Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr announced star forward Kevin Durant is questionable for Game 2 on Wednesday.
During the Golden State Warriors’ practice today, coach Steve Kerr said forward Kevin Durant is questionable for Game 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers with a left calf strain.Watch until the end of the video, Warriors fans!
Kerr said the injury occurred during Game 1, and Anthony Slater of The Mercury News noted the strain happened in the second half, and that Durant could be seen grabbing at his leg multiple times in the third quarter.
Kerr said Durant missed Tuesday’s practice but did mention he expects — at worst — Durant to return for during the series, which could imply the injury isn’t much to worry about in the grand scheme of a Warriors run to the Finals.
Steve Kerr updates injury status of Kevin Durant, questionable for Game 2 with a calf strain; "If he didn't practice, there's concern." pic.twitter.com/O0iqM6q6rz
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 18, 2017
Of course, any ailment, whether it be a major injury or even a paper cut to a superstar is cause for concern for a team with championship aspirations. And, with a quarter of Durant’s 2016-17 season already lost to a knee injury on the same leg, it could raise some red flags.
Then again, we do live in the age of Bill Belichick and teams trying to divulge as little information as possible when it comes to injuries. So, for all we know, questionable could be probable.
But it will be interesting to see how the Warriors approach Durant’s injury situation going forward beyond just Game 2. For the third straight year, the Warriors have had an injury to one of their superstars in the playoffs–Stephen Curry in 2015 and 2016 and now Durant in 2017. None of the three were major, but it was revealed Curry’s injury affected the Warriors offense in last season’s Finals. You just never know.
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The silver lining is the NBA playoffs are intrinsically set up for rest with usually more than one off day in between games. Game 3 is on Saturday — almost a full three days after Game 2 — so the opportunity for Durant to rest will be there.