Warriors' Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes to return vs. Hornets

By Jovan Buha
Published

After being initially listed as questionable, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will play against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Oracle Arena, according to the team.

But that's not the day's biggest news.

Forward Harrison Barnes will return to the team's lineup for the first time after missing 16 games with a sprained left ankle, marking the first time the Warriors' preferred starting five has played together in over month:

As noted above, center Festus Ezeli and swingman Brandon Rush will also be available, which bodes even more trouble for the Charlotte Hornets now that the Warriors basically have #FullSquad (the only rotation player out is Leandro Barbosa, who's nursing a left shoulder sprain).

Barnes expressed excitement and optimism about his return, via Inside Bay Area:

"I'm feeling good, it's been a long recovery process and I'm glad to finally be back on the court and playing on game day," he said. "It's been rough being out. It's never fun sitting out and having to watch games, lift on game day."

Barnes said he isn't sure what to expect when he returns to the court.

"I'm sure there'll be a little bit of rust," he said. "I hope the first shot hits the rim with all the excitement. But other than that, I expect to be fine."

The Warriors are 17-0 with Barnes in the lineup, and 14-2 without him (he injured his ankle on Nov. 27 in Phoenix). He's averaging a career-high 13.4 points (on a career-high 50 percent from the floor) and five rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game.

Barnes' 3-point shooting (38.9 percent), size, defense and athleticism has made him an invaluable contributor to the Warriors' starting lineup and small-ball attack, as his underrated ability to defend big men makes him the ideal stretch 4 in the modern era.

Curry, meanwhile, was listed as questionable after re-injuring his left shin on Saturday vs. Denver, but decided to give it a go after testing his shin during warm-ups. After the way he torched the Hornets last time they faced off, and because of his obvious ties to Charlotte and his father, Dell, it makes sense why Curry is playing.

Basically, the Hornets are probably in for a long night.