On Thursday, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic reported that Stephen Curry isn’t ‘close to playing’ as he recovers from a sprained MCL in his left knee, and pegged his return for Game 3 of the next round, assuming the Warriors complete a sweep of the Spurs on Sunday.
On Friday, the Warriors provided an official update on Curry, stating that he will begin to participate in modified team practices, and that he will be re-evaluated in one week.
Stephen Curry Injury Update: pic.twitter.com/NVsX3GdKjn
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) April 20, 2018
If the Warriors sweep the Spurs and the Pelicans sweep the Trailblazers, the earliest their second round series would begin is April 28, which would fall one day after Curry is re-evaluated. April 28 would mark five weeks since Curry sustained the injury, and one week earlier than his initial six week timetable for return. If the Warriors do indeed start the series on April 28, and Curry is able to return at the six week mark, he’d likely return for Game 3 of the series, as Thompson has predicted.