Patrick McCaw ‘making functional progress,’ to begin modified drills

NEW ORLEANS -- Patrick McCaw, who suffered a severe back injury in a fall on March 31 at Sacramento, has been cleared to begin modified basketball activities, the Warriors announced Thursday.

The second-year guard was re-evaluated by the team’s medical staff, which determined he is “making steady functional progress,” enabling him to participate in light shooting and running drills.

“If you think about where he was a month ago, that night, to where he is now, basketball doesn’t even enter mind,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after practice at Smoothie King Center. “Thank God he’s healthy and walking and moving and on a good path.”

With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!

Insofar as McCaw is scheduled for another evaluation in four weeks, it is safe to assume he definitely will miss the remainder of the postseason, even if the Warriors reach the NBA Finals.

McCaw was diagnosed with a lumbar spine contusion after landing hard beneath the basket when being undercut by Kings guard Vince Carter at Golden 1 Center. He was strapped to a gurney and taken to the UC-Davis Medical Center, where he remained until the next afternoon before being released.

Kerr stopped short of considered the opening of training camp in September as a timeline for McCaw’s return.

"We’re just kind of taking it week by week,” the coach said. "As he gets better, he gets to do more and we’ll just see where it all goes.”