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The debate over Kevin Durant's need for these Golden State Warriors is over, so that should have been a debate in the first place. The reigning champions are on the ropes twice, losing 3-1 in the final to a Toronto Raptors team that has been unequivocally superior in every respect. KD suddenly feels like the last man to stand between dynasty and defeat.
Will he be ready to play in the fifth game on Monday?
Should he play in Match 5 even though he's not quite ready?
These are two very different questions, very stratified, and somewhere in the difficult answers could be the legacy of a player and a team of all time. At the first question, nobody knows if Durant will play Monday in the fifth game. Shortly after the fourth game, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said that Durant and the Warriors were frustrated by his lack of progression. It was initially thought that it was a two-week injury, maybe a bit more depending on how he responded to the treatment. We are now at five weeks when the ball falls in the fifth match.
"Durant is just not ready," Windhorst said. "His body is not ready, the coaches do not believe him, he does not believe he tried to do things at work [on Thursday]. It did not work. "
So now, we are waiting to see if these two coming days are decisive for Durant and that the Warriors are desperately waiting. This is not out of the question. On Thursday, Dr. Alan Beyer, orthopedic surgeon and medical director of the Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Southern California, told CBS Sports that at this stage of Durant's rehabilitation, "it's really at day to day ".
"This injury is a performance issue," said Dr. Beyer at CBS Sports. "Durant is a guy who needs an absolutely optimal performance of his gastrocular (calf) muscle to jump in. He can not do what he has to do to play. Again, it's all about "It's possible that the function simply does not come back in time to play in this series, or it could wake up and have the breakthrough it needs, expand its activities on the ground and come back outside."
The elephant in the room, of course, is that we've all seen guys roll up their sleeves and get hurt, certainly in games as important as the NBA Finals. Klay Thompson begged the Warriors, unsuccessfully, to let him play in the third game, then scored 28 points in the fourth game on a hamstring. Kevon Looney played in the fourth game with a broken rib. Kawhi Leonard was dragging himself around as he had a nail stuck in his leg at the Eastern Conference finals, and it is clear that he is still not in perfect health. But he plays. And dominant.
The flip side, of course, is that Leonard do not have play last year for the Spurs. Not just in playoffs, but most of the season. He was injured and even when the team became frustrated and began to question his injury to the point that his relationship was completely deteriorated, he did his best for him and for his career. about to win a championship.
Durant also has his future in basketball, and this future may not include the Warriors. "Yes [Durant] returns to a calf still partially torn, then tears it completely, it would be a major injury, "said Dr. Beyer, according to Dr. Beyer, a completely torn calf could affect him during his career.In the worst case To compensate for an unstable calf muscle could expose Durant to the tearing of his Achilles tendon just below the site of his current injury.It is devastating to think about this, but if you are Durant, the marquee this summer free agent with years of elite game still in front of him, you must.
Remember when Isaiah Thomas played his hip injury in the 2017 Boston Celtics series? It has never been the same. He went from the top five nominees as the most valuable player to an end-to-end companion on a career. He lost tens of millions of dollars that he would surely have earned if his health had not let him down. Do you think for a second that Thomas does not question this decision to push his body every day? In his intimate moments, even for the respect it has earned him among his teammates and coaches, you will understand if he regrets it.
The regret, of course, cuts in different ways. And maybe as deeply. Opportunities like the one Durant has before him do not come up often. If ever. How much would he regret not taking advantage of it? We know what is at stake for the Warriors trying to get out of this 3-1 hole. A three peat. A fourth title in five years. A legitimate case as the most dominant team in the history of the NBA. But even if they do not succeed, their place in the pantheon of the best teams of all time is assured. Maybe one or two places down the list, but on the list. No question.
For Durant, it's more complicated – this corresponds to his three-year term in the Golden State, which has spawned countless questions. For example: How can the best player in the league not be the best player on his team? While Durant's absence continues to validate his significance, even in a team with a kernel that has won an NBA record with 73 games and a title without him, it's his potential return that holds the key to the ultimate and intimate appreciation of a player always believed by many – enough or not – for taking the easy way out.
The first two titles could not change that.
This one would certainly do it.
Strangely, Durant's legacy as one of the greatest players ever to have lived feels safer than his legacy with the Warriors, who have always been and will always be Stephen's team. Curry. This is very much like the dynamics of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez with the Yankees. A-Rod was more talented. Throwing was more loved. The difference is that A-Rod never saved the Yankees as Jeter could not do it alone. Durant, on the other hand, is in a position to do just that.
Indeed, it has become clear that Curry can not offer these warriors a championship on their own. he Needs During. The Warriors need During. The possibility of returning to the field in Game 5 and bringing the Warriors back to a 3-1 deficit is a dream that will never happen again.
It may seem crazy that a guy who has not played basketball for nearly five weeks may just go back and lead this kind of resurrection, no more against a team of Raptors playing in his mind, but Durant is absolutely that kind of talent. If that was another league player who does not call LeBron James, forget that. Do not happen. But if Durant is in training next Monday, you'd better believe the Warriors have a chance.
But does Durant want to try his luck? Are the warriors willing to ask him to take this chance? Even at 60%, Durant is a difference maker. At 75%, he is able to be a powerful scorer, even if he uses his length to get on top of the defenders. If he plays, Kawhi will keep it. This takes Leonard off someone else. These are all very good things for the Warriors, who really have to win the fifth game to get back into the game.
Do this, and game 6 is back at Oracle. This will be the last match in this building before the team moves to San Francisco. The place will be bonkers. With Durant back, the Warriors should be favored at home. Then it's game 7, and everything happens. When you break up a part at a time, it is feasible. Unlikely, but feasible.
But only if Durant comes back. This is the only remaining card in the deck that will allow the Warriors to return to the game, and this could be Durant's only chance to really validate his decision to come to Golden State in the first place. When it all began, he needed warriors more than they needed. They had won without him. But now things have changed. The warriors have changed. They are older, shallower, and much more vulnerable, and they drown.
If Durant were to save them, he would be a hero. He would not need to go see the Knicks or anywhere else to prove anything else. The burden would be gone. It would only remain the celebration of one of the five greatest players to have ever lived, a life of questions having evolved to give an answer of all time, and if he can muster his strengths he is potentially quite comfortable.
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