Stephen Curry out, Kristaps Porzingis optimistic for the Celtics match

SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors they have mixed information about the injuries in front of them the first game after the All-Star break against the Boston Celtics.

Stephen Curry will miss his sixth straight game with patellofemoral pain syndrome, otherwise known as runner’s knee. The Warriors hoped the All-Star break would give Curry enough time to recover from the lingering inflammation inherent in this type of injury. But it looks like Curry will need more time to recover, as he has been is unable to participate in today’s team fight.

“(Curry) will be evaluated by our training staff tonight,” Kerr said. “But he just wasn’t where he needed to be and come through the scrimmage. And so it’s unfortunate, but we’ll have an update tomorrow after he spends time with the training staff tonight.”

On the bright side, the Warriors have upgraded Kristaps Porzingis question mark for their matchup with the Celtics. After a grueling week of rehab and an increased workload, Porzingis was able to fully account with the team today, one of the last hurdles they put in place before they decide to let him play. After practice, Porzingis told reporters that he feels good ahead of his potential return.

“I feel great,” Porzingis said of his first official scrimmage with the Warriors. “I feel good on the court. I did a ton of work before the All-Star break and a few days off, but I stayed active. I wanted to not take a little time off because I barely played this season. I want to go out there and feel good and start building on this one and finish the year really strong.”

Porzingis is thrilled to be playing on Draymond Green’s team, a pairing he and the Warriors are very excited about. Porzingis said he “loved” working with Green and now understands why he is so important to Golden State.

However, it’s a pairing that may have to wait. Kerr did not confirm whether Porzingis will actually be available for the Celtics game. But all the signs seem encouraging, especially after Porzingis’ performance cheeky answer when asked if he intends to make his Warriors debut tomorrow.

“I don’t know how much I can say,” Porzingis said with a smile as he looked to the Warriors’ PR team for a hint of what he might say. “But I feel good and ready to go.”

Warriors plan for Kristaps Porzingis when he returns

With Porzingis, Kerr doesn’t have a precise vision for a minutes cap, but is projected to be in the 15-minute range. As a result, Kerr expects to play him in short bursts as he continues to work his way back from injury. Porzingis said that while that short-minute plan wasn’t what he liked to be rotated at first, he’s come to adapt to that style of minutes.

“I used to hate taking short jump shots,” Porzingis said. “Especially when you’re coming back from something because you’ve been there for a while, it’s almost hard to get into a rhythm. You don’t want to come in and throw away the first shot. But sometimes I do now. So I’m coming in, you know, just having my opportunities. I’ve got to take them and find a rhythm that way.”

With Porzingis, the Warriors are especially excited about what he will bring to their offense. With Butler sat out the seasonand Curry sidelined with what they described as a day-to-day injury the last few weeks, they’ll look to Porzingis to give them a new dimension on that end.

“His ability to score the ball on offense, I feel like he’s going to be able to really help us,” said his old Celtics teammate, now Warriors teammate Al Horford. Although they were familiar with each other’s game, Porzingis’ role in Boston was more of a defensive enforcer instead of an offensive initiator. With the Warriors, they’ll be looking for more of the latter.

“He’s probably going to get more opportunities on offense, especially obviously we’re missing Jimmy and everything, I think there’s a great opportunity for him to come in and play a bigger role on offense.”

Regardless, Porzingis is slowly making his way back as he looks to become the Dubs’ X-factor going forward after the All-Star break.

“Again, not to put any crazy expectations on myself. Just one day at a time. Build off of the low minutes I’m going to have. Build slowly, and I’ll be fine.”