As the Golden State Warriors head into the Play-In Tournament for the third year in a row, this time as the 10th-seed facing the Los Angeles Clippers in their first matchup, much of the attention is focused on the health of their stars.

The regular season was riddled with injuries across the board, including two major season-ending ones to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody. Though some players are getting healthy just in the nick of time, it creates some uncertainty about how effective they'll truly be in a game that will determine if the Warriors' season continues or if they'll be flocking to the draft lottery simulator.

Ahead of the Warriors' Play-In game against the Clippers on Wednesday, Steve Kerr gave an optimistic, but also realistic, update on Steph Curry's continuing return from injury.

Initially, Kerr went viral for stating that Curry would be under a minutes restriction for this game, but many repostings of this quote failed to mention that the restriction referred to going over 40 minutes, not the typical 20-30 minute cap that minutes restrictions usually hover around.

Considering Curry was out for 27 straight games before playing four of the last five games to end the season, and hasn't yet cracked even 30 minutes in any of those four games, it's reasonable to say he won't play more than 40 minutes, even if it is a win-or-go-home scenario.

Later, Kerr said he thinks Curry will likely be able to stretch to at least 30 minutes, and "hopefully more." Considering Curry averaged about 31 minutes per game this season and 32 minutes per game the past two seasons, it's not far-fetched to say that will be the range he'd occupy when balancing his return from injury with the high-stakes nature of this Play-In game.

Curry also corroborated Kerr's words, saying he thinks he'd be able to push for a few more minutes than planned, potentially meaning he could be out there for anywhere from 32-36 minutes, especially if he catches fire or if the game goes into overtime.

As long as Curry isn't hampered on the court by injury, it might be a foregone conclusion that he will work his magic and put up a quality performance.

In his career, Curry has played in four Play-In games: two in 2021, one in 2024, and one last year. Though his record is just 1-3, it's by no means his fault.

Over those four games, Curry has averaged 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 66% true shooting percentage — in the only two times he averaged over 66% true shooting percentage across a season in 2015-16 and 2017-18, he was the league leader.

It is unparalleled efficiency and scoring in these high-stakes games. 37 points against the Lakers in 2021, 39 points against the Grizzlies in 2021, then 38 points against the Grizzlies again last year is truly a sight to behold.

Curry's track record extends to do-or-die games in the playoffs, too, as in his six appearances in a Game 7 in his career, Curry is averaging 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists on 63% true shooting. That includes the iconic 50-point game in 2023 to knock out the Sacramento Kings in the first round and his near triple-doubles to eliminate the Houston Rockets in both the 2018 conference finals and last year's first round.

Curry is, of course, older and not as healthy as he was for any of these other games, but he is certainly not someone to bet against in these critical games.