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Golden State Warriors fans are left biting their nails as the 2025-26 NBA regular season races to the finish line.
The play-in tournament is officially less than two weeks away. That means the Warriors have less than that time to accomplish multiple challenging tasks.
They need Stephen Curry to return, Kristaps Porzingis to get fully healthy, and the two stars to get on the court for a few regular season games to build some continuity.
All of that in 13 days. Actually even less, because neither Curry or Porzingis will play tonight. Curry is unlikely to play Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That leaves some possibility for the next game.
Simply put, Golden State has muddled through a forgettable season up to this point.
Who knows, maybe Curry returns and puts on his hero and unleashes some vintage Chef Steph electricity to close out the year. But it’ll nonetheless be difficult to forget what the team has gone through this year, from injuries to the Jonathan Kuminga situation and everything in between.
Now it is all about hoping for the best.
Golden State Warriors’ ideal finish to the season revealed
The Warriors were finally met with some encouraging news this week.
The team announced Tuesday that Curry fully practiced with the team. That’s the biggest development in over two months. Curry was also scheduled to participate in a five-on-five scrimmage, which would better reveal a return date target for the two-time MVP.
What the Warriors learned from Curry’s scrimmage should be discovered any time now.
With Jimmy Butler lost for the season and completely out of the picture, the organization is turning to the newly-formed duo of Curry and Porzingis, whom the Warriors acquired at the trade deadline buzzer in February.
Hope has literally come down to how well these two can mesh in the very few games they’ll probably have before the play-in tournament tips off.
Now for the best-case scenario.
As Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle notes, Curry’s return is possible Sunday against the Houston Rockets. Should the 38-year-old Warriors star be in the lineup that night with Porzingis, that’ll give Golden State’s two big guns five games to figure out some sort of chemistry.
Winning the first play-in game would give the Warriors six games of data entering another do-or-die tilt. That one would be for all the playoff marbles.
Six games is only a very small handful, but boy is it sure better than two, or one, or worse: zero.
Some golden magic on the way?
Well, folks, it is officially April. Curry hasn’t played an NBA game since January.
Let that sink in for just a second.
Let it sink into our minds exactly what is being asked of a 38-year-old star with all the mileage on his body. Curry, after two months in street clothes, is being counted on to return fully healthy, figure out how to play with a new teammate and get the Warriors past the play-in tournament.
Talk about some wild weight on one’s shoulders.
Of course, no one will look down on Curry even if he is unable to get the Warriors past the first playoff game. Times have been tough this season. To expect things to change suddenly is wishful thinking.
The more pressing matter is how the Dubs manage the upcoming offseason, but for now, fans are desperately hoping for their fantasy to become a reality this month.
Adel Ahmad Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad
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