Steph Curry’s return quickens pulses of Dub Nation, but Warriors need a miracle

SAN FRANCISCO – When the Warriors take the floor Sunday at Chase Center, their lifeforce will be with them for the first time since January. The team’s season didn’t perish without Stephen Curry, but its collective heartbeat went feeble.Curry’s return makes that heartbeat loud enough to hear across the room. It quickens pulses on the court, in the locker room, in every NBA arena and the streets of Dub Nation. Any team gets appreciably better when its best player is active. BREAKING: Steph is BACK Read here: https://t.co/Nacxvru0Kd pic.twitter.com/318k2wYqEm — Warriors on NBCS (&commat;NBCSWarriors) April 4, 2026 If Golden State can prevail twice to survive the NBA play-in tournament, that would be a massive triumph. Winning a first-round playoff series? Now that would be miraculous.“Hopefully winning two playing games, and then we have another conversation,” Curry said. “That’s the only thing that’s in front of us right now.”While the welcome-back vibes are warm, it’s unfair to Curry, who turned 38 last month, to equate his return with the Warriors automatically becoming a postseason menace. “What’s fair is that we play at a high level and give ourselves a chance,” coach Steve Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area. “That’s all you know. Twelve years ago, I talked at my introductory press conference about winning a championship. I said something along the lines of, ‘We just want to swing at the plate every year, and some years are going to go well, and some years aren’t.’ We haven’t made the playoffs three different seasons out of 11.“So, who the hell knows? But you get a swing at the plate. If we have Steph, we get a swing at the plate. That’s all we want.”They have that swing because their season will continue beyond the April 12 regular-season finale against the Clippers in Los Angeles. And they can believe in their swing because Steph is a fantastic basketball player, one of the best to walk the earth.Still, winning two games, both on the road, means no rest for the kind of roster that needs all the downtime it can get. And next up would be a direct flight to face the top seed of the Western Conference, either defending champion Oklahoma City or San Antonio.Yes, beating either the Thunder or the Spurs would be miraculous – even with a healthy Steph. And miracles rarely overcome the unforgiving weight of reality.The reality is the Warriors have been without their second-best player, Jimmy Butler III, since Jan. 19 after he sustained a torn right ACL. They are without Moses Moody, a key reserve and occasional starter who sustained an even more serious injury. Neither is returning this season, and both are facing a long summer of rehabilitation.The reality is the Warriors are without 39-year-old center Al Horford, whose right calf strain has healed enough to participate in limited practice. He’s been out for three weeks and only hopes to play two of the five games remaining in the regular season.The reality is the Warriors are sending De’Anthony Melton out there with one fully functional arm, as his sprained left thumb has minimized one hand greatly.The reality is they still must monitor the minutes of starting center Kristaps Porziis and reserve guard Seth Curry, as well as the playing time of his older brother.The reality is the Warriors surrounding Steph are held together mostly by push pins and cellophane tape. And their 10th-place standing the West is equal parts their 9-18 record in Curry’s absence and the fact that all five teams below them spent the past two months in tank mode.Whether he was on the bench or resting his tender right knee at home or under the guidance of Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Dr. Rick Celebrini, Curry could only watch and hope.“I just wanted to be a part of that,” Curry said. “And that’s the most frustrating part of not being able to help. But, thankfully, I’ve been working my butt off to get back out there with a little bit of time left to try to find the rhythm that I had earlier in the year and see where it takes us.“I feel like I can do anything out there and be Superman, but I understand it’s going to take a minute to get back into the flow of things. But hopefully there’s enough reps to get ready for that NCAA tournament kind of atmosphere, where it’s one and done. Got to win games.”Superman, who wears a cape, is fantasy, a product of imagination. Curry, who wears a jersey, often performs at a level that is fantastic. He is, however, human. Let’s all remember that in the days to come.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Steph Curry’s return quickens pulses of Dub Nation, but Warriors need a miracle

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