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OAKLAND — After he walked with a slight limp to the press conference room, Warriors guard Stephen Curry sounded adamant about one thing surrounding the Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee.

Curry does not exactly endorse Warriors coach Steve Kerr saying there is “there’s no way he’s playing in the first round” of the NBA playoffs.

“Hopefully I prove what Coach said wrong and put myself in a position to get back as soon as possible,” Curry said before Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz at Oracle Arena. “Right now, who knows? I’ll just try to do my job in the rehab process, get back as soon as I can and control my presence with the team and help anyway I can when I’m out on the floor.”

The Warriors ruled Curry out for the team’s last 10 regular-season games. They then plan to reevaluate Curry around when the NBA playoffs start on April 14. Most players that suffer a Grade 2 sprain in their knee sit out between four to six weeks, making it likely that Curry will return just in time for the Western Conference semifinals.

Yet, Curry became encouraged about his recovery for two reasons. He does not need to walk with crutches. He also has perspective after suffering a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his right knee that caused him to miss six games in the 2016 NBA playoffs. He said “it don’t matter” whether he returned early from that injury, which arguably contributed to sluggish play as the Warriors squandered a 3-1 Finals series lead to Cleveland. Nonetheless, Curry said that rehab process will give him insight on how he has progressed in reaching “different checkpoint marks.”

“It’s a matter of your perspective. It could be worse. Count that as a blessing,” Curry said. “I don’t think any of this is going to shake our ultimate goal in winning a championship. At that point , we’ll look back at these incidents and kind of laugh about them. At the end of the day, they can make us stronger and give us a sense of urgency and jolt the system as we go into the playoffs.”

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Curry did not exactly share those sentiments right away after suffering the injury on Friday against Atlanta.

Curry initially heard a fan yell out “Where are the high tops?” in reference to Curry wearing low-cut Under Armour shoes. Curry admitted the injury made his wife’s 29th “birthday a little tough” with Stephen and Ayesha’s post-game plans suddenly becoming spoiled. Curry also considered the incident “frustrating” after missing the previous six games because of his fourth right ankle injury of the season. After Curry limped to the bench with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter against Atlanta, Curry sat and sunk his head into his hands.

Still, Curry said he “stayed positive through it all.” His initial thought: “Thank God it’s not my ankle.” His initial level of pain: “I didn’t feel like it was a season-ending thing.”

“It definitely helps knowing how my body responds to being out for an extended period of time and having to come back in pressure situations and high intensity playoff games,” Curry said. “I’ve been there before, for sure. I think I’ve handled it pretty well. Hopefully I can get as close to 100 percent as possible before I get back so I’m not limited out there.”

Curry shared that optimistic mindset despite missing a combined 21 games this season because of injuries. He also downplayed that his injuries stemmed from stepping on a players’ foot three times, slipping on the court once and having a teammate collide into him. On Friday, Warriors center JaVale McGee accidentally barreled into Curry’s left leg after falling down to contest a shot.

“All the work I’ve done to get my body where it is and be durable as a basketball player, I’m really proud of that stuff,” Curry said. “But basketball and sports in general, you can’t control everything. Accidents kind of happen in that sense. I’m not going to let it be a defeating situation at all. I treat it with a sense of humor and understand, at the end of the day, it’s a tough turn of events. But I’ll have an opportunity to play games that matter down the stretch.”

First things first.

As Curry begins his rehab, he will remain with the team during practices and home games. He will not travel until the NBA playoffs begin in three weeks. He will also encourage his teammates behind the scenes, including Quinn Cook, who will start at point guard until further notice. In the past four games, Cook has averaged 21.5 points on 57.6 percent shooting, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 37.5 minutes per game.

“He’s an NBA player and on this team for a reason. He has an amazing opportunity to show what he is about and help a team accomplish a goal. To not be passive at all on the court when he’s out there being anybody else other than himself, be aggressive, be a scorer, be a playmaker and do what we brought him here for. At that point, he can be proud of himself with what he’s about. We try to encourage that mindset as much as I can. At the end of the day day, he’s been playing amazing. That’ll continue throughout the rest of the regular season.”

Then when the playoffs start, Curry remains determined he will also play amazing. Will that happen in the first round of the postseason? Kerr said no way, but Curry believes he can otherwise.