Subscribe
Follow Us
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant will not suit up for Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, head coach Steve Kerr announced on Friday, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Durant was already expected to miss this game, as he has yet to practice with the team, having only three-to-four days of on-court work with the training staff.
Kerr would like him to have at least one practice under his belt before he's declared fit to rejoin the starting rotation. The coach noted the fragility of his calf strain is not a joking matter and will not depend on the outcome of the series, but rather his progress through the injury regimen.
Article Continues Below“This is not like it's a sore ankle or a sore knee and he can play through it,” said Kerr. “This is a tricky one. If you re-injure the calf, that's it.”
The Warriors' best-case scenario rests on Game 3, which will give him exactly five days to get a practice in before Wednesday's home tilt against the Raptors. A more realistic scenario however, could be Game 4, which would give him two extra days to got through a practice and rejoin the team.
DeMarcus Cousins, who had been out for nearly six weeks with a torn quad managed to return, playing only eight minutes in Game 1, clearly lacking the foot speed and stamina to play at this level of competition.
It could be that Durant, like Cousins, also has some rust to shake off — a dangerous proposition at this stage of the game with a championship at stake.
Before departing Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals with a calf injury, Durant averaged a playoff-leading 34.2 points per game.
