Warriors News: Stephen Curry Could Return from Ankle Injury During Road Trip

The Golden State Warriors are hopeful star point guard Stephen Curry can return to the court during their five-game road trip, which starts Thursday against the Toronto Raptors.

The team announced Saturday that Curry should begin practicing next week as he recovers from a strained left groin.

Curry hasn't played since the Warriors' 134-111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 8. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Nov. 9 the five-time All-Star would be out of action on a day-to-day basis.

Because the team has three other stars on the squad, it can be easy to forget about Curry's value to Golden State. The Warriors are 3-5 in their last eight games without him, and they have a minus-0.8 net rating when he's on the bench, per NBA.com. Their net rating is 13.5 when Curry plays.

Curry is also a stabilizing presence. It may not be a coincidence the Kevin Durant-Draymond Green dust-up occurred while he was sidelined.

"He's got the respect of everybody in the organization," Kerr said of Curry, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Connor Letourneau. "He's very wise. He brings us together. He's a guy we count on to keep things rolling."

Letourneau noted Curry wasn't with the team at Staples Center when Durant and Green began arguing on the bench during what proved to be a 121-116 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Warriors' 125-97 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday was a step in the right direction after a rough stretch, and getting Curry back will be another big boost whenever he plays again. Golden State's road trip wraps up Dec. 7 against the Bucks.