SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry could make his return to the floor as soon as Tuesday.
After being out for almost a month with a partially dislocated left shoulder, Curry was initially reported by a team source to be probable for Tuesday’s game at Chase Center against the Phoenix Suns. But when the injury report dropped Monday afternoon, the two-time league MVP was listed as questionable.
In recent days, coach Steve Kerr said Curry has been “coming along well” in his rehabilitation process and he and general manager Bob Myers had previously indicated the hope was that Curry would come back at some point this week.
Curry, 34, returned to live practice Friday for the first time since he hurt his shoulder Dec. 14. He scrimmaged in Monday’s practice and was seen putting up shots after it concluded while wearing a white sleeve over his injured left shoulder.
“The whole plan has been to be ready when I’m ready,” Curry recently said. “With this one, it’s kind of just about getting through as much of the testing phase of it as possible. If I can get a few more reps and keep moving in that direction, I’ll be ready when I’m ready.”
Curry said he felt good Friday and hadn’t lost his conditioning or feel for the game during his nearly month-long absence.
There were concerns about how the injury-plagued Warriors would manage without Curry, who had been by far the team’s best player in the first two months of the season. Curry was putting up MVP-caliber numbers through 26 games, averaging 30 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest, while posting shooting splits of 50/43.4/91.9.
After going 1-3 in the first four games without Curry, which included back-to-back blowout losses in New York, Golden State has since turned the corner, winning five of its last seven games.
The Warriors are 6-8 without Curry this season.
The imminent return of Curry comes on the heels of a wave of reinforcements for the Warrior over the weekend. Andrew Wiggins returned after a 15-game absence and Andre Iguodala made his season debut Saturday in Golden State’s loss to the Orlando Magic.
Now, the Warriors need their frontcourt depth to get back to full strength. Help on that front won’t be coming Tuesday as JaMychal Green (right lower leg infection), James Wiseman (left ankle sprain) and Jonathan Kuminga (right foot sprain) didn’t scrimmage Monday and remain out for the game against the Suns, according to the injury report.
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson, who’s been dealing with sporadic left knee soreness this season that made him a last-minute scratch for Saturday’s game, and Iguodala, who’s on an injury management plan, were reported as probable for Tuesday.
Kerr expressed some concern with the increased workload Draymond Green and Kevon Looney have carried with their frontcourt depth thinned out by injuries over the last two weeks.
“It’s that time of year anyway that’s difficult — after the new year, before the All-Star break, raining every day,” Kerr said. “The guys who have been playing heavy minutes absolutely need a break. But you got to do what you got to do and I’m really proud of them, of that whole group [that includes Green and Looney] given the circumstances, what they’ve done for the last couple of weeks, keeping us afloat has been really impressive. But yes, it’d be nice give them a little rest.”
Tuesday will cap off a season-long eight-game homestand. The 20-20 Warriors will have a few days off before opening a five-game road trip in San Antonio on Friday.
One-year anniversary of Klay’s return
Monday marked one-year since Thompson made his highly anticipated return to the court after a grueling 941-day hiatus due to back-to-back major surgeries.
Thompson has struggled through peaks and valleys over the last year as he’s had to learn to balance his expectations and be patient with himself.
“That’s been a big part of Klay’s journey this past year is understanding the circumstances and finding the right balance between believing in himself and understanding that he’s had two major injuries and he’s 32,” Kerr said. “There’s a fine line there. You want to still think you’re Superman, but you also have to recognize that you’ve been through a lot and where Father Time catches up to all of us and you have to navigate that and it’s not an easy job. So I’ve seen him struggle with that. But I’ve also seen him progress over the last few weeks.”
Thompson has caught fire as of late. In his last five games, he is averaging 33.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists while providing a major boost for a team that was playing without two of its best players. He’s also knocked down 40% of 3-point attempts during that span.
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