Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has provided a positive update on superstar guard Stephen Curry after the 2x MVP missed two of the last three preseason games due to a finger injury.
Curry initially jammed his finger during the second-quarter of the Warriors third preseason game against the Sacramento Kings last week, causing the 36-year-old to miss the following matchup against the Detroit Pistons. Curry returned to play 28 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, only to miss Friday's final preseason game after re-injurying it at practice.
Stephen Curry should be good to go for the Warriors season opener
Kerr revealed that his team went through a lengthy scrimmage on Sunday to get Curry as much run as possible, according to ESPN's Kendra Andrews. That's a positive sign for Curry's availability for Wednesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, with Golden State expected to have a full roster available for the season opener.
Curry played just 73 minutes during the preseason and was largely below his best. The 10x All-Star averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his 18.1 minutes per game, having shot just 36.6% from the floor and 28% from three-point range.
Curry's form didn't harm the Warriors who finished with an unbeaten 6-0 record in preseason, including back-to-back wins over the Lakers that culminated in a 58-point thrashing on Friday.
The preseason form has left Kerr with what he's described to Andrews as "the most difficult decision making I’ve ever had in terms of who’s playing off the bench." Golden State has 13 legitimate rotation players, and that's not even including Gui Santos who actually closed a game at one point last season.
Perhaps Kerr's comment also signals that he's had a far easier time settling on a starting lineup. The Warriors started all four of Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis over the final two games, while De'Anthony Melton replaced Curry in Friday's outing.
If the combination of Curry/Wiggins/Kuminga/Green/Jackson-Davis does start, that will only increase the difficulty Kerr speaks about in regard to the bench. No less than six guards/wings could be worthy of minutes -- Brandin Podziemski, Melton, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and Lindy Waters III.
Waters is likely to be out of the mix despite a very strong preseason, while Moody and Payton could be vying for one rotation role. Veterans Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney are also expected to play reasonable minutes off the bench.
Wednesday's game will commence from 7:00 PM PT at Moda Center in Portland.