The Golden State Warriors received encouraging injury news as they prepare to resume play following the All-Star break.
Head coach Steve Kerr confirmed that both Stephen Curry and Kristaps Porzingis are trending in the right direction ahead of Thursday's matchup with the Boston Celtics, though final clearance will come after Wednesday's scrimmage.
"Well, we gave the vets an extra day, so Steph would be here tomorrow," Kerr told reporters at practice. "Kristaps has been here the last handful of days and practiced today with the team … He's feeling good. We won't make a determination until after tomorrow, when we practice tomorrow afternoon, we'll get up and down the floor and scrimmage."
That update matters. Curry missed five straight games with knee soreness and sat out the All-Star Game as a precaution. Golden State is just 6-10 without him this season.
With Jimmy Butler sidelined for the year due to a torn ACL, Curry's health is is the last saving grace tied to the Warriors’ playoff hopes. Although Kerr remains optimistic, he made it clear that no decision will be made until he’s seen the two stars in action.
"That's the hope, but, again, we haven't seen Steph yet," Kerr added. "And Kristaps needs to participate in a scrimmage first. So, yeah, we'll just see how it goes tomorrow."
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Porzingis has been out since Jan. 7 with Achilles tendinitis and appeared in only 17 games. When available, however, he is highly productive by averaging 17.1 points per game and 25.4 points per 36 minutes, giving Golden State a frontcourt scoring punch it has lacked in stretches this year.
Beyond Curry's 27.2 points per game and Butler's 20.0 before his injury, no other Warrior averages more than 12 points. That reality underscores why Porzingis' two-way presence is so critical.
The Warriors enter the second half at 29-26, sitting eighth in the Western Conference. They trail the fifth-place Lakers and Timberwolves by 4.5 games and are three games behind the Suns for seventh. In a crowded West, small health improvements can create meaningful separation.
Returning in time for the game against the Boston Celtics is not a make or break timeline for Curry and Porzingis. But in a tight Western Conference where there is little margin for error and less than 30 games to position themselves for a chance at a postseason run, the sooner Golden State can get them on the floor, the better.
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