© Joe Camporeale | 2020 Feb 12
Stephen Curry has set a date for his return. Actually, he set it a long time ago, we just didn’t know.
“It’s always been March 1,” Curry said of a target date, after Saturday’s practice. “But that for me mostly is just to give you a target. You have to have something to work towards in the rehab process because that gives you a barometer for each week, what you’re building towards. Like I’ve always said, I haven’t had any setbacks along the way, this has been a very long, strenuous rehab process, and it’s something I haven’t been through before, so it’s nice that I’m getting that type of response with every new challenge that I kind of go after.”
A March 1 return at home vs. the Wizards would be four months after Curry fractured his left hand in an Oct. 30 game vs. the Phoenix Suns, when 260 pound center Aron Baynes landed on his extremity. Despite being close to game ready, Curry admitted the hand still doesn’t feel completely healed.
“I’m getting used to what a new normal is,” Curry said. “It definitely feels different than the right [hand], But you can try to get to a point when you’re actually playing basketball, you don’t think about it. Whether it feels all the way the same or not, it really doesn’t matter. As long as I’m not worried about the things that I’m trying to do, the strength part of it. And how it bounces back the next day after pushing it, whether it’s contact stuff or all that, you have to pay attention to all that type of stuff … it is going to feel different.”
Curry received an ovation from his teammates during Saturday’s practice after Kerr announced he’d be scrimmaging for the first time since the injury.
Should Curry stay healthy for the remainder of the season, he would have the chance to play in 22 games including his scheduled debut vs. Washington.