Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry said he will be on a minutes restriction — likely 24-28 minutes — when he makes his return to game action on Thursday against the Toronto Raptors.
Curry said he is excited to play after four months of rehab while recovering from a broken left hand. He has played in four games this season, averaging 20.3 points, 6.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
“It feels like the first day of school pretty much all over again, which is exciting,” Curry said at shootaround Thursday. “So I feel pretty comfortable, pretty confident in where I’m at physically — and just excited to get back out there.”
Curry said he knows opponents will be testing his hand in the beginning.
“I welcome it with open arms,” he said.
He hopes that he just gets into the flow and doesn’t think about the hand.
“Hopefully, it doesn’t (become an issue) — there aren’t any thoughts, and I get to play my game the way I see it and just be able to react and make plays without having second thoughts or hesitation, ” he said “If I need to make a left-handed pass, no matter where it is, or finish with my left, or defend and get a deflection, or take a hit with it — that I’ll be able to do all that without thinking about it.”
Without Curry and Kevin Durant, who left in free agency, the Warriors have stumbled to a 14-48 record — the worst mark in the league.
How much Curry contributes remains to be seen. He said that he and the Warriors have discussed playing in back-to-backs but a final decision hasn’t been made yet. The Warriors have four sets of back-to-backs remaining on the schedule.
At Caesars Sportsbook, the Warriors opened as 8-point home underdogs against the Raptors. Oddsmakers estimated that Curry is worth anywhere from 3-5 points to the point spread.
“I think [Curry] is as valuable as anyone to the spread in the NBA,” Alan Berg, senior oddsmaker for Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN. “He’s worth a lot.”
Curry isn’t just looking at this game. He said that he still wants to play for Team USA in Tokyo Olympics.