With Conditioning in Mind, Stephen Curry’s Return is Pushed Back

Well, we’re all going to have to wait just a little bit longer.

For months, March 1 was targeted as Stephen Curry’s comeback from a hand and wrist injury that required two different surgeries. After further consideration, the team has chosen to keep him out of today’s home contest with the Washington Wizards. The new most likely date for Curry to take the court is two games later in a March 5 matchup with the Toronto Raptors at Chase Center. However, nothing has been confirmed by any stretch of the imagination.

As we all know by now, this whole debacle began when Curry’s left hand got caught under a falling Aron Baynes on Oct. 30, 2019, in just the fourth game of the season. Without Curry, the team has unsurprisingly struggled. In the meantime, Curry has been slowly but surely rehabilitating. With the team’s poor record, there is no need to rush him back in hopes of a playoff spot.

One of the main talking points surrounding the injury has been the nerve damage that Curry has experienced as a side effect. However, Steve Kerr cleared up the chatter surrounding this scary-sounding term, noting that Curry’s hand is fully healed and that the only lasting impact will be Curry adjusting to a slightly new feel for the ball.

“That’s been the case for the last week,” Kerr said. “He’s been limited to two scrimmages.”

As Kerr indicates, the real explanation for delaying Curry’s return to uniform is that he simply has not had enough practice with his newly repaired hand. This is obviously good news for Warriors fans, as it shows there are no additional concerns about potential damage to his hand. On March 2, Curry is expected to scrimmage in Santa Cruz for a rehab assignment as he once again tries to get back into the pace and style of an NBA game.

At this point, it’s clear that Curry wants to get back out on the court.

“He was not thrilled, but Steph is always very rational and easy to speak with,” Kerr said. “He put up a little fight, but also understood why we wanted to take extra precaution.”

Curry’s journey back to health is not a typical injury recovery. It is a more complicated procedure, both from a medical standpoint and a basketball standpoint. It must be placed in the context of the current state of the Warriors and the NBA. But it must also be understood that Curry is going to play basketball when he’s ready, regardless of the state of the team the Warriors are putting on the court. It seemed as though he might be ready, but he wasn’t. Soon enough, he’ll get back there, and we’ll all get to watch him play once again.