With the second half of the season starting up just a few days from now, the margin for error is thin for the Golden State Warriors, who are preparing for a marquee clash against the Boston Celtics. With the Western Conference standings ever-changing, head coach Steve Kerr has now delivered an update on both of their key stars: Stephen Curry and Kristaps Porzingis.

“Well, we gave the vets an extra day, so Steph would be here tomorrow,” Kerr told media members at practice. “Kristaps has been here the last handful of days and practiced today with the team… He’s feeling good. We won’t make a determination until after tomorrow, when we practice tomorrow afternoon, we’ll get up and down the floor and scrimmage.”

In other words, there’s good progress, but no guarantees. Porzingis, who will make a return to the team he won a championship with in 2024 after the All-Star break, is still making his way back to full strength.

Meanwhile, as fans may know, Curry is dealing with knee soreness, something that forced him to sit out this year’s All-Star game, and the team hasn’t seen him in action yet. Kerr’s admission about giving the veterans time signals caution, and they seem willing to wait to give their franchise cornerstone enough time to return before making their push for the play-in.

“That’s the hope, but, again, we haven’t seen Steph yet,” Kerr told reporters. “And Kristaps needs to participate in a scrimmage first. So, yeah, we’ll just see how it goes tomorrow.”

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That final evaluation is tomorrow, the day of a full scrimmage, and if everything goes well, the team could play the Celtics at close to full strength. If not, their uncertainty will likely persist longer.

Steve Kerr Explains How Kristaps Porzingis’ Fit Could Change Everything for Golden State

With Stephen Curry as the engine, Kristaps Porzingis’ acquisition can be the Warriors’ new dimension. Steve Kerr didn’t hesitate when asked about the center’s fit with the team, adding on how he makes them better.

“You don’t have to change a whole lot,” Kerr told reporters. “The biggest difference, I guess, that he provides is his post-ups. He’s a pretty good post-up player, especially against switches. You throw him the ball at the foul line, the elbows, even the low block, he can score in those spots.”

As everyone knows, the Golden State has long thrived on motion offense and perimeter-based attack, and now, with Porzingis, mismatch-hunting becomes an option, something the Celtics did heavily during their championship run. Against switch-heavy defenses, the team can give him the ball on the elbow, let him face up, and punish any player smaller than him.

Kerr pointed out the contrast between him and Jimmy Butler, noting that Butler thrives attacking downhill then kicking out, whereas Porzingis can operate from isolation spots. That adjustment, according to Kerr, was the focal point of practice.

If Porzingis can clear his workout, the Warriors gain a powerful half-court weapon, and against his former team, that could be the difference between simply competing and sending a message to the league.