While it's exciting that Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is trending in the right direction and appears to be on track to play on Sunday, it's simultaneously frightening for Warriors fans who are concerned that Curry may get injured in a game that some would consider meaningless.
The Warriors are basically locked into the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. There is a chance they could leapfrog the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 9 seed which would mean they would host the Play-In contest against the same opponent, but that's not a huge incentive to play for necessarily.
Warriors fans have to be worried if Stephen Curry does return
It's really admirable that Curry is making an effort to come back. There are not many star players who would attempt a comeback after dealing with an injury issue for so long, and at the end of a season that has been such a huge disappointing one for the Warriors.
That speaks to the kind of competitor and showman that Curry is that he wants to be out there with his brothers fighting, even if the team probably won't be making a playoff run this year.
Yet the pessimistic Warriors fan wold point to all the injuries and all the bad luck this season and say that it's not worth having Curry come back. In some ways this season has felt cursed with Jimmy Butler tearing his ACL and Moses Moody tearing his patellar tendon. Are the Warriors not tempting fate by putting their star out there where he too could go down with a major injury?
In a worst-case scenario, if Curry did play and did get hurt in a major way, that would be a disaster for the 2026-27 campaign. That would take away whatever small glimmer of hope Golden State might have had for one more run.
Is it super likely that that will happen? No. But just the thought makes the stomach churn.
No matter the risk and no matter the curse, it seems likely that Curry is going back out there. At least it will make games much more watchable and the NBA will be thrilled about its Play-In ratings if Curry does indeed suit up against Portland.
Still, Warriors fans will be watching with bated breath as they hope that Curry doesn't go down with an injury as he makes a valiant comeback to the team.