SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Eleven minutes. About the time it takes to cross the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. That’s how long Golden State Warriors stars Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson have spent together on the same court during a game this year.
Thompson returned from an injury-forced, two-year hiatus about halfway through the season. Green and Curry then missed several months because of injuries themselves.
READ MORE: Belmont Shooting Prompts Lockdown at Carlmont High School
Warriors fans hope the three are able to reunite Saturday night when Golden State opens its first round playoff series at the Chase Center against the Denver Nuggets.
“There’s a lot of excitement about that,” Curry said at a Thursday news conference. “There’s also some uncertainty about the rotations in terms of what it is going to look like. I feel we have enough in the bank in terms of experience in the playoffs and what the atmosphere is like to be able to make those adjustments on the fly.”
You can also add veteran Andre Iguodala into the mix. He just recently returned from missing months himself due an injury. Curry, Thompson, Green and Iguodala were all key members in past the Warriors playoff runs.
“We’ve been very in tune with each other, in terms of what it is going to take in terms of communication, in terms of being able to make it work,” Curry said.
READ MORE: Man Arrested On Murder Charge In Richmond Fatal Hit-And-Run
To get ready, Thompson said he planned to turn on the highlight reel and revel in some of Golden State’s past playoff runs.
“It’s very special, it’s very rare in pro sports,” Thompson said. “We’ll definitely lean on it, I’ll definitely watch old footage of the best games. I’m just so excited … to be a participant in playoff basketball again. I’m not going to take it for granted, I’m going to play my hardest, I’m going to lead. We’ll definitely have to rely on each other’s chemistry, which will be fine. We’ve been playing together for so long it’s like clockwork.”
The Nuggets are counting on seeing No. 30, and they know what that means for Golden State’s transition game and pressure from the perimeter.
“They’re a great running team. They averaged 18 fast-break points a game against us. We know that 3-point shooting is prolific,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “… We know we’re going to see a healthy Klay, a healthy Steph and a healthy Draymond. And that’s a team that’s won multiple world championships.”
MORE NEWS: No Plans For New COVID-19 Restrictions Amid ‘Slow But Noticeable Increase’ In California Case Rates
© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.