Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry will finally be back on the court tonight for the first time since October 30th, when he suffered a broken left hand during the team's fourth game of the season. That said, fans shouldn't expect to see Curry at his full workload upon his return in the NBA Finals rematch.
Steph Curry’s Limitations Revealed Ahead Of Return">Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Ahead of Thursday night's matchup at the Chase Center, which will air on TNT at 10:30pm ET, head coach Steve Kerr revealed that the two-time MVP will be limited to roughly 25 minutes over the course of four or five short bursts.
“I’m just kind of looking at it as if this were the end of training camp and he’s just starting the season,” Kerr said on KNBR (H/T NBC Sports). “So, it’s mainly about minutes now. We’ll play him in shorter bursts tomorrow, probably five- or six-minute bursts. I imagine we’ll keep him around 25 minutes.”
That said, Kerr intends to have Curry at his usual 32-to-34 minutes per night over the final few weeks of the regular season.
Even with the six-time All Star returning for the final 20 games, the Warriors will still have a strong chance of finishing among the bottom three teams in the league, which would give them a 52.1% chance of securing a Top 4 pick and a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 overall selection.
With than in mind, Warriors coach Steve Kerr recently explained why it's just as important for Curry to get back on the court alongside his young teammates, specifically the newly acquired Andrew Wiggins. Says Kerr, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell:
"It will be good for our young guys to feel what it’s like to play with him and vice versa. Steph needs to get to know these guys, too … it’s a big part of the final third of the season is everybody playing together, acclimating together, with the trade for Andrew [Wiggins], the young guys, Steph coming back, these games matter.”
For his career, the three-time NBA champ boasts career averages of 23.5 points, 6.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.