The Golden State Warriors will once again be without the services of Kevin Durant on Friday night. Steve Kerr met with the media on Thursday afternoon following the team’s Game 3 loss to the Toronto Raptors, and as has been the routine throughout this postseason run since Durant went down with a calf injury.
Despite earlier reports that indicated there was optimism Durant would play in Game 4, Kerr announced that the two-time NBA Finals MVP will not be able to on Friday night.
Klay Thompson is expected to play in Game 4. Kevin Durant won’t.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) June 6, 2019
Kerr went on to say that the hope was Durant would have been able to take the floor and scrimmage on Thursday, but ultimately, he was unable to get to that point.
Durant won’t get into any scrimmage today as hoped. He’s progressed but medical staff says he’s not game-ready yet, says Kerr.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) June 6, 2019
Kerr on Durant: "There was no setback. I was hoping today would be the day he'd get back on the floor. It's not going to be today. It's going to be tomorrow or next couple days." Says he "misspoke" last night, KD still has another hurdle to clear, but hope is he'll still return.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) June 6, 2019
It’s the latest chapter in what has been a strange injury saga for Durant, who has not played since the Western Conference Semifinals due to the bad calf. Perhaps he’ll be able to heal up a little more in the coming days — Game 4 will be the first game of the 2019 Finals that only had one off day in the lead-up — and as Kerr said, the hope is that Durant will be able to get onto the floor at some point against the Raptors. But as we’ve learned, that point will not come on Friday evening at Oracle Arena.
