OAKLAND — Kevin Durant will miss Game 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers with a left calf strain.
"It's not worth it. It's twinged. You throw him out there and he pulls it and he's out for a few weeks, you feel like an idiot." -Kerr on KD pic.twitter.com/IHIOYDaOu8
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 20, 2017
If Durant plays in Game 3, it will give him 5 days of rest. Here’s part of the column I wrote Tuesday on why the Warriors should play this injury safe.
In the grand scheme of things, Kerr should be willing to jeopardize a game early in the playoffs to ensure Durant’s health. Call it overly cautious if you want. But if Durant aggravated the calf Wednesday — or worse, injured something else by overcompensating — and was out for an extended period of time, problems could arise.
The Warriors thrived in 19 games without Durant, but that’s not the point here. They don’t want to know what it feels like to be without KD for an extended period of time in the postseason. In the meantime, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala proved over a large stretch that they can make up for KD’s absence on offense. Oh, yeah, let’s not forget about Steph Curry either.
Just in case you still aren’t sold, there are two other factors that could lead Kerr to sitting Durant:
A: Time. Game 3 isn’t until Saturday, which theoretically will give Durant five full days of rest for his calf. The difference between two days and five days of rest for a minor strain could make all the difference. Expect Kerr to keep his cards close to the vest tomorrow at shootaround and the Warriors to make a public decision closer to 5:45 on Wednesday.
B: Dynamic Trail Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic has already been ruled out for Game 2. A fracture in his left fibula is too much to overcome this soon. That keeps the 7-footer off the court and forces the Trail Blazers to play small-ball — right into the Warriors hands. If Nurkic was going to play injured, the Warriors would have a stronger argument to play Durant. Noah Vonleh and Meyers Leonard are Portland’s other centers.