Stephen Curry will be on hand, but Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala won’t when the Toronto Raptors and Golden State
Warriors meet Thursday night for the first time since the NBA Finals last June.
The Raptors took advantage of injuries to Durant and Thompson to beat the two-time defending champions 4-2 in the best-of-seven championship series,
getting a Finals Most Valuable Player performance from Leonard.
However, Leonard has since moved on to the Los Angeles Clippers, Durant to theBrooklyn Nets and Iguodala to the Miami Heat via the Memphis Grizzlies.
Thompson, who blew out his knee during a 30-point performance in the series-ending Game 6, remains sidelined.
Curry, meanwhile, is scheduled to return from a 58-game absence that resulted from breaking his left hand in the fourth game of the season against the
Phoenix Suns. The two-time MVP passed his final test when he scrimmaged with the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Calif., on Monday.
The Raptors, meanwhile, even without Leonard, have been playing at or near
their championship level throughout the 2020 season.
They will take the second-best record in the Eastern Conference up against a
Warriors team that has slipped to the bottom of the West.
