Durant may not play vs. Thunder
His sprained left ankle might prevent rematch
NEW YORK >> The shots kept falling into the basket, as Kevin Durant moved around the court. But just because it seemed like a sure thing Durant would make a shot as he cut around the perimeter at the end of Tuesday’s practice at St. John’s University, it is not a sure thing Durant will play Wednesday when the Warriors (13-4) face the Oklahoma City Thunder (7-9).
The Warriors listed Durant as questionable because of a sprained left ankle that kept him sidelined during Sunday’s win in Brooklyn. But how does Durant feel?
“I don’t know,” Durant said. “We’ll see how we feel in the
morning. Right now it feels good.”
Durant said the injury happened in the first quarter of Saturday’s game in Philadelphia after “I came down pretty awkward” following a dunk attempt. Still, Durant had time to recover Sunday and the team’s off day Monday before participating in all of Tuesday’s practice, though it did not include any scrimmaging. There also appears a good chance Durant would play considering this would mark his second appearance playing in Oklahoma City since leaving the Thunder as a free agent during the 2016 offseason.
“It’s a regular game for me now,” Durant said. “I learned how to tune out the crowd. I learned to tune out the (BS) and just play. Just keep it at basketball and it’ll be all right.”
Hostile place
Durant entered a hostile environment that entailed Russell Westbrook trash talk and fans’ jeers during his first return last season on Feb. 11, 2017. Still, the Warriors secured a 130-114 win over the Thunder with
Durant posting a team-lead- ing 34 points while shooting
12 of 21 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point range. He also had nine rebounds and three assists.
“It was another game on the schedule that I wanted to have a good game on,” Durant said. “No matter who we were playing against that night, we were trying to have a good game. Try to go out there and put my imprint on the game. That’s how I try to approach it.”
Durant’s reasoning is simple.
“If I’m not focused and not locked in, I won’t play to the best of my ability,” Durant said. “I tried to block out all the nonsense and all the BS.”
‘Less hostile’
Kerr said “hopefully it will be a little less hostile” in what would mark Durant’s second game back, assuming Durant plays. Yet, Warriors guard Klay Thompson did not sound as sure considering the Thunder has since acquired All-Stars in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.
“I don’t expect anything different,” Thompson said. “I expect them to be loud in there and a playoff atmosphere.”
But while the Thunder has changed its team identity since Durant last faced it in Oklahoma City, Durant believes he has changed his personal identity. Durant may have inflamed his former team when he critiqued Thunder coach Billy Donovan and a lack of supporting staff in a tweet written in the third person.
And since then? Warriors forward Draymond Green summed up, “he’s just not worried about all the other stuff. He’s just playing basketball.”
“I feel like the most important thing is the game,” Durant said. “I’m super locked in on getting better every single day. I don’t have time to focus on other stuff now because I’m playing basketball every day. I just try to approach it that way.”
• When Thompson strolled through New York City during the team’s off day Monday, a Fox 5 reporter stopped the Warriors star for an interview. The local reporter had no aspirations to talk hoops. She wanted to speak to anyone about a recent scaffolding collapse in Manhattan.
“I usually observe if the piping and stuff is new. If it looks like it’s been there a while, I try to avoid that,” Thompson said on the broadcast. “Sometimes, you know, if something looks like it’s been there a while, I try to kind of avoid that.”
The reporter did not recognize Thompson, who enjoyed the anonymity. Thompson said the cameraman knew, though. Thompson was identified on the broadcast as an “NBA player.”
“She asked what I thought of the situation, so I answered it truthfully,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately, people got hurt and I wanted to give my opinion and be an active citizen in the community.”
• Former Warriors greats Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond watched the Warriors hold their practice Tuesday at St. John’s. While Mullin and Richmond were known as “Run TMC” with former Warriors guard Tim Hardaway, Mullins is in his third season as St. John’s coach and Richmond is one of his assistants. Several of the Red Storm players watched the practice, too.
Kerr called the reunion “a nice connection” in what marked the second time the Warriors practiced at St. John’s facility.
“It’s great to come out here and see Coach Mully and see the players that are watching,” Durant said. “We were all college players that aspired to be in the NBA. So to come out here, hopefully we provided some motivation and inspiration for these guys.”