How long is Kevin Durant out for? Analyzing the potential effects of KD's absence on the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant suffered another injury setback on Wednesday night as the Suns prepared to take on OKC.
This came as he slipped during pregame warmups and was subsequently ruled out with a left ankle sprain. According to The Arizona Republic's Greg Moore, there is now concern within the Suns' organization that Durant has suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain.
If true, Durant could be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season and possibly the start of the playoffs.
"The Arizona Republic has learned that there is concern within the organization that Durant has a grade 2 sprain, which would keep him out for between four and six weeks,” Moore reported.
There is concern within the Suns’ organization that Kevin Durant has a grade 2 sprain and could miss the remainder of the regular season and potentially the start of the playoffs, per @azcentral https://t.co/QSQ4CfPWuI
Kevin Durant has only played three games for Phoenix since being acquired by the Suns on February 9 in a blockbuster deal with Brooklyn. All three of his games with the franchise have come on the road. Wednesday night would have marked Durant’s Suns home debut. So not only has his debut been delayed, it may not even take place before the end of the season.
Phoenix (37-29, fourth in the West) only has 16 games remaining this season. Their regular-season finale will be on April 9 against the LA Clippers. So if Durant does indeed need to miss four to six weeks, he will almost surely be out past that date.
The Suns would then be forced to rely on a group effort from role players like Josh Okogie, Torrey Craig and T.J. Warren on the wings. This comes as there is no adequate replacement for Durant on the Suns’ roster, especially after they gave up so much to acquire him.
Phoenix was still able to blow out the shorthanded Thunder (31-35, 11th in the West) 132-101 without Durant on Wednesday. The win marked the team’s fourth straight, including them being 3-0 in the games Durant has played.
The Suns are now 3.5 games ahead of the seventh seed in the Western Conference, which would put them in a play-in position. So their playoff hopes should be fairly safe as long as they tread water from here on out.
However, the concern now is whether Kevin Durant will be ready for the playoffs. If he is, then there is also the concern of whether the new-look Suns will have strong enough team chemistry to make a deep run.
Durant is averaging 26.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game on 69.0% shooting through three games with Phoenix.
Suns players and coaches on Kevin Durant’s injury
Following the Phoenix Suns’ win over OKC, Suns coach Monty Williams spoke about Kevin Durant’s injury. Williams explained that Durant is set to undergo testing on Thursday. However, he did not have anything else to report other than that he knew Durant’s injury was some sort of ankle sprain:
“We’ll get more testing done tomorrow,” Williams said. “Right now, it’s just an ankle sprain and we don’t have anything official to report.
“He’s out there, working his tail off, getting ready for the game and twists his ankle. You can’t get frustrated about that. It’s life, you know what I’m saying? I felt bad for him because he feels bad."
Phoenix Suns star point guard Chris Paul also expressed his sympathy for Kevin Durant:
“I know how much he loves to play and wanted to play, but stuff happens.”
Chris Paul said he found out about Kevin Durant's injury before the game when Durant was on the training table. #Suns https://t.co/WtqLoPk93x
Meanwhile, Suns star shooting guard Devin Booker expressed some optimism that Durant’s injury isn't too serious:
"He's fine, it's just a roll. We'll get him right and he'll have the debut another day."
"He's fine, it's just a roll. We'll get him right and he'll have the debut another day."
Devin Booker with some assurance to Suns fans on Kevin Durant's injury. https://t.co/WAZKoEgkv7
Also read: Fans go berserk as Kevin Durant tweaks ankle during pregame shoot around: "He slipped on Devin Bookers tears from all the crying he does"