Stephen Curry is finally back in the Golden State Warriors' lineup on Sunday. Against the Houston Rockets, Curry will make his return after missing 27 consecutive games due to a runner's knee. It was his goal to return to the lineup before the 2025-26 season ended to give the team the scoring boost they needed in the play-in tournament.
Head coach Steve Kerr addressed during his pregame presser that Curry will be back in the lineup. The NBA star has been plagued with injuries all season long, limiting him to playing only 39 games. Aside from his injury, the Warriors have also dealt with season-ending injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody.
Warriors' Steve Kerr Addresses Stephen Curry's Minutes
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Since Curry has missed a significant portion of the season, it's expected that the Warriors will have a gradual approach in re-integrating him. Although he will return tonight, Kerr revealed his plans for the four-time champion's minutes.
“The plan for tonight would be shorter bursts. We’ll see on the minutes,” Kerr said. “First game back, he’s not playing 48 minutes, right?”
Kerr also told the media that Curry is "on pace" to play against the Rockets and that he doesn't expect any last-minute changes.
“He’s scheduled to play, so I don’t anticipate anything.”
According to ESPN's Anthony Slater, Kerr did not give a figure on how many minutes the NBA star will play. However, he pointed out that Curry will be limited. With five games remaining in eight days, the Warriors' coaching staff will have a difficult time controlling the top player's playing time. Fortunately for Golden State, they won't have a back-to-back within that stretch.
Still, it's a daunting task for them to play Curry, since it will be the games leading to the play-in tournament. If the Warriors want to be in the playoffs, they will need the two-time MVP's presence and scoring punch.
On Saturday, Curry spoke to the media about his recovery. At first, he believed he would be out for several days.
“It was more of a mental thing at first. Meaning, I didn’t know enough about it,” Curry said. “I thought I was going to be out a week. Ten days max. Let it calm down. And every time I got on the court, or tried to push it, that first month… you knew it wasn’t healing as fast as you thought.”
Curry said that it's a type of injury that he couldn't do anything about other than to let his body rest. Fortunately for him, he's now scheduled to return before the campaign ends.
