Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said earlier this week that Stephen Curry would miss the first round of the playoffs with an MCL injury he suffered during a home loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday, but Curry is hoping to return before then.
"Hopefully, I prove what coach said was wrong and put myself in position to get back as soon as possible," Curry said, indicating he could return sometime during their first-round series. "But right now, who knows? Just try to do my job in the rehab process and get back as soon as I can.
"Based on what I've been told, three weeks is a good benchmark to re-evaluate and reassess where I'm at in my progress. Mentally, for me, [I'm just] staying positive and staying upbeat."
However, team owner Joe Lacob backed Kerr, saying he doesn't expect Curry to play in the first round as they don't want to rush him back from the injury.
“The doctors make the call for the most part,” Lacob told San Francisco’s 95.7 The Game. “We’re going to be conservative because he’s far too important to the franchise.
“I think [Kerr] was trying to be protective We certainly have that bias, I have that bias. If I were to answer that question right now, I’d say I wouldn’t expect him in the first round of the playoffs.”
Follow our Golden State Warriors by Chat Sports Facebook page to stay up to date on all things Warriors!
Curry is not the only Warriors player who is dealing with an injury as Kevin Durant (ribs), Klay Thompson (hand) and Draymond Green (pelvic contusion) are also out, but Curry said he isn't concerned about the health of the team.
"I don't think any of this is going to shake us from our ultimate goal of winning a championship," Curry said. "And at that point, we'll look back on all these incidents and laugh about them and understand that at the end of the day, it can make us stronger, it can give us a sense of urgency and kind of jolt the system as we go into the playoffs. As guys start to slowly come back and our team starts to get back to full strength, we can use this to our advantage and kind of galvanize the team and really focus in on what it takes to win another championship."
Golden State is currently 54-19 on the season after losing five of their last eight games. They are 5.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Stick with us in the Chat Sports app or follow Golden State Warriors by Chat Sports on Facebook to be the 1st to know every breaking story and all the rumors on the Golden State Warriors!
Back to the Golden State Warriors Newsfeed