Stephen Curry Will Return to Limited Practice Participation After Knee Injury

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will return to "modified" team practices Saturday as he continues to rehab from a Grade 2 MCL sprain, the team announced Friday.

Curry has been making "functional" progress and will be re-evaluated in a week. The two-time MVP has missed the team's last 13 games. Golden State has pulled out to a 3-0 lead in its first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs with Curry sidelined.

"He picks everyone up. He's so positive. It's not fake. He's always smiling and laughing," Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser said, per Mark Medina of the Bay Area News Group. "He brings an element of joy to the locker room and to the bench and the plane. Any room you put him in, the room lightens up."

The Warriors may not need Curry back at 100 percent until a likely Western Conference Finals clash against the Houston Rockets. The New Orleans Pelicans have raced out to their own 3-0 lead over the Portland Trail Blazers but are unlikely to threaten the defending champs in a seven-game series.

Having four of the NBA's best players affords the Warriors leeway other teams would not have. Whereas the Spurs have crumbled in the postseason as Kawhi Leonard continues rehabbing his quad, the Warriors have earned three double-digit wins in the series.

Preparing Curry for a second-round return to action is about getting him into peak form to face the Rockets, who have looked unstoppable in winning the first two games of their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.