Rain day means players
Monday’s night’s inclement weather led to today’s Yankees’ double shift against the crosstown rival Mets. The rain ended up bringing one small blessing — players got to catch up with the NBA Finals.
Most NBA playoff games are televised at 9 p.m., which usually conflicts with the Yankees night games. Getting rained out allowed pinstriped basketball fans to follow the Warriors’ narrow, do-or-die win against the Raptors. The Yankees, featuring a plethora of players well above six feet, could form the Lineup of Death to match the Warriors’ small-ball lineup, and some stars, like CC Sabathia and Aaron Judge, played basketball in high school. A few Yankees stars weighed in on star forward (and Knicks free agency target) Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury.
“I was just sad for the guy,” said Adam Ottavino as he witnessed Durant’s leg collapse. The two-time Finals MVP had been dealing with a calf injury that had him on the mend since May 8. Though Ottavino was as far away from KD’s medical files as anybody else, and thus, wasn’t sure of his exact timetable, he admitted “he probably didn’t really have to go out there.” Nonetheless, he recognized Durant’s sacrifice attested to his competitive drive, and “the type of player he is.”
“It’s not really kinda going too far if you’re trying to get back to play.” Sabathia resonated with Durant’s drive to be out there despite the risks, especially given the Warriors facing elimination. Sabathia, an East Bay native from Vallejo, CA, believes Durant’s sharp shooting from behind the arc saved his hometown team’s season. “Just sucks that it happened. Not really enough time to let that thing heal and get back to 100 percent.”
Clint Frazier has battled a number of injuries in his short Yankees career, including lingering symptoms from a 2018 concussion that cut his season short. He related to Durant’s hunger to rejoin the squad. “You wanna compete with your team,” the Yankees’ outfielder said. “What he did was a team-first thing. Because he didn’t put his health first.”
Frazier added that though