Warriors’ Stephen Curry expected to play Friday; green ‘possible’

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  • Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN staff writerDecember 5, 2024, 9:41 PM ET

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      Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Before that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for nearly 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.

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SAN FRANCISCO – Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the plan is to have Stephen Curry back in the lineup on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kerr also said he believes it’s “possible” Draymond Green could return against the Wolves.

Curry and Green did not play Thursday night against the Houston Rockets, the first of a home back-to-back set for the Warriors. Golden State faces Minnesota again at home on Sunday to end a three-game, four-night stretch.

“Steph’s knee thing the last couple of weeks … he’s hurting,” Kerr said before facing the Rockets. “We’re not playing him. We can’t play him this stretch every game and expect him to come through. I thought he looked really good in Denver. To me he looked more active, more agile, but we’re have to help him get through the forest on this one.

“And the same thing with Draymond, otherwise you’re chasing your tail and then guys end up missing weeks at a time. So it’s nothing but coaching personnel that helps them get through the woods, and hopefully in the long term that means , that they end up playing more games than they otherwise would have.”

Curry missed his second game in the last four Warriors games with bilateral knee injury treatment. Curry did not play because of the pain in both of his knees on Nov. 27 in a home loss to Oklahoma City. He finished with 24 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes in a loss at Denver on Tuesday.

Curry admitted the injury could become a “nagging” problem, but said he and the team are trying to stay ahead of the curve. He said he wasn’t sure if he would have to miss future games as part of the maintenance of the problem. But he also insisted he was not worried about the injury.

Green missed his second straight game with left calf tightness. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday, and the Warriors said the results came back clean. His status for Friday’s game against Wolves will be determined.

“I think it’s possible he’ll play,” Kerr said.