Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka has shed light on Kevin Durant’s surprising injury diagnosis to begin the playoffs.
Durant was sidelined on Saturday for the Rockets’ series-opening loss against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. The 16-time All-Star was questionable coming into the contest due to a knee contusion and was eventually ruled out right before tip-off.
Udoka spoke to reporters before the contest and shared some insight on Durant’s injury, which the former MVP tried to play through before deciding to sit for Game 1.
“It’s very tender. Tough to bend in certain ways,” Udoka said.
“Not a lot of swelling, but hit it in a very awkward spot. … [If it were] a regular bumped knee, I think he could kind of play through that. But right above the knee, patella tendon area, up there, it’s very tender and sore.”
Udoka added that it was more than just a matter of pain tolerance. Durant was dealing with “limited movement” which Udoka described as the biggest factor in the team’s decision to hold back its top scorer.
Durant is considered day-to-day going forward, and his status for Game 2 remains uncertain.
The Rockets sorely missed Durant’s offensive production in the team’s 107-98 Game 1 loss to the Lakers. Houston was held to under 100 points for just the eighth time this season, dropping the team to 0-8 in such contests.
Durant only missed four games in the regular season, and none were due to injury. The Rockets went 4-0 without the All-Star forward and won by an average margin of 15.3 points.
Saturday’s result with KD out was a reminder that postseason basketball is a different beast altogether.
