Could Steph Curry return to the Warriors lineup for a clash with the San Antonio Spurs on January 13th?
Big news out of the Bay Area, as reports confirm that Steph Curry is on track to return to the lineup in just ove a week.
With the Warriors picking up steam and their star player set to return in just over a week, it looks like things are starting to look up for the defending NBA champions and just in time too.
Warriors hope for Steph Curry return on January 13th
According to a recent interview with Warriors GM Bob Myers, not only has Steph Curry’s rehab been going well, but the team can actually look forward to the star’s return on January 13th, when the Warriors will take on the San Antonio Spurs. The Warriors of course, have now won their last five games, which deserves credit given that Curry hasn’t played since December 14th when he suffered a subluxated shoulder against the Indiana Pacers. Though he was lucky to avoid surgery, the injury led to almost a month-long absence, which was not ideal for the Warriors who had already started their title defense in a less than ideal way. Curry will undergo a scheduled re-evaluation this weekend, but by all accounts, he’s doing very well.
“He’s gonna get evaluated this weekend, and he’s working out on the court,” Myers said. “The two-week mark to evaluate him would be this weekend, but there’s been no setbacks or anything like that. The first road game is Friday on San Antonio. That would be a hope, that’s what we’d be shooting for, something in that range for him to be back. He’s been - not contact - but he’s been out there doing all his stuff and he looks like the same guy. He’s got a sleeve on his shoulder and his arm but that would be the plan. We gotta see what he looks like this weekend though.”
The Warriors have stepped up to the plate in Curry’s absence
At the time of Curry’s injury, the Warriors were in the early stages of an absolutely awful 1-5. Indeed, when they returned to the Bay Area last month, they were 15-18. Needless to say, fans feared the worse when it was confirmed that Curry would see at least a month on the sidelines. Yet, the defending champions started to play like what they are, defending champions. Not only have they corrected course by pushing up to ninth place in the packed Western Conference, but they now sit just two games behind the fourth-place Dallas Mavericks. This is all to say, that when he finally does return to the fold, he will likely slot into a team that’s starting to perform. Prior to his injury, Curry was averaging 30 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, which is to say things can only get better for an already improving Warriors team.
What has Steph Curry said about the injury?
Where the man himself is concerned, he acknowledged that things could have been worse in that it’s not his shooting shoulder that was injured against the Pacers. “Knowing that it’s left is definitely fortunate in that respect,” Curry said last month. “Kind of the same thing when I broke my hand. More of like a feel thing, confidence that I can still shoot the ball.” With the struggling Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic next in line for the Warriors, there’s a good chance that Curry will return to a team that’s won seven games on the trot. Assuming that’s the case, the Warriors might even make it into the top-six before Curry takes the court again. If that’s the case, then it may just be that we’ve got to start keeping an eye on the Warriors reignited title defense.