“Sure, yeah, absolutely,” Kerr said Tuesday, when Curry participated in a full practice with his problematic knee and did a 5-on-5 drill, but it was a light session for the team returning from a trip.
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Curry, 38, will not play in a home game Wednesday night against San Antonio and is not expected to return for Thursday’s back-to-back games against Cleveland.
That would leave five games remaining in the regular season, and it’s highly unlikely Curry will play back-to-back nights for the Warriors, who are headed to the play-in tournament. He has missed the last 25 games since playing against Detroit on Jan. 30.
“It’s a good move for him. He won’t play tomorrow,” Kerr said. “It’s just a progression from here, so if it feels good, we’ll go back to practice and continue from there.”
Kerr said Tuesday’s session was all offensive and defensive drill work, “at half speed.”
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After a 116-93 loss at Denver on Sunday night, the Warriors fell to 13-23 this season without Curry, including 9-16 during this stretch in which he was sidelined by patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Golden State is 13-24 without Jimmy Butler, going 11-20 since his season-ending right knee injury that required surgery in February for a torn ACL.
Curry’s presence provides an immediate boost. He leads the Warriors in scoring with 27.2 points per game and the original hope was that he would return after the All-Star break.
“It’s amazing, man, having him out there with us, it’s always great. We’re a lot more confident when we have a guy like Steph on the court, there’s no doubt about it,” forward Gui Santos said, noting how valuable Curry is even when he’s not in uniform. “I hope he will be with us soon, it will be great.”
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Even if the intensity wasn’t that of a typical practice, Kerr knows how much it means to all of the Warriors to have the two-time NBA MVP back on the court in any capacity.
“The gym was livelier,” he said, “everyone’s spirits lift when he plays.”
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NBA AP: https://apnews.com/NBA