With All-Star Weekend all set and done, the NBA now enters the home stretch. For the Golden State Warriors, the final section of the season begins on Thursday with a home matchup against the Boston Celtics as they attempt to close out the final 27 games with a favorable record, which would catapult them into the playoffs.

For one player on the Warriors, this game against the Celtics might have extra meaning. Kristaps Porzingis was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Warriors at the trade deadline for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, but has yet to make his debut in a Warriors uniform due to his recovery from Achilles tendinitis.

However, it seems like Porzingis is closer than ever to returning to action, and it may come against his former team, with which he won a championship back in 2024.

At Steve Kerr's first press conference returning from the All-Star break on Tuesday, he fielded questions about Porzingis' availability and gave a promising answer.

"We gave the veterans an extra day, so Steph will be here tomorrow, but Kristaps has been here the last handful of days. He practiced today with the team, looked good, he's feeling good. We won't make a determination until after we practice tomorrow in the afternoon. We'll get up and down the floor and scrimmage, which we didn't do today. Tomorrow, we'll have a better feel for (Porzingis and Curry) ... Kristaps needs to participate in a scrimmage first, so we'll see how it goes tomorrow."

Kerr has been optimistic that both of them would be available with the extended rest and rehab time given by the All-Star break, and this is another step in the right direction, especially for Porzingis, considering he'll still need time to get into the flow of game condition and get adjusted to the Warriors' play styles, even when he can participate in games.

One of the reasons the Warriors are being cautious with both Porzingis and Curry right now is because of how monumental their presence will be down the stretch of the season. By ensuring they're fully healthy now, the Warriors are maximizing their odds of keeping the pair available for the important games in March and April.

Right now, the Warriors are 29-26, good for 8th in the Western Conference. They're 3.0 games behind the Suns for the 7th seed and 4.5 games behind both the Lakers and the Timberwolves for the 5th seed. Though the Warriors' 2-4 record in their last six games before the All-Star break didn't help, those playoff seeds are still well within reach, especially considering the Warriors' remaining schedule is extremely average with an almost exactly .500 combined record.

Porzingis will have to play a big part in the late surge alongside Curry, since Jimmy Butler will remain out due to his torn ACL. Porzingis will likely have to slide into a second-option role on offense on many nights, and the Warriors will look to him to lighten a bit of the defensive attention on Curry. Additionally, his defense projects to be great next to Draymond Green and Al Horford, placing more duties on his plate.

It'll be a sprint to the finish line over the final 27 games for the Warriors, but right now, all they can do is hope their stars get fully healthy and are raring to go.