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The return of Stephen Curry against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday brings the sweet part of what has been a bittersweet season for the Golden State Warriors and their fans. Following a four-month absence due to a broken left hand, Curry will rejoin his teammates on the court and finish out the remainder of a 2019-20 season to put behind.
The Big Winner
Yet no one wins here more than the NBA, who no longer has to “flex” Warriors games due to a lack of interest. So long as Chef Curry is suiting up, the Warriors have a puncher's chance against any team — and that alone makes it compelling TV for a sport that has greatly suffered from a ratings hit this season.
Six of the Warriors’ next seven games are on ABC, TNT or ESPN and 13 of the final 20 regular-season games are on national TV (h/t Anthony Slater of The Athletic).
Still a work in progress
Coming back to the national audience by no means signifies the Warriors are back to be must-watch TV. The facts remain true, most of Golden State's roster is comprised of young, fairly inexperienced talent that has been either signed this season or acquired as a G League or the free-agent market.
Besides Curry, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, and Damion Lee, who got a few games in last season — every other player in this roster has yet to even play a full season in Warriors uniform.
The Warriors have played musical chairs in the past three weeks, signing players like Jeremy Pargo, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Dragan Bender, Mychal Mulder, and most-recently Chasson Randle out of China. Those are the guys Curry will be playing next to, a far drop from a juggernaut lineup that included the now-injured Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.
Minutes and appearances
While the Warriors have given Curry the green light to finish out the season, they have an edict from the front office to not compromise his health going into next season. That means a likely minutes limitation that can start with 25 minutes and keep him under 32 the rest of the way.
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Golden State has four back-to-back games left in its schedule, which means Curry will likely be a scratch in those. The Warriors could also choose to shut him down early, especially if the race for the worst record in the league becomes rather tight.
It's safe to assume he could appear in roughly 15 games the rest of the way, but that could always change, depending on the outcome of games.
Performance
The dangerous part about Curry's return is that he will make his first appearance and instantly become the focal point of the defense from the moment he touches the ball — a tough ask for any player coming off a four-month injury.
While Curry could still rescue his record of 10 straight seasons shooting 40% or above from 3-point land (shot 24.3% through four games), the emphasis will hinge on giving him a healthy amount of minutes next to Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins — two major cogs for next season's aspirations.
As odd as this sounds, Curry will be more of an instrument for the front office to see where they should go with this roster in the summer, who to keep and who to drop coming into 2020-21.
Players like Damion Lee and Marquese Chriss have already carved out a spot in next year's rotation. Rookies Eric Paschall and Jordan Poole have also impressed lately, while sharpshooter Mychal Mulder looks to be an interesting cog worth keeping for an offense that thrives in 3-point shooting.
Curry's dynamic with these players will be broken down through analytics, and if he stays on the floor longer than his minutes' restriction, it's likely to give the coaching staff a better look at his collaboration with these new pieces.
