Dieter Kurtenbach: In Steph Curry's euphoric return, only eight minutes really mattered

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News on Apr 6, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

There was joy. There was euphoria.

There was the Chef, back in the kitchen, tossing 29 points into the pot in 26 minutes like he hadn’t missed a thing while he sat out the last 27 games.

But then, because these are the 2025-26 Golden State Warriors, there was a loss.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr emerged from the chaos that was Sunday’s 117-116 loss to Houston and offered a quote that felt like a Rorschach test for the delusional or drunk (off Steph Curry’s brilliance, of course).

“We’re back in the mix,” Kerr said. “We’re back in the fight with Steph.”

A reminder: This team is the No. 10 seed in the West, a fate the Warriors effectively sealed with Sunday’s loss. That “mix” will require winning two road play-in games just to earn the right to get fed to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I suppose wood chippers also mix things.

No, if you want the real story from Sunday, you only needed to watch eight minutes of the game — the end of the first, second and third quarters.

That’s the short time Curry shared the floor with Kristaps Porziņģis.

Porziņģis is the kind of center the Warriors could have always used. The Warriors have deployed stretch fives before (DeMarcus Cousins, Mo Speights, Dario Šarić, Quinten Post), but Porziņģis is the most well-rounded.

Think about it: Curry has terrorized the league with nothing more than good screeners (Zaza Pachulia, Javale McGee, Kevon Looney) at the five. Make that good screener a good passer, too (Andrew Bogut), and Curry wins MVPs. But outside of the fleeting moments (251 minutes) he’s played with 6-foot-9, 39-year-old Al Horford this season, he hasn’t played with a center who is a good screener, passer and shooter in the same body.

Porziņģis represents a new frontier for the Dubs, and seeing as he was acquired for a test-drive period of sorts before he becomes a free agent this summer, seeing how he and Curry play together is somewhat fundamental to the team’s future plans, no?

Future plans that, when considering the Warriors’ path for the remainder of this season, should take top priority.

And it makes these next few games an expensive, public speed date.

The duo’s debut was a comedy of errors and brilliance.

Kerr admitted before Sunday’s game that Curry and Porziņģis had not even scrimmaged together in the two months since the Latvian big man arrived at the trade deadline from Atlanta. Their collective on-court basketball experience kicked off Sunday night with just under three minutes to play in the first quarter.

The limited on-court time was on Porziņģis, not the minutes-restricted Curry. Porziņģis played like a man who forgot the rules of physics, racking up five fouls in the third quarter — including two in the backcourt that were as unnecessary as a screen door on a submarine. He fouled out with 10 minutes left in the game.

But those eight minutes he and Curry did play? They were pretty awesome, to the tune of a 112 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) and an 87 defensive rating. If you play to a net rating of plus-25 for even 25 minutes in a game, you’re going to win the vast majority of the time.

After a shaky start, the Warriors’ offense with the duo suddenly looked like the kinetic, chaotic masterpiece we remember from the good ol’ days. Porziņģis didn’t just space the floor; he renovated it. He created lanes for Curry that were wide enough to drive a bus through. We saw the classic Warriors inverted screening — Curry setting a pick for a 7-footer — and it resulted in buckets that looked far too easy for a team this deep in the standings.

But the result is secondary to the chemistry. That will have to be developed, even though it looked easy on Sunday. Curry has a knack for making that happen.

Yes, Curry’s incredible return was a much-needed reminder that basketball can be fun in San Francisco. But those eight minutes were the true point of encouragement for the Dubs. They were a few, ultimately fleeting moments of hope for the future.

And who knows — the Warriors might have won Sunday if Porziņģis hadn’t fallen prey to Alpren Sengun’s flopping.

The 2026 playoffs might be a short, painful trip for Golden State. But if No. 30 and No. 7 can actually figure out how to exist in these coming days, the Warriors might actually have a future worth talking about.

The early returns are in: This “mix” is messy, but the recipe looks to make sense.

____