Warriors Rumors: Kevin Durant Could Return from Injury Midway Through NBA Finals

Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant is expected to return from his calf injury “at some point midway through the NBA Finals,” according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Durant was sidelined for Game 1, the sixth consecutive game he has missed. Head coach Steve Kerr revealed Thursday that it’s a “long shot” that the two-time Finals MVP will play in Game 2 on Sunday.

Haynes noted that there is “some optimism” that Durant may be ready as early as Game 3 on Wednesday, though Game 4 next Friday is a “stronger possibility.”

It’s not clear if the status of the series will play a factor on if/when he will return. Golden State trails 1-0 after a 118-109 loss Thursday.

The 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals MVP has been cleared for individual on-court basketball activities, though Kerr let it be known that the 10-time All-Star will have to participate in a full practice before he returns to the lineup. According to Haynes, the Warriors will not practice Friday, leaving Saturday as a key date in regards to his availability for Game 2.

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina

Steve Kerr on how Kevin Durant is handling being out https://t.co/oRLI7ZN56n

Durant has been sidelined since suffering a calf strain in Game 5 of Golden State’s second-round matchup with the Houston Rockets on May 8. Thursday night marked the first time in the six-plus games since the injury that the Warriors had lost.

The Dubs are 31-2 in the last 33 games that Durant has missed but in which Stephen Curry had played.

Entering its showdown against Toronto, Golden State was 8-1 in Finals games during the Durant era. This is the first time the team has trailed in the championship round in the three years since he arrived in the Bay Area as a free agent.

The Warriors have lost their last four Finals games played without Durant, dating back to their historic 3-1 collapse in 2016 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Getting Durant back would give Kerr’s squad a boost on both ends of the court. The four-time scoring champ was averaging a career-high 34.2 points per game while shooting 51.3 percent, including 41.6 percent from three-point range, during the postseason. He also was averaging 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks in 11 playoff games while recording a defensive rating of 108.4.

Read More



from Daily Trends Hunter http://bit.ly/2Xj5ecv

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jimmy Butler Gives 76ers Ultimate Margin of Error in Philly’s Championship Chase

Image
Ron Turenne/Getty Images And  that is why the Philadelphia 76ers traded for Jimmy Butler . It wasn’t just because they could, or because the Markelle Fultz experiment went belly up before it ever started, or because Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons aren’t enough on their own. It was all those things and more, and then even more than that. After dealing for Butler in November, acquiring Tobias Harris in February and once again leaning on late-season additions to flesh out a rotation begging for substance beyond the starting five, the Sixers are as close as it gets to an NBA contender assembled on the fly.  They are shallow yet teeming with star power, terrifyingly talented yet unavoidably unfamiliar. That top-heavy slapdashery doesn’t always work, but it can work. It has worked—often just barely, though it’s worked all the same. Butler is the primary reason why. He gives the Sixers a line to potential dominance. He also affords them a margin for error. They can fall behind big,
Read more

NBA Rumors: Mavericks Will Target Kemba Walker, Khris Middleton in Free Agency

Image
Aaron Gash/Associated Press After finding a new franchise cornerstone in Luka Doncic this past season, the Dallas Mavericks have big hopes for free agency this summer to boost their surrounding talent.  According to  Marc Stein of the  New York Times , the Mavs are looking for “s hooters, athleticism and veterans.” Stein mentioned Khris Middleton and Kemba Walker as two of their top targets.  The Mavericks should have ample salary-cap space to sign free agents. They currently have only $45.9 million in guaranteed salary on their books for next season, per   Basketball Insiders , although they’ll also have to re-sign Kristaps Porzingis this summer.  Per   Shams Charania   of The Athletic and Stadium, the NBA ‘s projected salary cap for 2019-20 is $109 million, while the luxury-tax threshold is projected to be $132 million.  Stein said the Mavs are hopeful they will have a shot at signing one of either Middleton or Walker.  Dallas is already one of the most intriguing teams
Read more

Mario Cristobal, Oregon Finalizing Contract Extension After 9-Win Season

Image
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images Mario Cristobal is finalizing a one-year extension with Oregon that will keep the head football coach in Eugene through the 2023 season.  Per  James Crepea of the Oregonian, Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said the extension is “almost done.” The 2018 Ducks went 9-4 and defeated Michigan State in the Redbox Bowl during Cristobal’s first season in charge. The nine-win mark was the team’s best since 2015.  Cristobal, 48, previously led Florida International University from 2007-12. He took a team that went winless in 2006 to a 7-6 record and bowl victory in 2010. A 3-9 season prompted his dismissal in 2012, but Cristobal landed on his feet with an associate head coaching gig under Nick Saban at Alabama, where he won the 2015 national championship. He moved to Oregon as the team’s co-offensive coordinator under Willie Taggart and was named the interim head coach after his boss left for Florida State before the Ducks’ 2017 bowl game. E
Read more