OAKLAND, California: Stephen Curry is rehabbing his injured right knee about three times a day, spending four to five hours at the Golden State Warriors' practice facility to try to get back on the court for the defending NBA champions as soon as possible.
And, if there's any chance he can pull it off, that will be ahead of the initial two-week timeline Golden State general manager Bob Myers guessed. It's the playoffs, and the reigning MVP realizes he probably won't be fully 100 percent when he returns.
"I always have an optimistic view, no matter what it is," Curry said Friday. "I hope to get back sooner. Having talked to the doctors and athletic training staff, all the experts, that two-week timeline, as Bob said, was an educated guess on cases, other situations on guys that hurt the same thing I did and the kind of recovery time they had. Everybody heals differently, whether it's before two weeks, after two weeks, right at two weeks, the plan is to stay the same. Every day I'm getting treatment, every day I'm trying to do what I need to do to get back on the floor. When the body says it's time, then we'll push that button."
He's not ready yet to test the knee by shooting but expected to take that step in the coming days as long as he continues to improve. Curry began riding the stationary bike Thursday.
Curry considers himself very fortunate he didn't seriously damage the knee structurally when he slipped on a wet spot right before halftime of Sunday's Game 4 win at Houston. The Warriors eliminated the Rockets in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
An MRI exam Monday revealed a Grade 1 sprain of his MCL. Curry is expected to be sidelined for approximately two weeks, which would be at least the first three games of the second round. The Warriors will host Portland on Sunday afternoon to start the best-of-seven series. The Trail Blazers beat the injury-plagued Clippers in Game 6 on Friday.
"I just feel really blessed to have gotten out of that situation with only an MCL sprain," Curry said. "That could have been 10 times worse. I had some angels protecting me and keeping me light on my feet so I didn't put all that jerk and pressure on my knee and something catastrophic happened. That's why I've been real optimistic and just kind of joyful about the situation knowing I'll be back on the floor and joining my teammates soon."
AP
