Durant travels with Warriors to Toronto ahead of finals
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant, left, walks away from referee Ken Mauer during the first half of Game 5 of the team’s second-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Oakland, Calif., on May 8. Durant is yet to progress to on-court work in his recovery from a strained right calf and won’t be ready to return for Golden State in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on May 30.
OAKLAND, Calif. >> Kevin Durant is traveling with the Golden State Warriors to Toronto for the first two games of the NBA Finals, leaving open the chance he could be ready to return from a strained right calf in time for Game 2.
Durant, the two-time reigning Finals MVP who has missed the past five games since getting hurt in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against Houston, has already been ruled out for Game 1 on Thursday night. As of Monday, he had yet to do any full-speed work on the court.
Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder confirmed Durant was on the team plane that took off early afternoon West Coast time. The two-time defending champions held an optional practice today before traveling.
There will be two full days off before Game 2 on Sunday, giving Durant time to get further on-court work done that the Warriors would need to see before he is medically cleared.
Coach Steve Kerr said Monday: “We’ll see where it goes from here. This is where the fact that there’s a lot of days in between games during the finals helps us, so we’ll see.”
