The Golden State Warriors expect Stephen Curry to return from his ankle injury on Saturday.

“I doubt he’ll play tomorrow with a back-to-back,” Steve Kerr said Thursday after practice. “I don’t think that makes much sense. He’s probably going to want to, but I think it’s more likely he plays Saturday (against Memphis). If all goes well, I expect him to play Saturday. Even if (the scrimmage) goes well, I would not expect him to play tomorrow.”

Curry went through practice Thursday.

Draymond Green was asked if Kevin Durant is a legitimate candidate to win the honor at the end of this season. Green won Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Durant is second in the NBA in blocks per game at 2.3.

"I think he is, if not the leading candidate," Green said. "I don't think it's really a race right now. The way he's been playing on the defensive side of the ball, he's been spectacular. It's a thing now, which is impressive because it always seemed like it was impossible to be a thing, but he's getting more and more attention for that and obviously he's helping our defense tremendously with the way he's playing on that side of the ball. So, if I had to vote, if I had a vote, I'll vote for him right now."

"It's cool that people are starting to recognize me for more than just a scorer," Durant said. "I've been trying to shake that rap for about since 2012. So when people start to notice what you do, I mean obviously, it's not all you do it for ... but when fans watching the games, and anybody watching the game, you want them to see what you do. I try to impact the game as much as I can on both ends of the floor."

While Stephen Curry continues to make progress on his injured ankle, he will remain out until at least Friday. Curry was re-evaluated on Tuesday.

Curry went 4-on-4 on Sunday and has also been doing his own work on the court.

Steve Kerr has previously said Curry would need to practice two to three times before returning.

Curry was injured on December 4th in New Orleans.

Kevin Durant has been emboldened to test his individual gifts during his second season with the Golden State Warriors.

“I’ve always been free, but coming here allowed me to unlock parts of my game,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I knew I had certain abilities, but I wasn’t as confident in it. That’s why you play the game.

“Nothing’s changed, and it’s weird because all I’ve seen is emotional moments. … ‘Anything is possible,’ with KG. MJ on the floor crying, ’Bron crying after he won for Cleveland. KG waited [13] years to win. MJ’s father died before one of his championships, and he was crying. ’Bron cried after he brought one back to Cleveland, where he grew up and he left and came back. For me, I didn’t have the incentives coming into the championship. I had no incentives. It was strictly basketball.

“Once we got it done, I sat back and reflected and patted myself on my back a bit. I worked hard for this. I enjoyed seeing it all come to fruition and now I have to test my ceiling.”

Durant has become one of the NBA's better defensive players since joining the Warriors. Those close to Durant say that part of his game has been the product of self-introspection.

“He’s so locked in,” Quinn Cook, the Warriors’ two-way player, told Yahoo Sports. “I’ve never seen somebody so locked in at all times. I’m at his crib all day. He’ll have his headphones in just watching videos and highlights. We’ll watch full games together, no matter the hour of the day.”

“The defensive aspect has evolved because of me being a student of the game, wanting to be great at every part of it,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I knew that was the next step. That was hard for me as a scorer in my career, focusing on defense every single possession. Nobody told me I need to work on my defense, but it was a matter of me thinking about it every possession.”

The Golden State Warriors are considering a trade of JaVale McGee.

McGee has fallen out of the Warriors' rotation with the emergence of Jordan Bell. Bell gives the Warriors a more athletic presence at the position one situation call for it instead of Zaza Pachulia. McGee filled that role last season.

David West will remain as the center of the second unit.

The Milwaukee Bucks have held talks with the Warriors for McGee and Pachulia. Pachulia previously played for the Bucks but the Warriors will be reluctant to trade him.

McGee hasn't been happy with his minutes and re-signed with the Warriors on a minimum deal.

The Warriors also have Damian Jones and Kevon Looney at center as well as Draymond Green and Kevin Durant.

Daryl Morey admitted the Houston Rockets have a singular focus and that's on the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors have reached The Finals in each of the past three seasons and eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.

"It's the only thing we think about," Morey said on ESPN Radio's The Ryen Russillo Show on Thursday. "I think I'm not supposed to say that, but we're basically obsessed with 'How do we beat the Warriors?'

"Last year, the Spurs knocked us off, so we're very worried about the Spurs. They're always one step ahead of every organization and guard us better than anyone. But we calculated it -- it's like 90 percent if we're gonna win a title, we've gotta obviously beat the Warriors at some point. So we're extremely focused on that. A lot of our signings and what we do during the year is based on that."

The Rockets have improved their defense over the offseason and rank seventh in efficiency on that side of the floor.

Steve Kerr held a meeting after Stephen Curry sprained his right ankle on Dec. 4th.

Kerr conveyed a message to the Warriors that they would need to shift and sharpen their focus.

The Warriors were similarly without Kevin Durant for a few weeks towards the end of last season.

“Last year, KD went out for 18 games and we were No. 1 in the league in defense and it was because we had a sense of fear that, oh man, we’ve got to play otherwise we’re in some trouble,” Kerr said. “That meeting was about the exact same thing — Let’s be the best defensive team in the league from now until Steph gets back.”

The Warriors' offense hasn't been as sharp without Curry.

“We’re just not as efficient,” Kerr said. “We’re not setting as many screens. Everybody is a little out of position. We don’t have the same precision. The game happens so fast, everything really needs to be precise. And we’re really not precise right now.”

Stephen Curry will sit out the Golden State Warriors' game on Christmas Day against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to his sprained ankle.

The Warriors announced that Curry's ankle had been re-evaluated and will be out for at least another week even though he's making progress.

Curry rolled his right ankle late in a road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 4.

The Warriors have won five straight games without Curry.

Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have formed a partnership that may be used as an example for future superstar pairings.

“We understood that at the end of the day it was all about winning,” Curry said.

“This was no kind of, for lack of a better term, pissing contest when it came to how we were going to get it done.”

“I appreciated his journey and how hard he worked,” Durant said. “Steph didn’t have problems. He still decided to work and become the best shooter to ever play and become the best player in the league.”

While Curry had to live up to being the son of a former NBA player, Durant was a prodigy who grew up with a single mother.

“I’ve always had a hard time understanding what those pressures might have felt like from that early an age,” Curry said. “I never had the expectations that every time he sets foot on the floor he’s going to be the best player, he’s going to be this guy that everybody’s talking about. There’s only a few that have had that kind of pressure put on them and still been successful, made it on to the NBA. I have an appreciation for that.”

The arrival of Durant forced Curry to reconsider the way he plays the game.

“It just gave me a new challenge,” Curry said. “You still have to be efficient, effective and play the game the right way.”

Stephen Curry claims he and Kevin Durant don't let their sneaker rivalry impact their friendship and work relationship.

"I mean, don’t get me wrong, everybody wants to have the hottest known shoe. That is why you are in the business, you want to be known as the best. But when it comes to me and KD and us being on the same team—him with Nike and me with Under Armour—that doesn't get in the way of our personal relationship and what we do on the floor," said Curry.

"I be looking at his shoes and he looks at my shoes and we be cracking jokes on them all of the time and all that kind of stuff—I’m interested in what colorways he's got coming out and he is interested to see what we are bringing to the table, so all that stuff is part of being aware and interested in the sneaker game. At the end of the day, we all want to play well on the court, we all want to win and we all want to sell shoes, and I think we can accomplish all of that."

Curry was asked if he's feels added pressure being Under Armour's only major NBA player.

"Nah, not really. I embraced it from the jump. I knew when I got my first signature sneaker back in 2015, I was the only one (at Under Armour) to have one so it’s been that way forever. The goal is to continue growing the stable with high-level basketball players in the UA basketball category and hopefully they see what I am able to do with my product, and that is the situation for now but I highly expect that to change."

Curry was also asked how he wants his signature line to be remembered.

"That I shocked the shoe game. For one, I think the business that we created with the SC brand and Under Armour—and it is almost unprecedented—from starting with nothing and growing it to what it is now and hopefully what it becomes in the next five to 10 years. I take a lot of pride in what I do on the court and the opportunities that come out of that, especially with people wearing my name on their feet and their body with all of the product that we make. I took a chance with UA and UA did the same and we created something special and hopefully it lives long beyond my playing career."