Injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, middle, smiles while talking with Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) and guard Donovan Mitchell after a game in San Francisco on Thursday.Jeff Chiu/The Associated Press
Stephen Curry was set to play about 25 minutes against Houston on Sunday night in his return from a two-plus-month absence because of a right knee injury.
Coach Steve Kerr said before the game that it’s still unclear how many of the remaining games Curry will play given Golden State has five contests in eight days with a back-to-back the rest of the way – and the expectation is he wouldn’t play on consecutive nights.
“We’re going to manage it accordingly. The plan for tonight would be shorter bursts and we’ll see on the minutes,” Kerr said. “But first game back he’s not playing 48 minutes.”
The schedule will be determined by how Curry feels and input from vice president of player health and performance Rick Celebrini.
Curry scrimmaged several times this past week to test his injured right knee, and he said Saturday it was never a consideration to shut it down for the rest of the season. Kerr hoped to have Curry and younger brother Seth finally play together.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and head coach Steve Kerr during a game against the New York Knicks in San Francisco in January.Jeff Chiu/The Associated Press
Kerr had said Saturday that Curry was expected to play for the first time since Jan. 30 against Detroit, though the Warriors listed him as questionable.
“He’s scheduled to play,” Kerr said pregame Sunday.
After Saturday’s practice, Curry said dealing with the pain is part of his “new normal” and the off-season will require a significant reset.
The 38-year-old Curry initially expected to be playing right after the all-star break, but the recovery was prolonged by some difficult moments when he would feel good, push hard then pay for it the following day.
Curry leads the Warriors in scoring with 27.2 points per game and his absence has been frustrating.
The Warriors (36-41) had lost three straight games overall and were 13-25 this season without Curry – including 9-18 during this stretch with him sidelined by patellofemoral pain syndrome.