OAKLAND -- Any and all questions regarding Stephen Curry's availability for the beginning of the NBA playoffs were answered, with emphasis, Sunday by Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
"There's no way he's playing he's playing in the first round. There's no way," Kerr said prior to tipoff against the Utah Jazz at Oracle Arena.
"So we've got to be ready to play without him and then see how he's coming along."
Curry was diagnosed Saturday with an MCL sprain in his left knee, and his not scheduled for reevaluation until the weekend of April 13-15 -- the same weekend the playoffs get under way.
The upshot is the Warriors have 10 regular season games to prepare Quinn Cook and Pat McCaw for ballhandling duties in the playoffs. Cook is a natural point guard, while McCaw is capable of playing either guard position. Both were in the starting lineup Sunday.
While Kerr concedes this much, and believes the Warriors will be able to succeed in Curry's absence, he also expressed confidence that Curry will be able to make an impact when he returns to the lineup in late April or early May.
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"We should feel good about our ability to play through this stuff," he said. "We also know that Steph has a history of coming back strong from injuries. So there's a good chance, if all goes well, that he comes back during the playoffs at some point and we're at full steam.
"That's the goal. That's our plan."
