Kevin Durant is unlikely to play in Game 1 or Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals after he suffered a calf injury against the Houston Rockets last Wednesday, and there have been some hints that he could be out even longer than that.
On Monday, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne’s report that Durant will be re-evaluated on Thursday. Kerr also said that Durant is still experiencing pain and has not even begun taking part in drills again.
Kerr on KD: “He hasn’t even stepped up the floor yet.” Kerr says Durant is still having some pain in calf. Will be re-evaluated later this week. Sounds like KD definitely out for Games 1 and 2 — and potentially longer depending on how he responds to rehab.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) May 13, 2019
There has been optimism that Durant will play at some point against the Portland Trail Blazers, but the Warriors are probably going to base that on how the series goes. If they jump out to a 2-0 lead, there won’t be any need to rush Durant back or have him play through pain. If for some reason they fall behind, that may change the timeline a bit.
Durant had been playing some of his best basketball of the season before he went down, and his teammates have acknowledged how badly they need him on the floor. That said, they may feel that they can beat Portland without him. If the Warriors are able to rest Durant as much as possible and still get to the NBA Finals, that would be the ideal scenario.
