Not surprisingly, the Warriors will start the Western Conference Finals sans KD.
Kevin Durant will miss Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers, and he’ll almost surely miss Game 2 as well.
Kevin Durant is out for at least Game 1 of the WCF, source tells ESPN. He’s not being re-evaluated until Thursday so it’s “unlikely “ he plays Game 2 either.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) May 13, 2019
Durant’s injury will be reevaluated on Thursday, which is the same day as Game 2. His strained calf would have to make excellent progress for the medical team to determine him fit to play in that night’s game.
Furthermore, since he will not have practiced between the injury and Thursday, the medical team will be extremely cautious with him.
Until Thursday, we’ll have no clue as to the extent of Durant’s injury. It wouldn’t be surprising if he is cleared to play for Saturday’s Game 3, nor would it be surprising if he is ruled out for at least another week. We’ll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, the Warriors will head into their fifth consecutive Western Conference Finals without their two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP. It’s certainly a setback for Golden State, but they’ll get little sympathy from Portland, a team that has been without starting center Jusuf Nurkic for their entire playoff run.
