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OAKLAND — Though he completed his first full-court scrimmage on Friday without any reported setbacks on his Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, Warriors guard Stephen Curry is listed as questionable for Game 1 of the Warriors' second-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday at Oracle Arena.
"Still to be determined. They come up with those snazzy words for a reason – doubtful, questionable, probable," said Curry, who considered it "50-50" he will play after sitting out since March 23. "Just trying to work my way up whatever I need to do with whatever Chelsea [Lane], the rest of the athletic training staff and coaching staff need to see before I can get back out there."
The Warriors had both a closed practice and then a curtain to cover up the team's full-court scrimmage once media interviews began. Curry participated in the practice without wearing a brace on his left knee, though he wore sleeves on both of his knees to keep them stabilized. Afterwards, Curry and Lane talked with Warriors coach Steve Kerr for about 20 minutes, while he was exercising on an elliptical bike.
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"I was just telling him what's going on. There's no real politicking at all," Curry said. "It's not that serious. It was just a matter of 'How you feel? and 'Can you do this? and 'Can you do that?' and check off all of the boxes along the way. Once I get through all of those check points and I have confidence in my body, I'll be out there."
The last checkpoint? Before practice ended, Kerr said that the Warriors would both reevaluate Curry on Friday evening and after morning shootaround on Saturday.
"It's not as simple as, 'Does he feel good? Then throw him out there,'" Kerr said. "It's more about, 'Let's give him a few days and see how he responds from it.'"
The NBA has not finalized the rest of the Warriors-Pelicans scheduled beyond Game 1, leaving it open ended on how many days Curry could have either to finalize his rehab or recover after his return. Nonetheless, Curry downplayed whether the schedule and the quality of New Orleans' play would dictate his timetable.
Instead, Curry said it hinges on his recovery. Though he said his left knee "feels pretty good" and that he "doesn't have any pain with the things I have been doing," Curry is mindful of his conditioning and how he increases his workload for the playoffs. He averaged 32 minutes this season, though he averaged 35.4 minutes during the 2017 NBA playoffs. Curry said it was "part of the conversation" about having a conservative workload.
"Whether I'm out there or not, we have confidence in ourselves to win this series," Curry said. "I'd rather be out there. That's what I'm working toward, bu tit's more about getting ready to play playoff type of basketball. When I'm back out there, I'll be able to look at myself in the mirror and everybody who is a part of that decision can all agree on that it's time to go."
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