Warriors Not Expecting Kevin Durant Back Before Game 4 of NBA Finals
By Jerry Trotta
Will it be too late?
Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Warriors anticipate Kevin Durant returning from his right calf strain smack in the middle of the NBA Finals, with Game 4 floated as the most likely target for his return.
The injury held the 10-time All-Star out of the Western Conference Finals against Portland, as well as the Warriors' Game 1 loss to the Raptors in the NBA Finals Thursday night. All told, the two-time defending champs could have a real problem on their hands.
Warriors expect Kevin Durant to return midway through the Finals, with Game 4 being more likely, sources tell @ChrisBHaynes: https://t.co/lsCv7nmttJ pic.twitter.com/ksZm6Cfc3v
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 31, 2019
While Haynes also reports that certain members with Golden State's organization believe that KD could return as early as Game 3, Game 4 remains the most logical and viable option for his current timetable.
Steve Kerr announced on Wednesday that Durant was cleared to begin partaking in individual basketball activities, but the two-time defending Finals MVP actually resumed his basketball workouts earlier this week on his own, Haynes writes.
Kevin Durant supporting his guys in Game 1 of the #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/KoVZtpWv3q
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 31, 2019
Additionally, the Warriors do not predict a scenario in which Kevin would be completely unavailable during the series.
He's coming back. It's just a matter of if that will be for Game 3 or 4, and if Golden State is facing such a deficit that Durant will have to play the hero-- a potential disaster for reported free agent suitors concerned about his health.