Warriors have ‘cautious optimism’ on Steph Curry return

The Warriors are starting to see a path.

There is “cautious optimism” that Stephen Curry could return before the end of March, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. It’s not official. But it’s trending the right way.

Curry hasn’t played since January 30, sidelined by what’s commonly known as runner’s knee. He’s missed 18 games. Golden State has felt every one of them.

Now, there’s progress.

“I’m told he had a strong on-court workout Tuesday afternoon in Boston,” Charania said on NBA Today. “Starting to run, cut, move … like the Stephen Curry that we know.”

More importantly, no swelling. That’s been the key hurdle.

The knee has responded well after a PRP injection, and the next steps are conditioning and comfort. He’s still working individually, not yet back in team activities, but the ramp-up has begun.

When Curry plays, the Warriors look like a different team. He’s averaging 27.2 points and earned another All-Star nod. Golden State is 23-16 with him, 10-19 without.

That tells the story. The standings haven’t collapsed, but they’ve tightened. The Warriors are still in the play-in mix, though the margin is shrinking.

Getting Curry back won’t fix everything. But it sure changes everything.