As it appears, we may be closer than you'd think to seeing Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry back in action.
According to The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II , the two-time MVP is "targeting" a Mar. 1 return date. "That’s not set in stone, of course," Thompson's report stated. "More like a target date. But expect a return by the face of the franchise before next season."
Curry has been out since Oct. 30 – the fourth game of the season – with a fractured left hand. He's since had two surgeries on that fractured hand, but "looks healed" and has been more active in workouts and post-practice sessions.
The Warriors' past game was Curry's 40th absence of the season and by the All-Star break, he will have missed 51 games – the most of his career.
As a result of his injury and All-Star guard Klay Thompson's season-ending ACL injury suffered in last year's NBA Finals, Golden State is 10-34, the worst record in the NBA. Curry's return on Mar. 1 would give him the final 22 games of the season and though that won't be enough time to make a playoff push, it's plenty of time to see how the superstar guard meshes with his new teammate D'Angelo Russell.
In Curry's only four games this season, he averaged 20.3 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game shooting 40.9% from the field and 24.3% from 3. It wasn't his best four-game showing by any means, but the sample size is small enough that he could boost those averages over a 22-game stint.
Even if those final 22 games don't mean anything, the NBA is better when Curry is healthy and the return of a player of his calibre should shake things up toward the back end of the season.
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