SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry could be cleared to play as soon as Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, coach Steve Kerr said.
Curry is “getting close” to receiving a thumbs up from the team’s medical staff after he went through another scrimmage at Chase Center on Thursday morning. The Warriors star looked good by Kerr’s standard, but is expected to be re-evaluated over the next couple of days.
Curry has missed the Warriors’ past 10 games, including Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite being sidelined for nearly a month, Kerr has been impressed with Curry’s ability to maintain his conditioning. He said the 34-year-old returned the bike just days after he bumped knees with Mavericks guard McKinley Wright IV in a Feb. 4 game. Curry started doing individual on-court workouts after the All-Star break.
“He’s been working really hard,” Kerr said Thursday before the Warriors took on the Los Angeles Clippers “He’s really amazing when it comes to his conditioning level and his commitment to keeping it high. And so he’s had a good chance these last few days to get up and down but before that, he was doing a lot of one-on-oh workouts that included a lot of running and movement.”
Curry won’t play in Friday’s game against the New Orlean Pelicans but Kerr didn’t rule the Warriors star out from Sunday’s game in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
The Warriors are 12-12 without Curry this season and 5-4 over the nine games Curry has missed since he suffered partial tears to his superior tibia/fibular ligaments and a membrane. Curry also missed 11 games earlier this season with a shoulder injury.
Though Curry’s return is imminent, there is still no clear timeline for when Andrew Wiggins and Andre Iguodala (hip soreness). Wiggins has been away from the team for the last two weeks to attend to a family matter and missed his sixth straight game Thursday. Meanwhile, Iguodala has been scrimmaging in recent days.
The Warriors have managed to stay afloat, even climbing a few pegs of the Western Conference playoff race, without Curry but are eager to get him back as they hope to build more separation in the standings. The 32-30 Warriors are tied with the 33-31 Clippers for fifth place in the West.
