The NBA MVP may be back in action on Monday night, as ESPN’s Marc Spears is reporting that there’s optimism that Stephen Curry will play in tonight’s Game 4 between the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers.
While Warriors team doctors have final say in afternoon decision, sources say there is optimism Stephen Curry will come off bench tonight.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) May 9, 2016
This isn’t really surprising. Spears had previously reported that Curry’s status had been upgraded to questionable, so his health is obviously moving in the right direction.
The return of Curry is certainly welcome news. How necessary Curry will be in Game 4 or the rest of the series can certainly be debated.
The Warriors have been pretty darn good without him for all but two of the team’s playoff games and are 4-2 in his absence. They’re up 2-1 on the Blazers, and to lose the series they’d have to lose at least one game in Oakland, something they have not done in these playoffs and only did twice during the regular season.
Still, while Golden State won Game 2 fairly convincingly, they trailed 87-76 heading into the fourth quarter and needed a dominant final frame to hold home court advantage. To the extent that momentum exists, Portland’s 120-108 Game 3 victory certainly gives them that.
Curry hasn’t played since injuring his knee in the final seconds of the first half in Game 4 of the Warriors win against the Houston Rockets.