Curry plans game two return, Thompson tells Warriors ´don´t relax´
Stephen Curry plans to return for the Golden State Warriors in game two against the New Orleans Pelicans, but Klay Thompson is urging his team-mates not to depend too heavily on their star point guard.
Two-time MVP Curry has not played since March 23 – his first match back after an ankle injury – due to a medial collateral ligament sprain and sat out the 123-101 victory over the Pelicans in their Western Conference semifinal opener on Saturday, despite having been upgraded to questionable.
The 30-year-old was not risked but intends to finally make his return at Oracle Arena on Tuesday.
“If it were up to me, I would have played for about 20 minutes,” Curry told ESPN.
“The plan is to return Tuesday, but ultimately it’s up to the training staff. I feel good.”
Plan accordingly, #DubNation #StrengthInNumbers pic.twitter.com/DvF1hzJzTi
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 29, 2018
Thompson, who spoke about the raised tempo in the first match against New Orleans compared to their 4-1 triumph over the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, warned Golden State against becoming complacent when the five-time All Star is back.
“We’ve played well in this postseason without Steph, it hasn’t been as easy as it looks but we’ve adjusted to life without him,” said Thompson after scoring a team-high 27 points off 10-of-22 shooting.
“Hopefully he comes back Tuesday but we still have to have the same mindset if he isn’t – that’s where we are at our best. If he does come back it’s a natural human emotion to be relaxed because we have so much production coming back on our line-up.
“That’s going to be a test for us to put that away in our minds, focus on the task at hand and not depend on Steph to save the day.
“He’s done it plenty of times but we have a very deep team, playmakers all around, just don’t relax because Steph’s coming back. He’s going to give us a huge boost but just don’t relax.”
The @warriors pick up a big Game 1 W!
Klay: 27 PTS, 6 REB
KD: 26 PTS, 13 REB
Draymond: 16 PTS, 15 REB, 11 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLk#DubNation 123 | #DoItBigger 101 pic.twitter.com/wvnRoPZZhj
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2018
While Draymond Green posted a triple-double (16 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists), Kevin Durant dropped 26 points and grabbed 13 boards and is eager to see Curry back on the floor.
Durant said: “I’ve just been thinking about how he feels mentally, because he loves the game as much as everyone I’ve been around. Just worrying about how he feels not playing. But he looks great in practice, looks great in workouts, in pre-game stuff.
“I wasn’t even thinking about him playing because we had a gameplan already, but we knew he’d be getting close after the first round.
“It’s exciting for him to be getting back. I’m more excited as his brother that he gets to play basketball and do something that he loves.”
