Kevin Durant Returning Soon? Golden State Warriors' Star Working Way Back From Injury
Kevin Durant is slowly working towards returning from his knee injury. The Golden State Warriors' forward is making progress after suffering an MCL sprain and a bone bruise in his left knee.
Durant hasn’t played since he got hurt against the Washington Wizards on Feb. 28. Golden State announced that the All-Star would be re-evaluated in four weeks, and he wasn’t ruled out for a return during the regular season. He traveled with the team on their recent road trip and has begun doing work on the court before the team’s games.
READ: The Warriors are still the NBA favorites after Durant's injury
“I've watched him today shooting jump shots,” Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told reporters before the Warriors' win against Milwaukee on Saturday night. “I've watched him go from sitting in a chair shooting to standstill shooting and now jump-shooting, so he's clearly making progress. It's great.”
Kevin Durant shooting around before Mavs game (still isn't playing). #DubNation
— Warriors (@DubbNationn) March 21, 2017
pic.twitter.com/J8W1gBkSqG
Kevin Durant rides stationary bike in OKC ___ pic.twitter.com/cjy3vRy2LF
— WARRIORS 57-14 (@GoIdenState) March 20, 2017
Even if he’s healthy enough to return, Golden State could rest Durant until the start of the playoffs. He’s due to be re-evaluated in the coming days, and the Warriors have already clinched home-court advantage in the first-round of the postseason.
Golden State, however, will have a difficult time winning the NBA Finals without a healthy Durant. Including the game in which Durant suffered his injury (he only played two minutes), the Warriors have gone 7-5 since Durant got hurt.
The Warriors started the season 50-9, and they were the clear favorites in the Western Conference at the All-Star break. With less than a month remaining in the regular season, Golden State is 2.5 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the No.1 seed in the West. The Warriors are on a five-game winning streak, though only one of those victories has come against a team with a record above .500.
Signing with the Warriors after Stephen Curry won back-to-back MVP awards, Durant is clearly the best player on the team. He’s averaging 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game on the season.
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