Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant will be a game-time decision for Monday's Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle expressed confidence in him rejoining the starting lineup, given the striking record the Warriors have had in recent years of playing those they deem game-time decisions.
Durant missed the first four games of the NBA Finals and nine straight contests overall, dating back to his injury in the later stretch of Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets.
Having missed a month of on-court action, Durant returned to practice on Sunday, giving Golden State hope he would rejoin the team after his prolonged absence.
The perennial All-Star was leading the playoffs with a scoring average of 34.2 points per game before he went down with his injury, forcing the rest of his team to fend off their opponents without him.
The Warriors won the last 14-plus minutes of Game 5 against the Rockets and proceeded to win the next five without Durant, but have so far run into a wood-chipper of a Raptors defense, now putting them on the brink of elimination.
Golden State would be glad to have him back, even if it's at less than his full capabilities, knowing the impact a player of his caliber can have in such a high-stakes game:
“He’s way better than a lot of people when he’s 100 percent,” said teammate Draymond Green, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “So if he’s 75 percent, he’ll still probably be better than a lot of people.”
The Warriors have a daunting task ahead, though, forced to win two of their next three games on the road at a suffocatingly loud Scotiabank Arena, including a crucial Game 7, should they get there.
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