA game.
When Curry does return, Kerr said he hasn’t decided whether or not there will be a minutes restriction. A Sunday return would give Curry roughly 20 games to play with his new teammates, including Andrew Wiggins, acquired in a trade-deadline deal for D’Angelo Russell.
“It’s been great,” Wiggins said of scrimmaging with Curry. “Seeing how he is in the scrimmage, seeing how he makes the game easier for his teammates. He demands a lot of attention.”
With the Warriors dealing with several injuries, Wednesday’s scrimmage was made up of few players — including Draymond Green, probable for today’s game against the Lakers after missing the past two games with a right pelvic contusion — and several team staffers.
“It was a rag-tag group,” Kerr said.
A similar group will be
used in Friday’s scrimmage, the same day Curry is set to be re-evaluated. Though the Warriors and Curry both expect him to return on March 1, nothing has been made official.
“Two scrimmages against largely non-NBA players — no offense to
them — but that doesn’t exactly qualify as perfect preparation,” Kerr said. “We’ll take it day by day.
“If it’s Sunday, that’s great. And if it’s not, that’s fine, too. Whatever’s best for Steph.”
LEBRON OUT >> The Lakers’ LeBron James will miss
Thursday night’s game against the Warriors with a sore groin, the team announced. James, 35, is coming off a season-high 40 points on Tuesday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
James has sat out only twice this season. James, a 16-time All-Star, is scoring 25.5 points per game this season, and he tops the NBA with an average of 10.6 assists per game. He has led the Lakers to a 4412 record, first place in the Western Conference.
In addition to James’ injury, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis is nursing a sore left elbow. Davis is probable for the game at Chase Center. NEW FACE >> The Warriors plan to sign guard Mychal Mulder to a 10-day contract. Undrafted out of Kentucky, Mulder has spent the past three years in the G League, most recently for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he averaged 17 points, 4.5 points and 1.4 assists in 39 games this season. The 6-foot-3 guard also averaged 9.8 attempts and shot 39.9% from 3-point range.
After receiving limited playing time for Kentucky teams that included future NBA Draft lottery picks Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, Mulder went undrafted in 2017 after two seasons, but he has improved his numbers each season in the G League.