LOS ANGELES — After scrimmaging at UCLA’s Mo Ostin Center on Friday afternoon, Steph Curry shared a hoop with Chris Paul for shooting progressions.
Catch-and-shoots from the corner, one-handed push shots, 1-on-1 combinations against light defense from the top of the key, one-dribble pull-ups and stepbacks. Without any extra brace or wrap on his sprained right ankle, Curry did it all.
Curry, who missed the past three games with a right ankle sprain that he suffered against the Bulls, is expected to play against the Lakers on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena. The team won’t make an official determination until shortly before game time, but all signs point to Curry returning to the lineup for a pivotal game.
“That’s the plan, everything goes well with practice today and rehab tonight on it,” Curry said. “Been working hard all week, trying to get back as soon as possible.”
The news isn’t surprising, as Curry participated in a full practice with Santa Cruz on Thursday before he rejoined Golden State for the last game of this four-game trip. Had he not been ready to play, it’s unlikely the team would have flown Curry to Los Angeles.
“Steph looks good,” Kerr said. “He scrimmaged the last couple of days in the Bay, we obviously brought him here to play tomorrow. That being said, we’ll wait to see how he feels tomorrow before we make the determination. But I expect him to play.”
Asked how his ankle held up during practice, Curry joked that it’s “still attached to my body.” Curry’s no stranger to ankle injuries, so he was able to attack his recovery with familiarity. He spent a few days off the court to reduce swelling before building strength back up. There are only 17 games left in the season, so Curry had to refrain from rushing back until it was clear there wasn’t a risk of aggravating the injury.
The Warriors are 1-4 this season without Curry, excluding the loss to Chicago, which he left late with the ankle sprain. In 59 games this year, Curry is averaging 26.9 points, 4.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.
“He’s the greatest shooter ever, so he’s responsible for a lot of our spacing,” Kerr said. A lot of the actions that we run, they’re not as effective as they are when we have him on the floor.”
Saturday night’s matchup with the Lakers has major implications for Golden State. They’re currently the 10th seed, a game behind Los Angeles. In the NBA’s current play-in format, the ninth seed hosts the tenth seed in a do-or-die game, with the winner then visiting the loser of the 7-8 game for a chance to earn a full playoff series.
“Steph is Steph,” Kerr said. “We need him. This is a big game tomorrow — they’re all big, but particularly the ones against the teams ahead of us and teams that we’re on the heels of. I’m thrilled to get Steph back. We’ve got a whole team tomorrow. Hopefully we can stay whole for the remainder of the season.”
Without Curry, the Warriors have lost momentum in the standings and face what Brandin Podziemski tabbed a “daunting” climb.
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But Golden State did have it rolling before their recent slide. The Warriors went 11-3 in the month of February, coalescing around a revamped starting lineup anchored by Draymond Green playing center. Brandin Podziemski replaced Klay Thompson in the starting lineup and his fellow rookie, Trayce Jackson-Davis, took on Kevon Looney’s backup big role.
The cluttered play-in round features five teams separated by four games. There’s still a chance for the Warriors to make a push, but it’ll require a significant winning streak and at least one team ahead of them to fall apart.
Curry’s return should shuffle everyone back into place with a month left in the regular season. To go on the run they need to advance to a more advantageous play-in position, they’ll need Curry to remain healthy and effective.
“I told the guys today there’s still almost a quarter of the season left,” Kerr said. “A lot can happen. Now’s our time to really make some hay.”