THE GOLDEN State Warriors listed All Star Kevin Durant as questionable for their must-win Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals against Toronto Raptors.
Head coach Steve Kerr said Durant trained with the team on Sunday (Monday, Philippine time) for the first time in more than a month. Media reports said Durant was not on court for very long and was photographed leaving with an ice bag on his injured calf.
The Warriors trail the Toronto Raptors 3-1 ahead of Monday’s (Tuesday, Philippine time) game in Canada, where the home team can become the first to bring the championship north of the border.
The calf injury has kept Durant out of the first four games of the best-of-seven series.
Asked if his hopes of a Durant return had risen in the past couple of days, Kerr told reporters: “Yeah, because what he’s going to do today he hasn’t done. “He’s doing more today and then we’ll know more after that.
“He’s going to practice with us today, and he’ll get some extra work in with some of our younger players. We’ll gauge it from there.”
Durant has won back-to-back Finals MVP awards over the past two seasons, leading Golden State to consecutive championships. But without Durant this time the Warriors have struggled against the Raptors.
The Golden State was outscored 37-21 in the third period of game four on Friday, and Kerr is grateful for a three-day break to pick up the pieces.
“We made a lot of defensive mistakes that seemed borne from just the frustration and maybe fatigue, just from we’re playing guys heavy minutes and all that stuff,” he said.
“That’s why I’m pleased that there will be two days before the next game and the next couple after that, if we can keep extending the series. As we get healthier and have some time to heal and rest, I like our chances,” he added. (Reuters)
