SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors got a mixed injury update ahead of their first game since the All-Star break against the Boston Celtics.
Stephen Curry will miss his sixth consecutive game due to patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as runner's knee. The Warriors hoped the All-Star break would give Curry enough time to recover from the swelling associated with this type of injury. But it appears Curry will need more time to recover, as he was unable to participate in the team's scrimmage today.
"[Curry] Will be evaluated by our training staff tonight," Kerr said. "But he wasn't where he needed to be going through the scrimmage. “And so it's unfortunate, but we'll have an update on that tomorrow after we spend our time with the training staff tonight.”
On the bright side of things, the Warriors made Kristaps Porzingis questionable for their matchup with the Celtics. After a strong week of rehab and increasing his workload, Porzingis was able to fully acclimate with the team today, which was one of the final hurdles they had to clear before deciding whether to clear him to play. After practice, Porzingis told reporters he was feeling good ahead of his potential return.
“Feels great,” Porzingis said of his first official scrimmage with the Warriors. "I feel good on the court. I worked out a lot before the All-Star break and had a few days off, but I stayed active. Didn't want to take some time off because I've barely played this season. I want to go out there, feel good, and start building on top of that and finish the year really strong."
Porzingis was excited to be playing on Draymond Green's team, a pairing he and the Warriors are very excited about. Porzingis said he "loved" working with Green and now understands why he is so important to Golden State.
However, this is a pair that may have to wait. Kerr did not confirm whether Porzingis would actually be available for the Celtics game. But all signs seem encouraging, especially after Porzingis gave a cheeky answer when asked if he intends to make his Warriors debut tomorrow.
“I don't know how much I can say,” Porzingis said with a smile as he looked to the Warriors' PR team for an idea of what he could say. “But feeling good and ready to go.”
Warriors plan for Kristaps Porzingis when he returns
As with Porzingis, Kerr doesn't have an exact vision for his minutes restriction, but estimates around the 15-minute limit. As a result, Kerr is expected to play them in short bursts as he continues to work on his recovery from injury. Porzingis shared that although he didn't initially plan on having the kind of short burst minutes he liked being rotated in, he has adjusted to that style of minutes.
"I hated playing short spurts," Porzingis said. "Especially coming back from something because you're there for a short period of time, it's almost hard to get into a rhythm. You don't want to go in and chuck the first shot. But sometimes I do that now. So I'm coming in, you know, just having my opportunities. Gotta take them and get into a rhythm that way."
With Porzingis, the Warriors are especially excited about what he will bring to their offense. With Butler out for the season and Curry out for the last several weeks with an injury, they will look to Porzingis to give them a new dimension.
His old Celtics teammate, now Warriors teammate, Al Horford said, "With his ability to score the ball offensively I think he'll be able to really help us." Despite familiarity with each other's games, Porzingis' role in Boston was more of a defensive enforcer rather than an offensive initiator. With warriors, they will demand more later.
“He'll probably have more opportunities on the offensive end, especially obviously with us missing Jimmy and everything else, so I think it's a great opportunity for him to step up offensively and have a bigger role.”
Despite this, Porzingis is slowly making his comeback as he looks to become the Dubs' X-factor after the All-Star break.
"Again, don't have any crazy expectations of yourself. Just one day at a time. Take the short minutes I'll have. Build up slowly, and I'll be fine."
