PORTLAND – Limited by injuries to only 39 minutes through the first eight games of the playoffs, Stephen Curry is available to return to the Warriors lineup Monday night for Game 4 of their conference semifinals series against the Trail Blazers.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr made the announcement 90 minutes before tipoff at Moda Center.
“If all goes well with his warmup right now, then he’ll play,” Kerr said. “He’s out there, just went out on the floor, and I’m anticipating it’ll go well. So he’ll be active and he’ll play.”
Kerr added that Curry won’t be under a strict minutes restriction, that the amount of court time will be dictated more by Curry’s conditioning and effectiveness.
“I would guess that he will play in shorter bursts,” Kerr said. “But if he’s rolling, then I’ll probably let him go for a little while.”
Curry last played in Game 4 of the first-round series against Houston on April 24, when he sustained a sprained right medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee. The seventh-year point guard’s court time this postseason has been confined to the first halves of Games 1 and 4 against the Rockets.
Curry spent much of Sunday afternoon playing 3-on-3 against a group consisting of Warriors teammates and members of the coaching staff, after which his status was upgraded to doubtful.
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Feeling no ill effects Monday morning, Curry participated in the morning shootaround, after which his status was upgraded to questionable. There was widespread consultation, including general manager Bob Myers, in the hours prior to Kerr’s announcement
“Talking with Steph, talking with our medical people and talking with Bob, that was the process,” was the way Kerr described the developments of Monday afternoon.
Curry, who led the NBA in scoring, was the voted league MVP for the second consecutive season, with the official announcement coming Tuesday.
