Kevin Durant Will Miss His Third Consecutive Game with Calf Injury
By Andrew Ites
Kevin Durant will be on the bench for the third straight game on Monday night against the Nuggets as he continues to nurse a calf injury that may be more serious than we initially thought.
It was a bit of a surprise to see Kevin Durant ruled out for last Thursday’s game against the Rockets after playing 38 minutes against the Mavericks in a 125-122 win. However, it made sense that he would sit out on the second night of a back-to-back after tweaking his calf in the first quarter of that game in Dallas.
It was a little concerning to see Durant on the bench again on Saturday as the Warriors blew out the Clippers, but how serious could that calf injury be if he played an entire game with it in Dallas?
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Durant will miss tonight’s game against the Nuggets as the Warriors continue to proceed with caution in this situation.
The explanation for keeping Durant on the bench could be pretty simple. The Warriors won both of the games he’s missed thus far, and they’ve built a comfortable lead for the top-seed in the Western Conference as they’re four games ahead of the Rockets in the standings.
Golden State also has plenty of depth to fill in for Durant at that position, although none of those players are capable of playing at an MVP level. Andre Iguodala has played well as he’s been starting in Durant’s absence, and Omri Casspi has given the Warriors good minutes this season.
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While it’d be nice to have Durant fully healthy and back on the floor soon, I wouldn’t worry too much about a minor calf injury in early January.