Stephen Curry has begun on-court workouts as he recovers from partial tears in his lower left leg (superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane to be exact) and will be re-evaluated in a week, the Golden State Warriors announced Wednesday. Curry is making progress, but he still has a ways to go in his recovery. As he told The Athletic's Anthony Slater last week, he will not be playing on Thursday when the Warriors begin their second-half schedule against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Curry, who had previously missed time in December and January with a shoulder injury, suffered this injury during a Feb. 4 game against the Dallas Mavericks. He has missed five games since, bringing his season total to 20 missed games and counting. He has now missed 151 games over the past six seasons due to a variety of injuries.
The Warriors need Curry back on the floor as soon as possible if they plan to defend their championship. At 29-29, the Warriors are in ninth-place in the Western Conference. They are only 3.5 games behind No. 3 Sacramento, but are simultaneously ahead of the No. 13-seeded Lakers by just 2.5 games.
In the crowded Western Conference, every game that Curry misses could prove essential to the Warriors.
In a perfect world, the Warriors would fight their way up to No. 6 and avoid the play-in round entirely. More likely, they'll need the play-in tournament just to make it to the playoffs. If they get there with Curry healthy, though, they will be among the Western Conference favorites regardless of their seed.
