Sixers' Seth Curry Looked Lively in First Practice Back From All-Star Break

Philadelphia 76ers veteran guard Seth Curry has been through a lot this year. In November, the 30-year-old guard had every intention of playing another season with the Dallas Mavericks as he had multiple seasons left on his contract.

Then, as Curry stated, the Mavs made a bad business decision and sent him packing to the Sixers. Although he wasn't bitter about landing in the starting lineup of an Eastern Conference contender, Curry hit a bump in the road after a marvelous start to the season.

In early January, Curry was notified he had tested positive for COVID-19 on the same night he was sitting out with an ankle injury. The Sixers guard then went on to miss multiple week's worths of games after getting off to a red-hot start to the year.

As expected, Curry was a bit rusty when he finally returned to the lineup, but getting back to his early-season form was more challenging than expected. Not only was Curry feeling more fatigued than usual, but he also continued to deal with minor nagging injuries, which bothered him.

Before contracting COVID, Curry averaged 17 points while shooting 59-percent from three through the first eight games of the season. In the 20 games after his return, those numbers dropped to just ten points-per-game and 37-percent from three.

Sometimes, the NBA All-Star break can rejuvenate a player as a week off can allow them to get some much-needed rest and time to heal. For Curry, he needed that additional time off, so when he returns, he feels better than ever. We have yet to see the Sixers veteran back in game action, but his acting head coach Dave Joerger revealed following Wednesday's practice that Curry looked solid.

“He was not groggy,” Joerger said on Wednesday in regards to Curry. “His body looked lively today. I was loving it. I thought he looked sharp today, made shots, just seemed like maybe as much mental. You don’t know what he got hit with and having to try to fight back through that. I’ve not been through it, but it seemed like it was wearing on him a little bit, and so we’re looking for big things from him in the second half.”

The Sixers need Curry to come back with more consistency beginning on Thursday night. While they've been able to lean on Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Tobias Harris offensively, somebody in the starting lineup will have to help Philly knock down more threes. Currently, the Sixers don't have anybody who can do it better than Curry.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.