The Golden State Warriors acknowledge they're running out of time to have superstar guard Stephen Curry return to the floor this season, with the 2x MVP still dealing with 'runner's knee' that's seen him out since the end of January.
There was optimism that Curry would return this week after he was supposed to participate in a 5-on-5 scrimmage on Sunday, only he wasn't cleared for that and will now miss at least the next two games.
Warriors are running out of time for Stephen Curry return
Golden State announced on Friday that Curry will miss their home matchup against the Washington Wizards, along with Sunday's road game against the Denver Nuggets. That means, at the absolute best, Curry will return with seven games left in the regular season, but even that feels unlikely considering the delay on his return so far.
Speaking prior to Friday's game against the Wizards, head coach Steve Kerr confirmed that they wouldn't bring Curry back just for the Play-In game, and rather that the 38-year-old would need a string of games to close the regular season.
"We're not bringing him back (only) for the play-in game," Kerr said. "He'd need to play some games. We need to give him a runway if this is going to work. And we are running out of games. That's fair to say," Kerr said.
Following Sunday's game in Denver, Golden State will get a few days off until Wednesday's home meeting against the San Antonio Spurs. The Warriors and Curry are clearly running out of time, and if he isn't cleared to play by the end of next week, it might not simply happen at all.
Unable to fall below their current 10th-placed standing, and 8.5 games behind the sixth-seed Houston Rockets, Golden State are already locked into the Play-In Tournament. They're currently 2.5 games behind the eighth-seed L.A. Clippers, with a double chance in the Play-In Tournament crucial if they want to secure a playoff spot.
Warriors season has fallen apart without Stephen Curry
Having already lost Jimmy Butler to a season-ending torn ACL in January, the Warriors have only fallen further apart in Curry's absence over the past 23 games. They're 7-16 during this period since the start of February, ranking 23rd in offense, 21st in defense and 21st in overall net rating.
Many people believe Curry shouldn't return even if he is healthy, with the potential for injury not worth the benefit and especially after seeing Moses Moody's devastating torn patellar injury in Dallas at the start of the week.