SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry remains on track to play Saturday when the Warriors host the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Chase Center, coach Steve Kerr said.
Curry has not played since March 16 as he missed the last 12 games of the regular season recovering from a sprained ligament and bone bruise in his left foot.
“Things have gone really well, so we’re expecting him to play,” Kerr said Friday. “We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow, but coming off the absence and the injury. The only thing I’ll say is he’s not playing 38 minutes.”
Curry played 18 minutes — divided into three six-minute segments — in the Warriors’ scrimmage Thursday, passing a major hurdle in his effort to return for the start of the postseason against a Nuggets team that won three of four meetings with Golden State this year.
“I’m not going to give you a number because the number is in the system. There are some variables in there,” Kerr said. “We’re planning on playing him if really goes well and we’ll bring him along slowly from there.”
Kerr said he’ll wait to see how Curry’s body reacts to playing and will consult with the Warriors’ training staff before determining the path forward for the rest of the series, which continues with Game 2 in San Francisco on Monday.
“Everything’s gone really smoothly, so we expect him to play tomorrow and I’ll talk to the training staff each day based on how he responds,” Kerr said, and then we will act accordingly.”
Curry said Thursday that he’d like to play as many minutes as possible. In 112 career playoff games, Curry has averaged close to 38 minutes and 26.5 points per game.
“There’s no real concern I’ll be a step slower, I’ll be out there exhausted in the first two or three minutes whenever you do get back because I have been through it, I know the work that goes into it,” Curry said. “I can push myself once I get that green light to get back on the floor.”
