Dr. Alan Beyer, an orthopedic surgeon and the executive medical director at Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Southern California, says “it's absolutely possible” Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant doesn't play in the NBA Finals.
Durant suffered what the Warriors called a right calf strain on May 8. Saturday will mark a full month since Durant has been out.
“This is not a black-and-white injury, as I said when it first happened and we got the diagnosis,” Dr. Beyer told Brad Botkin of CBS Sports. “I knew it would be at least two weeks recovery time even if it was just a Grade 1 strain. Now it's been just over four weeks, so maybe it was a Grade 1-plus, or a Grade 2. Even if it's just a Grade 1, this is a tough injury to gauge because you just don't know when that function is going to fully return. It's different for every athlete.
“This isn't an injury you can rush. One, there's the chance of re-injury, you know, if he comes back on a still partially torn calf and then fully tears it. That would be a major injury. He's a free agent this year. He would really regret that.”
The Warriors have already ruled Durant out for Game 4, which is on Friday. The clock is ticking on Durant and the Dubs, who are down 2-1 to the Toronto Raptors.
If Golden State loses Game 4, they would head back to Toronto down 3-1 and facing elimination.
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