![\"Al](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2264856850-e1773174658152.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Al Horford of the Golden State Warriors looks at the LA Clippers bench at Chase Center on March 02, 2026 in San Francisco, California. <\/p>\n
The Golden State Warriors<\/a> may be inching closer to getting a key veteran back as Al Horford<\/a> continues progressing in his recovery from a calf strain.<\/p>\n According to Anthony Slater of ESPN<\/a>, Horford remains limited to individual work but is optimistic about returning before the play-in tournament \u2014 and potentially logging a few regular-season games beforehand.<\/p>\n With seven games remaining, the timeline offers a narrow but important window for Horford to ramp up.<\/p>\n Horford Progressing But Still Limited<\/p>\n Horford has missed the last nine games due to a calf injury, during which the Warriors have gone 4\u20135.<\/p>\n The team last provided an update following a March 27 re-evaluation, noting that the 39-year-old center was \u201cmaking good progress\u201d and had begun light on-court workouts.<\/p>\n \u201cHe continues his daily off-court rehabilitation routine and has started light on-court workouts in recent days,\u201d the team said in a statement.<\/p>\n Another re-evaluation is expected soon, which could determine whether Horford is cleared for full team activities.<\/p>\n Veteran Presence Remains Valuable<\/p>\n In his first season with Golden State, Horford has played a steady role in the rotation.<\/p>\n Across 43 games (12 starts), he is averaging 8.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game while providing spacing and interior defense.<\/p>\n His efficiency has also stood out, shooting 53.5% from two-point range and 36.0% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n Beyond the numbers, Horford\u2019s experience has been a stabilizing factor for a team navigating injuries and lineup adjustments throughout the season.<\/p>\n Stephen Curry\u2019s Potential Return Adds Optimism GettyStephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors took a major step in his recovery from a lingering knee injury.<\/p>\n Horford also pointed to the looming return of Stephen Curry<\/a> as a major boost for the Warriors\u2019 playoff outlook.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that he\u2019s able to come back, that\u2019s tremendous,\u201d Horford said, via Joseph Dycus of the Mercury News<\/a>. \u201cIn a position that we\u2019re in \u2014 fighting for our lives \u2014 it\u2019s huge for our group.\u201d<\/p>\n Curry recently took a significant step forward by participating in a five-on-five scrimmage, his first full-contact action since dealing with a lingering knee issue.<\/p>\n Head coach Steve Kerr said the team will evaluate how Curry responds before determining next steps.<\/p>\n \u201cGotta see how he responds to the scrimmage and we\u2019ll take it from there,\u201d Kerr said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Warriors Fighting for Play-In Position<\/p>\n Golden State enters the final stretch of the season at 36\u201339, currently sitting in the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n The team has struggled without Curry, losing 16 of its last 25 games, and will likely need to win two play-in games to secure a playoff berth.<\/p>\n That makes the potential return of both Curry and Horford critical.<\/p>\n The Warriors are hoping to get Curry back in time to build rhythm ahead of the play-in tournament \u2014 and Horford\u2019s timeline appears to align with that same goal.<\/p>\n Warriors Playoff Outlook Hinges on Health<\/p>\n With limited games remaining, every update carries added weight.<\/p>\n Horford\u2019s ability to return \u2014 even in a reduced role \u2014 could provide depth, defense and veteran leadership at a crucial point in the season.<\/p>\n For now, the signs are encouraging.<\/p>\n But until he is cleared for full participation, the Warriors remain in wait-and-see mode as they push toward the postseason.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a veteran NBA reporter for Heavy.com, covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He brings over 20 years of experience across local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Originally from the Philippines, he is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Warriors\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Al Horford of the Golden State Warriors looks at the LA Clippers bench at Chase Center on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-368558","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2254119335-e1773948205369.jpg\")
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