Serge Ibaka was ruled out for four-to-six weeks on Tuesday following arthroscopic knee surgery, but there was a silver-lining to that disheartening news for the Oklahoma City Thunder: the imminent return of Kevin Durant in days following it. Now, it appears that expectation has proven wildly premature.
The reigning MVP missed practice on Thursday with additional soreness in his right foot, and has reportedly performed less on-court work in recent days than he did last week.
Here’s Darnell Mayberry and Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman:
Kevin Durant has been ruled out of Friday’s game against Atlanta, according to Thunder coach Scott Brooks, and his return date to the team’s lineup remains uncertain.
Durant did not practice Thursday due to soreness in his right foot, which he underwent a second operation on back on Feb. 22 that was supposed to alleviate swelling.
“That’s expected, to have some peaks and valleys,” Brooks said. “We always have a cautious approach, so today he didn’t do anything.”
[…]
“He experienced some soreness,” Brooks repeated. “We all know that the rehab process you’re going to have some peaks and valleys, and then you just have to adjust accordingly. That’s why he was off today. He’s definitely not playing tomorrow. That’s all a part of the process with his rehab.”
News on Kevin Durant today concerning. Soreness/foot issues just continue to linger. Doing less court work than this time last week.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 19, 2015
Yikes.
Over the past couple weeks, we’ve been of the opinion that the Thunder would ultimately win-out over the New Orleans Pelicans for the West’s final playoff spot. Not only is Oklahoma City’s remaining schedule easier than New Orleans’, but Scott Brooks’ team is simply superior.
As long as Russell Westbrook is playing alongside Ibaka or Durant, that is.
But without both stars for presumably the next several games at least, just what type of team will the Thunder be? They relied on Westbrook and timely defense with Ibaka in tow, and were primed to out-score opponents upon Durant’s return and the Defensive Player of the Year candidate’s sidelining.
Westbrook has been unbelievable, but will Oklahoma City be consistent enough on either end to hold off the Pelicans? We’re not confident one way or the other. In other words, buckle up – the final weeks of the regular season might be just as crazy out west as the playoffs themselves.
