Chris Paul returns to a different Golden State Warriors team on Tuesday when they face the Washington Wizards to begin a four-game East Coast road trip.

Klay Thompson, who has embraced his new role as the Warriors’ 6th Man, is looking forward to forging a Hall of Fame backcourt with Paul in the second unit.

“I expect Chris to be himself,” Thompson said after their 119-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, February 25, at Chase Center. “That’s just one of the greatest playmakers. A pesky defender. Just to kind of right the ship when Steph needs a break. It’s very exciting. I’m excited to step on the floor with him and lead that second unit. I mean, you can’t really ask for a better backcourt to come off the bench with. It’s very exciting, to be honest.”

The 38-year-old Paul returns after missing the Warriors’ last 21 games with a broken hand. They went 12-9 without the 12-time NBA All-Star point guard.

“We’ve built some momentum since he’s been out,” Stephen Curry said. “But he’s such a connector, floor general, and a guy that gets everybody in the right spot. So, when I’m on the bench or the rotations when we’re on the court at the same time, it will hopefully elevate us to another level when he gets comfortable and gets his legs underneath him. That, on top of how we’ve been playing, outside of tonight, hopefully that will allow us to keep building.”

Paul averaged 8.9 points, 7.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in his first 32 games with the Warriors.

Is Steph Curry Tired?

Warriors coach Steve Kerr had a concerning take on Curry’s current state after the two-time MVP only made 1 of 10 3-pointers, the third time over their last four games he shot under 30% from deep.

“I think Steph has looked tired to me the last couple of games,” Kerr told reporters following their seventh straight loss to the defending champions dating back to last season.

Kerr said he would consult Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, if Curry would have to sit out some games in their upcoming schedule — a four-game road trip followed by a back-to-back set, part of a 3-game in four nights homestand.

“We’ll just take it game by game and see how he’s doing but like I said this is all part of the season,” Kerr said. “Every player goes through it, just feeling a little fatigued, a little heavy-legged and then you know he’ll get it back and if we have to give him a game to help him do that, then then we’ll do that.”

Steph Curry Says He’s Not Tired

But Curry contradicted Kerr, claiming he’s not tired.

“You miss shots like it’s one of those things,” Curry told reporters after scoring only 20 points on 6 of 19 shooting. “That’s why they’re called averages like you got the highs and the lows of it. Again, the standard that you set when you don’t meet it, there’s questions about are your legs [getting] tired or not. You just miss shots and you keep shooting. It’s part of the nature of being available and playing every game which [you] never lose confidence and come back on [Tuesday] try to shoot well on the road.”

Curry has only missed 3 games this season due to knee and foot soreness in October and November last year.