Warriors notebook: Steph Curry expected to play Game 2 but unclear if he’ll start

SAN FRANCISCO — Coach Steve Kerr wouldn’t tip his hand Sunday on whether Stephen Curry would start Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Chase Center.

After playing about 22 minutes in the Warriors’ dominant Game 1 victory Saturday, all signs point to Curry being available for Game 2, but it’s remains to be seen whether Golden State will start Curry or send him in midway through the first quarter.
Curry, who’s returning from a foot injury, came off the bench Saturday, tallying 16 points, four assists and three rebounds. After his first game in a month, Curry said “everything was smooth for the most part.

“It was nice to get back out there, it was nice to feel a playoff vibe again, and obviously it’s different coming off the bench and trying to make the most of the minutes that are [allotted] right now,” said Curry, who’s under a minute restriction.

Curry missed the last 12 games of the regular season as he nursed a sprained ligament and bone bruise in his left foot. As of Thursday, the three-time NBA champion said he was still experiencing mild pain and discomfort in his injured limb.

While he works his way back into the lineup, Curry said it was his decision to come off the bench instead of starting.

“I learned a lot just from even just watching Klay’s comeback,” Curry said. “When I watched him go through it when he came back, that’s a long time he was sitting in the first and most of the second and you’re trying to find rhythm. So I wanted to play kind of I guess a constant pace throughout the game and on what my allotment was that come off the bench and play those six minutes every quarter was probably the right move.”

Kerr previously said he’d wait to see how Curry’s body reacts to playing and will consult with the Warriors’ training staff before determining the path forward for the rest of the series, which continues with Game 2 in San Francisco on Monday before heading to Denver later in the week.

Curry said managing his injury going forward will be “a tough balance.”

“It’s tough because of the balance between the rehab and therapy part and managing it but also trying to get as much work in and getting my skill set right,” he said.

But on Sunday, Curry was doing “pretty well,” according to Kerr.

“He’s going to get shots up today, a little more work, but should be good to go for Monday,” the coach said.

Poole’s snub

The verdict is in: Jordan Poole is not a finalist for the league’s Most Improved Player award much to the disappointment of many Warriors fans and the 22-year-old’s teammates.

The finalists, revealed Sunday on Inside the NBA on TNT, are Darius Garland, Ja Morant and Dejounte Murray.

Poole was snubbed off the list despite going from G League player a season ago to one of the most reliable offensive weapons for the Warriors this season as he filled huge voids for Golden State when Klay Thompson and Curry were injured.

There’s probably no one more disappointed in this outcome than Draymond Green, who had been trumpeting Poole for the award for the last few weeks. Green went on another passionate rant in support of his younger teammate after practice Sunday.

“If Jordan Poole isn’t the … Most Improved Player then the NBA really needs to relook at their process because you cannot find a guy on that list that has made a bigger improvement, I don’t care,” Green said. “If we’re talking about the most improved player, if the award was voted upon based upon its name, then it’s no brainer who’s the most improved player. I just fear that these awards sometimes aren’t voted on in junction with the name, and that’s the issue.”

Name a bigger Jordan Poole stan than Draymond Green. We’ll wait.

That’s a hard pass

Don’t expect there to ever be a moment in the postseason, save for garbage time, without Curry, Thompson and/or Poole.

“Yeah, I do not have a comfort level at this point,” Kerr said of running a lineup without at least one of those guys on the court.

After watching Game 1, can you blame him?