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,” Warriors coach Steve 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.
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.”
Hit-aheads
— Russell Westbrook, the Clippers guard who’s recovering from a left hand fracture, walked into the UCLA facility as the Warriors wrapped up their practice Friday. He got a warm welcome from Golden State’s stars, particularly Chris Paul. It’s safe to say Westbrook has an open invite to the gym; the court is named Russell Westbrook Court, after all.
–The Warriors made a conscious decision to remove Klay Thompson from the starting lineup before the All-Star break rather than afterward, Kerr said. Making the move earlier gave Thompson more time to mentally process it. Scoring 35 points in his first game coming off the bench couldn’t have hurt his embracing of the new role.
“I think the All-Star break was good for Klay,” Kerr said. “He came off the bench right before the break, then had four or five days to kind of think about things. I’ve noticed that since then, he’s much more at peace with himself. And I don’t think it was necessarily my talk. It’s really about Klay and finding that peace inside himself to where you sort of accept what’s happened with the injuries.
“You accept Father Time is creeping in. I think he was fighting that, frankly, early in the season. He was fighting everything. I think he was resenting the fact he had those two major injuries, desperately trying to hang onto the Hall of Fame player that he is, but without the acceptance and awareness. You’ve got to adapt. I think he’s been phenomenal since the break. He’s coming in with great energy, he’s encouraging the young guys. He just seems much more at peace with himself.”
Thompson has scored at least 20 points in six of the 13 games since moving to the bench.
–Curry’s signature shoe line, Curry Brand, made its first Name Image and Likeness deal with an NCAA athlete, signing South Carolina freshman Milaysia Fulwiley. Curry is the only active NBA player signing pro and college players to his brand.
“Milaysia is an unbelievable talent, obviously she’s the most outstanding player in the SEC Tournament, first freshman to do it in (school history),” Curry said. “She’s been a Curry Camp alum, and obviously South Carolina is an Under Armour school. And just to have that connection through and through, bring her into the Curry Brand family is exciting. She’s got a big journey ahead with the tournament coming up. She’s one of a kind, and her story’s just getting started.”
The history between Curry and Fulwiley makes the deal feel natural. That’s not always the case in the new, wild world of NIL. Take Stanford star Cameron Brink, for example. She’s in the Bay Area, her parents are both longtime Nike employees, and is family friends with Curry. Yet instead of Nike or Under Armour, Brink became the first female athlete to sign with New Balance. Go figure.