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HOUSTON – The Warriors’ initial fears became a reality.
Kevin Durant had an MRI on Thursday that confirmed a strained right calf, sidelining him for when the Warriors play the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals here on Friday. Should the Rockets force a Game 7 for Sunday at Oracle Arena, Durant will miss that game, too.
And yet even if the Warriors have to figure out how to compensate for a star player that averaged 34.2 points during the playoffs, Warriors coach Steve Kerr still considered Durant’s MRI results to be “good news.”
“Obviously we’re disappointed he won’t be able to play in this series,” Kerr said here at the team’s hotel on Thursday. “But if we’re able to win the series and move on, it looks good for his return in the not too distant future.”
How far off is that future? The Warriors will reevaluate Durant in about a week, but his return date remains uncertain.
Durant stayed in the Bay Area to begin his rehab, but Kerr did not have details on what that entails. The Warriors also did not divulge whether Durant has a Grade 1, 2 or 3 right calf strain, which would significantly determine how long he would stay sidelined. With the Warriors considering Durant’s strain to be “mild,” however, outside medical doctors believe that means Durant has a Grade 1 strain.
That might explain the Warriors’ encouraged outlook. Consider the different outside medical experts pin as a typical timetable for to recover from right calf strain that is considered a Grade 1 (10-14 days), Grade 2 (four weeks) or Grade 3 (six weeks).
Based off of that timeline, Durant could return should the Warriors advance to the Western Conference Finals against the either the Denver Nuggets or Portland Trail Blazers. If the Nuggets close out on Thursday and the Warriors close out on Friday, Game 1 would take place on Sunday at Oracle Arena. If either team goes seven games, Game 1 would take place either Tuesday or Wednesday.
“He’s going to need at least midway through the Denver-Portland series,” said Dr. Alan Beyer, the orthopedic surgeon and executive medical director at Hoag Orthopedic Institute. “That’s an optimistic guess.”
Beyer and Dr. Brian Sennett, the chief of Sports Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, do not have access to Durant’s medical records, obviously. Based on their familiarity with calf injuries, however, they echoed the Warriors’ positive outlook on Durant’s recovery because of his past experience.
Durant missed only three games last season with a right calf strain during a four-day span. He also missed two games in the Warriors’ first-round series against Portland in the 2017 NBA playoffs over a three-day span.
“Having prior injuries is one of your predictors you will have problems in the future,” Sennett said. “Having said that, the recovery that he has had before with missing only a short amount of time is very favorable. Those are good prognosticators that he will be back in a similar time range.”
Before Durant’s return, Beyer and Sennett presumed Durant’s treatment will entail a mix of icing his right calf and receiving medication to reduce the swelling. Once the pain in Durant’s right calf decreases, Beyer and Sennett said that typical exercises include calf raises and jumping exercises. Beyer added that most athletes need an extra three weeks for every one-week absence to regain muscle in their calf.
“The fact that he has a history with this injury is a good thing,” Beyer said of Durant. “He knows how to come back from the injury.”
Hence, the Warriors seem optimistic about Durant’s return. That hinges, though, on the Warriors beating the Rockets one more time without him.
“The challenge is here in front of our guys,” Kerr said. “We just have to win one game so let’s go do it.”
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