At last, the Golden State Warriors looked bubbly, full of energy and spirit, and they only have Stephen Curry to thank.
Yes, one man makes that much difference.
But this isn’t just any “man;” this is Wardell Stephen Curry II. (Had to bust out the government name!) The man the entire Bay Area has been desperately awaiting the return of.
Curry, 38, played last night for the first time since late January; he had missed 27 games in a row — 27 straight nights without joy inside Chase Center, so it seemed.
The future Hall of Famer rattled off 29 points and made it seem like he had missed all of one day of basketball. He made it look too easy out there, especially when he was his old cavalier-self, launching mindlessly-but-intentionally from unspeakable ranges on the court.
GettyGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry
Yes, the Warriors lost.
Yes, Curry missed what would’ve been the best game winner in the Association all season.
But man, Stephen Curry is back. And it’s a warming sight to see.
Golden State has plenty of work to do, starting with getting healthy, before the play-in game next week. With Curry back in the mix, things feel like they’ll pick right back up rather quickly.
Warriors have a plan in place for Stephen Curry for the remaining regular season games
It is important to understand what we witnessed last night wasn’t normal. It was far, far from it.
A 38-year-old, with a trillion miles on his legs, coming off a 60-plus day absence jumping into a game against a playoff team and a defender like Amen Thompson on national-television.
Read that again. It’ll take some time to sink in.
He did that and scored 29 points on better than 50% shooting from the field. There’s making a comeback. And then there’s announcing a comeback. Curry did the latter.
While it was exciting to see the two-time MVP do what he does best, the Warriors aren’t yet prepared to go pedal to the metal. They’ll progressively ease Curry in and get his conditioning — which is already striking, and has been for a decade — up to speed in the short time between now and the do-or-die opening play-in game.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sam Gordon, Golden State and team trainer Rick Celebrini are in cahoots regarding how they want to stagger Curry’s minutes for the rest of the regular season.
“Curry was ticketed for 24 minutes [in Sunday’s game against Houston] — with the original plan in consultation with vice president of player health Rick Celebrini to play the last six minutes of each quarter — and is likely [to] bear similar workload Tuesday when Warriors play the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center. Three regular-season matchups follow, including Sunday’s season finale, giving Golden State a runway to find its footing for the play-in tournament,” Gordon wrote.
The ramp up process should treat Curry, Warriors well
Battling a frustrating runner’s knee injury that caused him numerous setbacks, Curry dealt with one of the most trying stretches of his iconic career.
He hadn’t missed this much time since way back in the 2019-20 season, where he fractured his hand early in the year. For the first time since that season, Golden State will finish with a sub .500 record, but of course, injuries are the first to point the finger at.
The Dubs want to put all the intense adversity of the season behind them; they know what’s at stake and the opportunity they have. While it’s not golden one (pun-intended), you’ll take it over knowing there is no more basketball left to play beyond the second week of April.
Curry should have his stamina and legs back under him before the play-in tournament to start.
They are the Warriors, a team with a rich history, but even then there isn’t a ton expected. Golden State is arguably playing with house money this play-in tournament. Anything can happen if a team plays freely.
And we know what often happens when No. 3o in white plays freely.
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