The Golden State Warriors will continue to play it cautious with Steph Curry's troublesome right ankle.
With the Warriors up 2-0 in their first-round series with the Houston Rockets, they can afford to be more patient than they might be otherwise. But head coach Steve Kerr - while acknowledging that "there's a smaller margin for error" when Curry sits - insisted Monday night that his superstar point guard's return will ultimately be dictated entirely by how he's feeling.
"We'll see how he responds the next couple of days, and if he's not right, obviously being up 2-0 does give us more cushion if we decide to sit him," Kerr said. "But it will be based on his health, not the series score."
In other words, Curry might come back and play with the Warriors up 3-0, or sit out even if the Rockets come back to level the series.
"I'd like to think if it were 1-1 and he was still not able to play, we wouldn't play him," Kerr said. "We'd never want to put winning ahead of a player's career and his health. We've seen teams do that and paid for it. Players have paid for it in the past. So we want to make sure Steph is right and his (ankle) is fine and healthy."
The Warriors, though, don't seem particularly concerned about the Rockets making it a series, whether Curry plays or not. Andre Iguodala likened the first-round matchup to "a scrimmage in practice."
Curry missed the Warriors' Game 2 win on Monday after tweaking the ankle in Game 1, when he also sat out the majority of the second half. His status for Thursday's Game 3 is uncertain.
