Utah Jazz: Steph Curry will likely be back before Sunday’s Jazz-Warriors showdown

Golden State’s Steph Curry is targeting a return to action this Friday, which is bad news for the Utah Jazz who visit the Warriors on Sunday.

In case you hadn’t already heard, the Utah Jazz have been playing some pretty good basketball of late. And when I say pretty good, what I really mean is they’ve won 21 of their last 23 including nine in a row and have surged right back into the thick of the playoff mix in the crowded Western Conference.

That’s good news in and of itself, and considering that the Jazz face a pair of lottery teams in their next two contests – the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday – there’s room for them to climb even higher in the standings in the coming days. However, after that things are set to get a little tougher for the Jazz.

First, they’ll face the San Antonio Spurs on the road on the second night of a back-to-back. Even though Utah has enjoyed surprising success against the Spurs this season, we all know how tough they are to beat on their home court. Plus besides, they seem to be getting fully into playoff mode which should only make them even more daunting of an opponent.

Then two days after that, they’ll proceed to visit the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. I think it goes without saying how difficult the defending champs are to beat on their home court. The Jazz are just 1-8 there over the course of the past five years with the lone win coming in the second to last game of the year last season when the Warriors were coasting into the postseason and playing some key players for limited minutes while Klay Thompson rested.

With that being the case, some may have assumed that Sunday’s upcoming road contest against the Golden State Warriors would be a likely loss for the Jazz in spite of how well they’ve played. The Warriors are a phenomenal team who have given the Jazz plenty of problems through the years (as they have to most teams) and it would be far from an oddity to see Utah drop that game.

However, the Jazz’s outlook in that contest had been looking significantly better recently as all three of Steph Curry (right ankle injury), Kevin Durant (fractured rib) and Klay Thompson (fractured right thumb) have been sidelined with various ailments. It should also be noted that Draymond Green left the Warriors’ latest contest against the San Antonio Spurs with a pelvic contusion, but it isn’t likely that it will cause him to miss any time.

With three stars sidelined in a bout last week, the Warriors were toppled by the lowly Sacramento Kings, in Oracle Arena, no less. If the Kings can do it, one would think that Utah could also take advantage of a banged-up Golden State squad.

However, recent reports seem to indicate that the Warriors aren’t likely to be quite as banged-up when the Jazz come to town after all. It was announced today that Steph Curry is targeting a return to action for Friday’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks, two days prior to the showdown against the Utah Jazz.

If former NBA MVP Steph Curry is back in action, the Warriors suddenly become much more daunting. They went just 2-4 in his absence and are certain to do much better upon his return.

According to previously stated injury timelines, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson should still be out for the game, so Curry won’t have nearly as many weapons around him as he’s accustomed to. Nevertheless, he will still be an absolute threat and will need to be the point of emphasis for the Jazz if he does indeed play.

If he is able to meet his goal and play against the Hawks on Friday, it will be interesting to see how he looks in that contest as a potential precursor for his performance against the Jazz. When it was assumed that Curry, Durant and Thompson would all be out on Sunday, it wasn’t a stretch at all to chalk that game up as a likely win for the Jazz.

Now that he’s probably set to be back in action, though, Utah will have little room for error and will have to simply continue the electrifying play of their current run if they hope to earn a big road win in Oracle Arena on Sunday.

Next: Utah Jazz injury update: Derrick Favors out vs. Atlanta

Every game and every win is vital for the Jazz as they seek to earn the highest possible playoff spot. Although the game against the Warriors on Sunday won’t be as challenging as it would be if they were facing a fully healthy Golden State squad, Curry’s return is bound to make it much more difficult, raising the stakes even further.