Injured Steph Curry confident he'll be in lineup for NBA Finals Game 4
BOSTON (CBS SF) -- Golden State Warriors fans breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday afternoon when Steph Curry walked into an interview room without a noticeable limp and declared he'd be in the lineup for Friday's Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
The injury happened in the blink of an eye in Game 3. Bodies were scattered across the parquet floor, diving after a loose ball late the fourth quarter.
Curry emerged from the pile limping and holding his left foot. It's a pain the Warriors star felt before. Ironically it was against their NBA Finals opponent -- the Boston Celtics -- during the regular season.
In March, he sprained his foot on a similar play involving Celtics star Marcus Smart. That play resulted an injury that kept Curry sidelined for the last month of the regular season.
"Because I went through what I went through in the regular season and coming back, I know exactly what it is and what I've got to deal with and the soreness/pain level and all that," Curry told reporters Thursday.
"So once I got checked out last night, I knew I wouldn't have to go get any extra tests just because we've been through this before. There's a good understanding of what it is and all that. I guess comfort knowing I've been through it before, but also, you would rather not have to deal with something like that at this point in the season."
Until tip off Friday evening, the Warriors training staff will be busy getting Curry ready. Golden State had a team rest day on Thursday.
"About ten and a half hours of sleep, a couple dunks in the ice bucket and that's about it for now," he said of his recovery efforts. "Then take advantage of today and tomorrow to get completely ready for the game. Get as much recovery and healing as possible and understand how important Game 4 is. I'm excited about the opportunity."
Curry has been averaging 31 points a game during the Finals so health is vital to the Warriors title hopes.
"This one just wasn't as bad as that one (the March injury)," he said. "As soon as you started to take a couple of steps, you kind of know whether you can run normal, cut normal or not. Back then, I couldn't. Yesterday, I could. That gave me a little bit of confidence knowing it wasn't as bad."
"We'll see how it feels tomorrow. I know I'm going to play, but just see how it responds to that type of impact."
