Kevin Durant is going to miss the remainder of Golden State's Western Conference semifinal series against the Rockets, but he could return next round. Warriors coach Steve Kerr provided some optimism Thursday when discussing Kevin Durant's eventual return from a calf strain that will keep him sidelined for the remainder of Golden State's second-round series against the Rockets. "I think it's good news," Kerr said. "Calf strain, he's had them before. He's responded well. Obviously, we're disappointed he won't be able to play in this series. If we're able to win the series and move on, looks good for his return in the not-too-distant future." Durant suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Warriors' Game 5 victory, which gave them a 3-2 lead in the series. In 11 games this postseason, Durant is averaging 34.2 points in 39.1 minutes, which are both team highs. Kerr added that the team's championship experience should help it get past missing "the best player in the NBA playoffs" so far. Game 6 between Golden State and Houston is Friday at 9 p.m. ET in Houston. The Warriors are looking to reach their fifth straight Western Conference finals while Houston is looking to force a Game 7 and become the first Western Conference team to beat the two-time defending champions in the playoffs since the Clippers beat them in a first-round series in 2014.<doc-sep>After weeks of cruising in rarefied air above the mere mortals grinding their way through the 2019 NBA playoffs, Kevin Durant fell to earth. With just more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter of Rockets-Warriors Game 5, Durant lofted a one-dribble pull-up jumper over Houston swingman Iman Shumpert, and then he landed. Durant took a couple of steps, then grabbed his lower right leg and started limping his way back to the locker room, leading the basketball-watching world to fear the worst. After about 15 tense minutes, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that it looked like Durant hadn’t, as TNT’s broadcasters repeatedly speculated, injured his Achilles tendon; the Warriors then quickly announced their superstar forward had suffered a right calf strain. After the Warriors survived another pulse-pounding affair against Houston to score a 104-99 win—and “survived” feels like the only word for it, given the every-possession-is-sudden-death tenor of that fourth quarter—and take a 3-2 series lead, both Woj and Golden State coach Steve Kerr said the team had ruled out the possibility of an Achilles tear. (A Thursday MRI confirmed the strain. Durant is set to be reevaulated next week, according to Woj.) There’s an awful lot cast into chaos by Durant’s descent—from what kind of rotation Kerr will roll out in Game 6 to the fate of the 2019 NBA championship, and beyond. As I watched the Warriors eke out the win in the closing seconds Wednesday, the term “Pyrrhic victory” came to mind. So did Chris Paul’s reaching for his right hamstring in Game 5 of last spring’s matchup between these two teams. Chris Paul appears to aggravate hamstring injury late in 4th quarter pic.twitter.com/ZymxtH0J6Q — gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 25, 2018 Paul had been brilliant in the second half of that game, scoring 18 of his 20 points to push Houston to the brink of a 3-2 lead. But then he crashed and had to watch the rest of the series from the sideline. The Rockets won the game, but lost the floor general they’d imported to help steel their reserve for these exact moments. Paul could only sit and watch as Houston squandered double-digit halftime leads in Game 6, which saw Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry combine for 64 points and 14 3-pointers, and Game 7, which featured the most staggering 3-point shooting slump in NBA playoff history. (The helplessness must have been agonizing to someone as competitive as Paul.) The Rockets needed Paul to provide an elite playmaking complement to James Harden, to ensure their offense remained elite when Harden rested, and to act as the tip of the spear on the defensive end. Without him available to fill all those roles, Houston stumbled and came up just short of the brass ring. The Warriors hope the symmetry between the two cases stops shy of that point. On paper, the Warriors don’t need Durant as much as last season’s Rockets needed Paul. They’ve still got Curry and two-way havoc wreaker Draymond Green to run the offense, Thompson to act as a defense-distorting motion scheme unto himself (no more settling from “crumbs” now), and Andre Iguodala to spark difference-making smart plays on both sides of the ball. In practice, though, Durant has been the Warriors’ most dangerous weapon all postseason, their break-in-case-of-emergency option whenever things get hairy. Against the Rockets, he’s averaging a team-high 33.2 points per game, while also serving as Golden State’s most accurate high-volume 3-point shooter, knocking down 43.8 percent of his 6.4 long-distance attempts a night. The Warriors can’t just replace his production. (Or, for that matter, the defensive versatility that allows a 7-footer with a transcontinental wingspan to check Harden, Paul, P.J. Tucker, Eric Gordon, Clint Capela, or anyone else in a Rockets jersey.) Their best bet at trying, though, was on display late in Game 5: let Steph be Steph. Or, more accurately, force Steph to be Steph. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player has spent most of this postseason as a second option behind a wreathed-in-flames Durant. Even after a 30-point, eight-assist Game 4 to bounce back from a dismal Game 3, Curry seemed content early in Game 5 to occupy a supplemental role. When he did search for his own offense, Curry struggled mightily, missing seven of his first eight 3-point tries, 10 of his first 14 shots total, and several layups that should’ve been easy money. With Durant gone for good, though, Curry had no choice: He had to be the one initiating the offense, spreading and puncturing the defense, and creating quality shots, because no other Warrior really could. So he went to work in the high pick-and-roll, partnering with Green and Kevon Looney to create space and opportunity. Then, he made the most of it. Let's talk about how clutch Steph Curry was after Kevin Durant left the game. He finally stepped up and it was so damn gratifying to watch. pic.twitter.com/N0pFzirH5z — Chris Montano (@gswchris) May 9, 2019 Curry scored 16 of his 25 points after Durant’s exit, making five of his nine shot attempts and going 2-for-3 from deep. He also dished a pair of assists for layups, one for Green and one for Iguodala, that helped keep the Rockets at arm’s length long enough to secure the win. ”It reminded me of four or five years ago, before we had Kevin,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “... [Curry] doesn’t have as big of a burden on his shoulders now, but he’s fully capable of taking on that burden.” Even during a series in which Curry’s had such a hard time getting his jumper to click, the threat of him pulling up to rain fire produces panic, which creates chances; the Warriors have continued to score at an elite level in Steph-but-no-KD minutes during both the regular season and playoffs. Replicating that no-Durant offense against Houston, though, could be a much tougher ask. Even after leaving Game 5 before the end of the third quarter, Durant is still averaging a team-high 42.4 minutes per game in this series, and had played 41 or more in every game since Game 5 against the Clippers in Round 1.<doc-sep>So it's a good-news/bad-news situation for the Warriors on the Kevin Durant injury front: After getting an MRI on Thursday, Durant has reportedly suffered a mild strain, which is pretty much the best news possible given the potential alternatives. The bad news is he'll be re-evaluated next week, which means he's done for the Rockets series at least. Dr. Alan Beyer, an orthopedic surgeon and the executive medical director at the renowned Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Newport Beach, Ca., told CBS Sports on Thursday that a mild strain means "somewhere between a Grade 1 and Grade 2 strain, which is going to likely keep him out for two weeks in a best-case scenario." Do the math, and that's somewhere between Game 5 and Game 6 of the conference finals, should the Warriors get past Houston. The conference finals are set to begin May 14, with Game 5 scheduled for May 22, almost two weeks exactly from Thursday. "He'll be getting daily physical therapy starting immediately, anti-inflammatories, ice, and then it's just a matter of how it responds," Dr. Beyer told CBS Sports. "His playing status will be all about how much the swelling reduces, and how well he's able to forcibly contract the muscle, which is necessary to jump. He could feasibly get back by Game 4 against Portland or Denver if he pushed it, but now you're risking making the injury a whole lot worse. So let's talk about that aspect of it. "Understand, a strain and tear are the same thing," Dr. Beyer continued. "So Durant has a tear in that calf. The grading just indicates how many fibers have been affected. So a mild strain, or a Grade 1 or 2 tear, whatever you want to call it, that is one thing. But if he were to come back on a partially-healed calf, and then end up tearing it all the way by landing or taking off wrong, now you're talking about potentially never coming back 100 percent. He would regret that decision the rest of his career." Indeed, Durant's future playing status adds a whole other layer to this situation. He's a free agent this summer. His decision is going to affect his life and the entire league dramatically. Whenever Durant comes back, it's not just about this season. This will be factored in to some degree as Durant and the Warriors decide when to put him back on the court. But let's say Dr. Beyer is correct in that we're roughly looking at a Game 5 return for Durant in the conference finals. The Warriors, even if they get by the Rockets, will then have to go through at least four games vs. either Denver or Portland without him. Can they get by under those circumstances? Will they be down 3-1 by the time Durant gets back? You can surely bet the Nuggets and Blazers are suddenly feeling like they have a legitimate chance to make the NBA Finals, just as Houston clearly has an opportunity to come back in this second-round series do the same. The door has opened for everyone.<doc-sep>Kevin Durant left in the second half of last night’s Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors with a calf strain, and now it’s been announced that he’s going to miss at least Friday night’s Game 6 and potentially more depending on the results of his MRI, scheduled for today. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had this to say about Durant’s status: “He’s not going to play Game 6. We can all pretend and just say he’s doubtful. But he’s not playing Game 6. Hopefully, we get Kevin back at some point.” The injury certainly didn’t look good for KD, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him miss at least the rest of the series as well, should it go to a Game 7. He could also potentially miss more depending on the severity and should the Dubs advance. This opens up a window for the Rockets to potentially capitalize on. Durant’s been playing extremely well for The Dubs and has often been the great equalizer during the times the rest of the roster has struggled. It’s important to note that these are still the Warriors, and they still have three healthy All-Stars, one of which is a former MVP. This is still a monumental task for the Rockets, but the door is now ajar, if even just a little bit more. We’ll see how both teams respond to this situation, and we’ll have some deeper analysis of what this means for the Rockets’ chances coming up here at TDS before Game 6. UPDATE:<doc-sep>
Kevin Durant’s MRI results are in and he’s going to miss the rest of the Warriors-Rockets series with a mild right calf strain, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. This is relatively good news as the entire NBA world held its collective breath while fearing the worst when the injury happened late in the third quarter of Game 5. Just about everyone assumed it was an Achilles injury and that the NBA world had just been flipped upside down. Now Durant could reportedly return at some point during the Western Conference Finals… if the Warriors, who are up 3-2 in the series, can get there. Steve Kerr is staying hopeful that KD can bounce back from his calf strain this postseason. "It looks good for his return in the not-too-distant future." (via @957thegame) pic.twitter.com/PBKr2T9SWR — The Crossover (@TheCrossover) May 10, 2019 Warriors will have to find a way to beat Houston in Western Conference semifinals, but Kevin Durant could be back for the Western Finals. https://t.co/NpwRRAPXkh — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 9, 2019 While this injury means a lot to the Warriors and their future, it also means that all of the pressure now rests on the shoulders of James Harden, who disappeared in the fourth quarter of Game 5, Chris Paul and the rest of the Houston Rockets. Last night, Steph closed it out while Harden went silent. pic.twitter.com/ugSV6kbs30 — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 9, 2019 Because now they have no excuses. They have to get this done or it will be another glaring failure that will sting for quite some time, much like last year’s Game 7 against the Warriors when Houston missed 27 3-pointers in a row. Game 6 is Friday night in Houston, a place where the Warriors just dropped two straight. A place that will be buzzing when Harden and Co. look to save their season. There’s every reason to believe that the Rockets will force a Game 7 which would be played on Sunday night. But imagine if they don’t? Imagine if Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green go into Houston and show the heart that led this squad to a big win after Durant went down. That would be more embarrassing for the Rockets than any Harden or Paul flop that we’ve ever seen. Related 5 reasons the Warriors will beat the Rockets without Kevin Durant Harden now has his best chance to lead the franchise to the NBA Finals and if he can’t deliver now it won’t be forgotten for quite some time. Even if the Rockets do force a Game 7, the pressure will be entirely on them at Oracle. Curry and Co. will have nothing to lose and will play freely at Oracle knowing they can always fall back on Durant’s injury if they do lose. They lost the best player in the world and are now playing with house money. The Rockets, however, will have nothing to fall back on if they choke this away. There are no excuses now for the Rockets. And there is plenty of pressure. Let’s see if they can handle it this time.