SAN FRANCISCO — Before Steph Curry was cleared for Game 1 of the Warriors’ first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, he faced off against his Golden State teammates. Steve Kerr called it “essential,” his star did.
That’s exactly what happened Thursday at the Chase Center, and Curry seemed to absorb every moment of the 18 minutes he spent in a game-like setting.
“Everything about it was great,” Curry told reporters.
In the first two and a half weeks of his recovery from a sprained ligament in his left foot, which he sustained against the Boston Celtics on March 16, Curry was unable to fix his feet. His life depended on a hiking boot. Last Saturday, while the Warriors were in San Antonio to play the Spurs, Curry could feel a milestone in his recovery. He increased the amount of time he could be on the ground and upped the ante with intensity.
However, nothing compares to a game or scrimmage. Practice is one thing, as is practice. But scrimming and booting up for a game is a whole different world.
So how would he rate his first scrimmage in hopes of playing in Game 1?
“I felt good, the conditioning was fine,” Curry said. “I moved pretty seamlessly on the floor.”
However, the two-time NBA MVP and three-time champion will always be his harshest critic.
In order for the Warriors to achieve their goal of winning another championship, they need Curry and Co. to stay healthy. They also need to fix a handful of bugs that have been handicapping them. These include careless passes and too many ball losses.
Those are two areas Curry admits he needs to improve after his first scrimmage. It’s also to be expected after he’s been out for almost the last month.
“It’s just timing and getting used to being out there with nine other guys,” Curry said. “I’ll be able to make those adjustments, to be myself, whenever I’m back out there.”
Whenever Curry returns to the Warriors, whether in the playoff opening or shortly after, he will have a minute limit. He played in three different six-minute segments Thursday and there’s no hard cap on how much he’ll play when he’s available.
Whatever that number, Curry and the rest of the Warriors will have a better idea on Friday after watching his foot recover from the crush.
For Steph, however, it’s just another obstacle to overcome. As he has done countless times on his way to three titles in the past.
“Yes, there is always adversity,” he said. “Whether it’s external forces, the other team or a minute limit, it’s something you have to enforce somehow. I don’t know what that number is. I’ve heard this conversation, but we haven’t talked about what it actually looks like. And hopefully we have 48 hours to find out if I get the green light on Saturday. But I’m not worried that this will be a limiting factor in how I’ll approach the game.
“And hopefully there’s a little leeway with whatever that is, to see how I feel out there.”
Health has always been the Warriors’ top priority this season, and it will be high on the list when it comes to the playoffs. With an uncanny desire to add a fourth ring to his resume, Curry will unsurprisingly be pushing for more time on the floor whenever he has his fingers crossed for qualifying for these playoffs.
“Always, but we’ll see how things go,” Curry said.
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Steph’s first taste of the playoffs came in 2013. Nine years later, Curry and the Warriors have switched roles. Back then, they were No. 6, upsetting a future teammate in Andre Iguodala and the No. 3 Nuggets in the first round.
Now Curry is on another mission against the same franchise, trying to calm any skeptics he might still have. All that’s left is a final reassurance that it’s on.
We’ve seen this story before, and it almost always ends with Curry coming out on top.
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