Eddy Curry has lost more than 70 pounds in the past 18 months, including about 30 since last fall.

On Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra offered his strongest endorsement of Curry so far this season, when he thought long and hard before he responded to a question about whether Curry might finally get a chance to play at some point this week.

"I feel like I'm close,” Curry said. “Me, personally, I'll say I'm there. But, you know, we'll see what happens. You know, it's all in (Spoelstra's) hands. When he calls me and lets me know that it's that time, then I'm right there, ready to lace them up."