The Golden State Warriors will be without their franchise cornerstone once again as they travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks on Monday night. Stephen Curry’s status has been in major question as the Warriors look to finish the season strong.
When Will Stephen Curry Return from Injury?
Stephen Curry has officially been ruled out for tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. The four-time NBA champion continues his lengthy rehabilitation from a right knee injury that has kept him sidelined since late January.
On March 21, the Warriors provided a significant update on their star point guard’s condition. The team announced that Curry continues to make good progress in his recovery from patella-femoral pain syndrome and bone bruising. According to the reports, he has intensified his individual on-court workouts and will be incorporated into live action and team practices in the coming days.
However, the update also confirmed that Curry will miss at least two more games before any potential return. This means the earliest Warriors fans could see the two-time MVP back on the floor would be Wednesday, March 25, when Golden State hosts the Brooklyn Nets at Chase Center.
The 38-year-old last suited up for the Warriors on Jan. 30 against the Detroit Pistons, when he exited in the third quarter after experiencing discomfort and limping off the court. That appearance marked the beginning of what has become a frustrating, extended absence for both Curry and the franchise.
In that game against Detroit, Curry had already been dealing with discomfort following a workout session on Jan. 24. The injury, commonly known as runner’s knee, has proven unpredictable throughout the recovery process. Curry himself acknowledged the difficulty in a late February interview, calling the situation “a weird one” and noting that the healing timeline has been hard to predict.
Prior to going down, Curry was putting together another stellar campaign despite the Warriors’ inconsistent play. He was averaging a team-leading 27.2 points per game to go along with 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds across 39 appearances.
The Warriors have struggled mightily without their floor general. Golden State has gone just 6-15 since Curry’s injury, watching its record fall from 27-23 to 33-38. The team now sits in 10th place in the Western Conference standings, firmly entrenched in the play-in tournament picture rather than competing for a guaranteed playoff berth.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last week that there is “cautious optimism” surrounding Curry’s return by the end of March. That timeline would give him roughly a week to get his legs under him before the play-in tournament begins. The Warriors’ final game of the month comes on March 29 against the Denver Nuggets.
Curry will be re-evaluated again this week upon the team’s return from its current road trip. If all goes according to plan, Curry could make his long-awaited return against the Nets on Wednesday, giving the Warriors a much-needed jolt of energy for the final stretch of the regular season.
