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The Golden State Warriors are enthusiastic about Stephen Curry being able to manage an increased workload after playing 27 minutes in his return. Curry scored 23 points, snatched seven rebounds, and dished out seven assists in a closely-contested 121-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors, leaving the door open for more minutes down the stretch.
“He came out of the game feeling good,” said head coach Steve Kerr, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “We can ramp up his minutes from here.”
The game plan for Curry was to play in shot five- to six-minute bursts and stay on the floor for 24 to 28 minutes. Not only did he manage to stay within that range but he looked fresh during his appearances, giving the coaching and medical staff more faith to increase his minutes from here on.
Kerr said the plan was to get him up to his regular 32- to 34-minute workload in a couple of weeks. If Curry keeps poised, he should be able to reach that threshold.
Curry is used to having some leash to work with — whether that is playing with fouls, or going a little longer than he should when feeling his shot is heating up. On Thursday, he was taken out of the game after completing a four-point play — a total buzzkill, yet the sensible move for a medical staff that has a lot of responsibility in its shoulders.
The Warriors' two-time MVP tried to see the humor in it after the game:
“Got subbed out twice after I made threes,” said Curry. “No reaction from coach when I was scowling at him.”
Should things go according to plan, Curry won't have very many reasons to scowl at Kerr from here on.
