Stephen Curry May Return For Hawks vs. Warriors, Report Says

Golden State Warriors are in for a major injury boost with Stephen Curry targeting a return for their game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

The Warriors point guard was sidelined for the last six games including their 89-75 loss against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Curry picked up the injury during the Warriors’ victory against Spurs on March 8 and the 2017 NBA champions have struggled without him, having managed just two wins in six matches.

According to ESPN, Curry will have his ankle reassessed Tuesday, after which a decision will be made about his return. The report claimed the point guard is likely to return Friday against the Hawks unless he suffers an unforeseen setback.

The 30-year-old is expected to have two full days of practice ahead of his return. The Warriors are 13-8 without Curry in the lineup this season and are 40-10 with the two-time MVP. He is averaging 26.3 points, 6.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds this season.

Curry has a history of ankle injury troubles and the Warriors are treading with caution despite the latest injury appearing to be a minor one. They are said to be allowing the player ample time to recover from it and are not willing to rush him back to action for fear of a setback especially with the post-season just around the corner.

However, Curry is not the only injury worry for Warriors coach Steve Kerr, with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson also currently sidelined. The former is out with an incomplete rib cartilage fracture, while the latter has a fractured right thumb.

Durant is expected to be out for at least two weeks with his last appearance coming during their win against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 14. Thompson missed the last two games and was expected to return against the Hawks, but a recent ESPN report claimed it could be longer than expected.

Coach Kerr’s injury woes deepened after their Monday night loss against Spurs as Draymond Green left midway through the second quarter with what was later confirmed as a pelvic contusion. The extent of the injury remains unclear, but the Warriors power forward indicated it was minor and he is not expecting to miss any games, with their next coming on Friday against the Hawks.

"It'll be fine," Draymond told reporters after the game, as quoted on ESPN. "I think it's just kind of something that's kind of at the peak right now, but it's calmed down a little bit since it happened. So, it's not that serious."

"I don't think so, but I don't know," he said, when asked about missing any upcoming games. "I'll just go day by day and see if it improves over the next couple of days. But I don't think so."

The Warriors are currently 53-18 in second place in the Western Conference standings and are 3.5 games behind conference leaders Houston Rockets. They are under no threat from third placed Portland Trail Blazers, who are 12 games behind the Oakland team.