SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed Warriors star guard Stephen Curry, who remains out because of runner’s knee, will be out until after the All-Star break. Curry will miss his fifth-straight game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night and Kerr said he will also miss Sunday’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Kerr is hopeful Curry will be able to return in the Warriors’ first game after the break against the Boston Celtics on Feb. 19th.
“He’s doing well,” Kerr said. “That’s the hope (after the break). It’s really kind of a day to day thing. So it’s hard to predict for sure whether he’ll be playing in that first game after the break, but that’s definitely the hope. The idea is, if he can get through everything this week, then that puts him on pace to be playing then.”
In other team injury news, forward Jimmy Butler had successful surgery to repair the ACL in his right knee on Monday, the team announced. Butler, who initially suffered the injury during a Jan. 19 win over the Miami Heat, is expected to return at some point next season. The surgery was performed by Dr. Bert Mandelbaum in Los Angeles.
“Everything went well,” Kerr said before Monday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. “And now the recovery begins.”
Kerr noted that while he has not spoken with Butler yet, he did speak to Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, and Warriors Director of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Celebrini, who was there for the surgery. Kerr is hopeful that Butler will be able to return and be around the team at some point in the near future as he continues his rehab.
“I know he wants to be back with the group,” Kerr said. “He talked about that after the injury, so hopefully we’ll see him soon … it will be great to have Jimmy here. He just gives everybody confidence. It’s a really hard thing to be out for a year. Melt had his ACL last year. It will be good for them to be together, and Melt can help him a little bit. It’s always good to have players around when they’re injured. It just makes everything feel tighter and more together.”
The Warriors are 3-6 since Butler’s injury and will have a different look after the All Star break because that is also when new acquisition Kristaps Porzingis is expected to make his Warriors’ debut. Porzingis was acquired just before last Thursday’s deadline from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.
“Every year the All Star break just seems to come at the right time,” Kerr said. “The players are pretty wiped out. I can tell by mental mistakes over the years, the last few years before the break, and then the difference in the energy and the focus before and after the break. It’s pretty obvious that everyone needs a little rest, a little vacation, so it’s coming around at the right time. It’s important for us to handle our business and go out and play a really good game tonight, try to get a win and then one more Wednesday against San Antonio. We can’t go on All Star break too early. That’s always the fear.”