OAKLAND, Calif. _ Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins might not play at all in the Warriors' postseason matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals.
The Warriors said in a statement that Durant has "shown good progress" on his strained right calf since injuring it last week in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets. But they added "Durant is not ready to advance to on-court work." The Warriors also said that Cousins "is still not ready for live action" after missing the past 11 games because of a torn his left quadriceps muscle in his left leg. In the past 1 { weeks, Cousins has completed spot shooting and conditioning drills.
With the Warriors planning to evaluate Durant and Cousins next week, they could only play in the Western Conference finals should the Warriors and Trail Blazers have a Game 6 (May 24 in Portland) and a Game 7 (May 26 in Oakland). Regardless, the Warriors might preserve Durant and Cousins until a presumed NBA Finals appearance, which would start in either Milwaukee or Toronto on May 30.
Although the Warriors have considered Durant's injury to be mild, Warriors coach Steve Kerr has said that Durant needs to participate in on-court drills before playing in a postseason game.
The Warriors are remaining just as patient with Cousins, who has been sidelined since the beginning of Game 2 of the Warriors' first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers last month.
"DeMarcus is coming along. He's starting to do some work on the floor, so he's not exactly close to playing in a game," Kerr said. "But he's making good strides with his rehab."
As for Durant, he missed three games last season with a right calf strain during a four-day span as well as two games in the Warriors' first-round playoff series against Portland in 2017 NBA playoffs because of a left strain. Durant suffered his latest injury late in Game 5 against the Rockets. The Warriors then ruled him out for at least week, which essentially shut him down for the Warriors' decisive Game 6 against Houston as well as against Portland in Game 1 (Tuesday) and Game 2 (Thursday). Durant stayed in the Bay Area during the Warriors' two-day trip to Houston to prevent any complications during traveling. Since then, Durant has been at the Warriors' practice facility receiving treatment and attending film sessions. Durant's teammates have said he has shared his observations during film sessions and in group chats.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have elevated their play before and after Durant's injury to account for his league-leading 34.2 points per game in the postseason. Stephen Curry has averaged 31 points in the past four games. Klay Thompson has scored at least 25 points in three consecutive games. Draymond Green has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in the past six games. Since Durant's injury, Warriors coach Steve Kerr has also relied on a heavier bench rotation with Kevon Looney, Shaun Livingston, Quinn Cook and Jordan Bell as the main contributors. All of which reminds the Warriors of their 2015 NBA championship run.
"We had success before Kevin was here, so there's a lot of experience to lean on, and we've got a lot of talent, obviously," Kerr said. So the players have a more desperate mentality when Kevin is out, and they know they have to perform at a high level in order for our team to do well. But to be able to lean on that experience, they know that they can hold down the fort until he's back, but we all know we're a much better team with him, and we're going to need him, so we're trying to do everything we can to keep this thing going until we get him back."
