Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
No timetable set for Durant
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant won’t be ready to play in time for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on May 30. The two-time reigning finals MVP has yet to return to on-court work while recovering from a strained right calf.
But Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins might be healthy for the team’s opener against either the Bucks or Raptors.
“Potentially,” coach Steve Kerr said Thursday, “but it’s up in the air.”
The team re-evaluated both players Thursday, and they are expected to be ready at some point during Golden State’s fifth straight finals. Durant is making progress in the training room and with moves he is able to handle in the weight room, Kerr said.
“We’ve known all along, it’s how he responds. There’s never been a point during this process where we’ve been able to say, ‘He’s going to play on such and such date,’ and there still isn’t, so we just keep going, keep moving forward,” Kerr said. “But again, he hasn’t spent any time on the court with us, hasn’t gone through an individual workout.”
Cousins is working back from a torn left quadriceps sustained in Game 2 of the first round against the Clippers. He practiced Thursday for the first time since getting injured April 16 in just his second career playoff game.
“We’ll see where my body takes me and we’ll see what happens,” Cousins said. “I feel good, a lot better than I was. I’m in a better place. I’m able to get up and down the court more. I’m able to play a little competition basketball.”
Andre Iguodala, who missed the Game 4 clincher against the Blazers with a sore left calf, didn’t practice Thursday but is expected to be at full strength to start the finals.
Golden State took two days off after completing a sweep of the Trail Blazers on Monday night in Portland. The Warriors will again take a day off Sunday and won’t begin full gameplanning until they have an opponent.
Durant was averaging 34.2 points this postseason when he got injured during the third quarter of Game 5 in the conference semifinals against the Rockets. He landed awkwardly on his right foot after a baseline jumper.