How long will the Golden State Warriors be without Kevin Durant?

Kevin Durant injured his right calf in the third quarter of Game 5. How long could he be out of the lineup for the Warriors?

Towards the end of the third quarter of Game 5, Kevin Durant pulled up awkwardly as he was running up the court. No one else made contact with Durant but he immediately grabbed his right calf and limped off the floor, heading directly to the locker room. He did not return and later the Warriors announced that it was not an Achilles’ injury, which was the immediate concern and worst-case scenario. The word was that it was a right calf strain and Durant would receive an MRI on Thursday for further diagnosis.

After the game, The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami shared Steve Kerr’s assessment that Durant was “incredibly unlikely” to play in Game 6. The MRI results were announced later, confirming the diagnosis and making clear that Durant would not travel with the team to Game 6 in Houston and would be re-evaluated next week. Since a potential Game 7 would be played on Sunday in Golden State, Durant will almost certainly not appear again in this series.

The Warriors ended up winning Game 5 without Durant, thanks to some post-injury fireworks from Stephen Curry. The Rockets have presented an enormous challenge but the Warriors have an edge and if they can get another solid effort from Curry and Klay Thompson, they should be able to advance. With Durant’s status up in the air beyond this series though, the path to another title has a few more potential roadblocks.

Kevin Durant has been the Warriors’ most important player this entire postseason and it will be an adjustment for the roster, particularly with DeMarcus Cousins also sidelined by injury and a rotation that’s looking far more shallow than at any other point in this recent run. However, this could be an opportunity for the team to return to the dynamic they had before Durant’s arrival, where egalitarian ball-movement was more of the dominant element.