There is more great news coming in for the Golden State Warriors a day after taking a 3-0 series lead against the San Antonio Spurs. Stephen Curry is making progress with his rehab. He is going to begin participating in portions of practices on Saturday and will be reevaluated again in one week.
Chris Haynes has a great story on ESPN about this development, and the speculation will begin as to when Curry can be expected to play in his first game of this postseason.
The debate is going to be centered around whether Curry won’t return to the lineup until he’s absolutely 100% ready to go, or if he’ll come back as soon as he can realistically play.
Sources close to the situation say that the Warriors are taking a very cautious approach with Curry and that he’s not going to return until he’s near maximum health.
This is the best strategy to take, especially considering that the Warriors probably aren’t in desperate need of Curry’s services until a potential Western Conference Finals matchup.
The New Orleans Pelicans currently hold a 3-0 series lead over the Portland Trailblazers. The winner of that series will face the winner of the Warriors/Spurs series in the Western Conference semifinals.
Considering that no team in NBA history has ever won a series after being down 3-0, it’s almost certainly a guarantee that the Warriors will be playing the Pelicans next round.
All indications right now are that Curry will return to action at some point in the semifinals. It remains to be seen which game in that series will ultimately be his return date, however.
It could be potentially disastrous to rush him back sooner than he’s ready, but it sounds as if the team isn’t going to do anything rash.
Curry suffered the grade 2 MCL sprain back in late March, and the long-term playoff fortunes of the Warriors are likely dependent on how effective Curry is when he returns.