Steve Kerr can't wait to see the shimmy.
The Warriors coach joked with 95.7 The Game's "Damon, Ratto & Kolsky" on Wednesday that Steph Curry's signature celebration is what Kerr is most excited to see Thursday night when the two-time MVP returns to Golden State's lineup after a 58-game absence. Kerr and Warriors fans will have fewer chances to see it, at least initially, as Kerr indicated the Warriors will "for sure limit [Curry's] minutes" Thursday night at Chase Center against the Toronto Raptors.
"We'll probably play him in shorter bursts," Kerr said. "Normally over the years, our fans have watched him play the whole first quarter, sit out six minutes of the second quarter and then finish the half and ultimately that's what we'll probably get to. But, [against the Raptors we'll] probably play him in six-minute bursts and below 30 minutes, for sure. Probably somewhere in the 25-minute range."
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Curry broke his hand on Oct. 30, and he has not played since. The Warriors went 13-45 without Curry and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson, slogging all the way through a midseason makeover and the All-Star break.
Their season will end with a spot in the NBA Draft Lottery rather than the playoffs, but Curry's return will give the Warriors a stretch-run jolt. They'll need him -- and then some -- to keep pace with the reigning NBA champion Raptors on Thursday, as Toronto is just about on pace to match its record from last season without the presence of reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
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The Raptors ended the Warriors' pursuit of a third straight championship last year, but Curry will have something far more important on his mind. Getting back to what he does best.
Golden State Warriors
"More than anything, (I'm) just really happy for Steph," Kerr said. "He really wanted to come back Sunday against [the Washington Wizards], and we had to kind of really push him to take that extra day in Santa Cruz and get in the gym, get more work in. We just wanted to be really careful with everything, and this has been a long, long haul for Steph.
"He loves playing so much. I'm happy for us, obviously, I'm happy for our fans, but I'm happiest for Steph just because he's gonna be back playing basketball and doing what he loves."
Perhaps, for his coach's sake, Curry will even break out the shimmy Thursday.