Now that the Golden State Warriors are down 3-1 in the NBA Finals, people want to know what is going on with Kevin Durant. Have the Warriors downplayed the severity of his injury? Is Durant unwilling to tough things out? Or is something else going on?
According to one reporter, the Warriors had hopes of Durant playing in Game 4 on Friday night, but he suffered a setback.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst joined “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt” after the Warriors’ 105-92 loss to the Raptors on Friday night and shared some information about Durant. He said the Warriors thought Durant would be able to play on Friday but his body wasn’t ready.
“This team I really do believe think that he was going to practice [Thursday] and play [Friday]. And when he wasn’t able to do that, it was a setback,” Windhorst told Van Pelt. “Durant just isn’t ready. His body is not ready. The trainers don’t believe, he doesn’t believe it. He tried to do some stuff in practice [Thursday], it didn’t work.”
.@WindhorstESPN: “Durant just isn’t ready. His body isn’t ready. The trainers don’t believe it, he doesn’t believe it…”
He says there’s frustration around the Warriors about the situation pic.twitter.com/NxfbbP8Dk2
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) June 8, 2019
This is why the Warriors have not been able to provide more clarity on the situation. They’re testing things out and really don’t know how Durant will respond. He’s been out since May 8 with his calf injury, is trying and wants to play, but he’s just not ready, regardless of the circumstance and how badly the team needs him.
The Warriors trail 3-1 in the series and will be facing elimination on Monday in Game 5.
