Kevin Durant ‘happy’ as he prepares to return from knee injury
Kevin Durant ‘happy’ as he prepares to return from knee injury
Fifteen minutes into his post-practice shooting session Friday afternoon, Kevin Durant strode into the key and took a handoff from player-development consultant Steve Nash.
The eight-time All-Star, his black T-shirt soaked in sweat, took a deep breath, raised his right index finger and told Nash: “One more, one more.”
On the next try, Durant hammered home a tomahawk dunk.
[...] after missing five-plus weeks with a left knee injury, Durant is eager to remind observers that he is still the do-everything phenomenon who has long dominated NBA defenses.
Durant’s return comes at an ideal time for Golden State.
Because the Warriors secured the No. 1 overall seed with Wednesday’s win at Phoenix, he will play Saturday’s game against New Orleans without the stress of locking down home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
After conferring recently with team trainers, head coach Steve Kerr decided not to put Durant on a minutes restriction.
A day after he left early in that loss to the Wizards after teammate Zaza Pachulia crashed into his left knee, Durant was told that he had fractured his left tibia.
A four- to five-month recovery meant he would watch from the bench as Golden State chased its second NBA title in three years.
Though he has yet to figure out how Durant’s return will affect the rotation, Kerr reckons that his team will have few issues incorporating the former MVP back into its system; the Warriors were 50-9 with him in the fold.
“It's perfect for him to get three games before the playoffs start to get his conditioning, his timing, his rhythm,” Kerr said.
Warriors record since Kevin Durant’s knee injury (including the Feb. 28 game of the injury).