The Golden State Warriors received some great news ahead of Monday night’s game.
After long-time NBA insider Marc Stein reported that Stephen Curry would return to the lineup against the Wizards, Steve Kerr confirmed the news. The superstar guard has missed the team’s last three games after suffering a foot strain. Over his first three games with the Warriors, he averaged a somewhat uncharacteristic 18.3 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Stephen Curry Returns
After being re-evaluated for his injury on Friday, Curry remained sidelined for the Warriors game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. He saw his injury status upgraded to questionable on Sunday, and he entered the day with the same designation.
While having Curry back on the floor is great news for the NBA, it’s even better news for a Warriors team that’s off to a surprising start. Golden State is 5-1 to begin the year and won all three games that Curry missed. This included back-to-back victories over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Warriors have also won four of their five games by double digits, with their closest win coming against the Houston Rockets 127-121.
A lot of the success for Golden State has come on the defensive end, where they’ve held opponents to just 103.0 points per game (2nd). They currently hold the second-best defensive rating in the league, which only makes the return of Curry all the more frightening for the rest of the league. Golden State’s offense is about to get a significant boost, and they could quickly look like one of the best two-way squads in the league.
Speaking of which, Stephen Curry’s return couldn’t come at a better time. The Warriors will face the Celtics, Cavaliers, Thunder, and Mavericks over the next week-plus. If Golden State wants to prove they can hang near the top of the league this season, this is the stretch to do it.
Stephen Curry’s return also makes an already-amazing night of NBA action even better! All 30 teams will tip off this evening, and you can check out the schedule here.