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Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the plan is to have Stephen Curry back in the lineup on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kerr also said he believes it is “possible” that Draymond Green could return against the Wolves.
Curry and Green did not play on Thursday night against the Houston Rockets, the first of a home back-to-back set for the Warriors. Golden State plays Minnesota again at home on Sunday to cap a stretch of three games in four nights.
“Steph’s knee stuff the last couple of weeks … he’s in pain,” Kerr said before facing the Rockets. “We’re not playing him. We can’t play him through this stretch every game and expect him to get through. I thought he looked really good in Denver. To me he looked more active, more agile, but we have to help him get through the woods on this one.
“And same thing with Draymond, otherwise you’re chasing your tail and then guys end up missing weeks at a time. So it’s nothing more than training staff helping them get through the woods, and hopefully over the long haul that means they end up playing more games than they otherwise would’ve.”
Curry missed his second game in the past four Warriors games with bilateral knee injury management. Curry did not play because of the pain in both of his knees on Nov. 27 in a home loss to Oklahoma City. He finished with 24 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes in a loss at Denver on Tuesday.
Curry admitted that the injury could become a “nagging” issue but said that he and the team were trying to stay ahead of it. He said he wasn’t sure if he would have to miss future games as part of maintenance of the issue. But he also insisted that he was not concerned about the injury.
Green missed his second straight game with tightness in his left calf. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday, and the Warriors said the results came back clean. His status for Friday’s game against the Wolves will be determined.
“I think it’s possible he’ll play,” Kerr said.