Kevin Durant could be back in action this week as the Golden State Warriors are planning to play him against the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night. Durant, who hasn't played in a game since late February, will be back just in time as the Pelicans game will be 80th regular-season game for the Warriors, and he will have two more games to prepare for the playoffs.
Durant suffered a sprained left MCL at the end of February, and he has missed 17 games so far in the season due to the Injury. Fortunately for the Warriors, their best scorer will be back in a few days, and he will have the opportunity to play against a few more teams before the regular season ends.
Kevin Durant is a key piece of the team
Even though the Golden State Warriors have sensational scorers in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, it is Kevin Durant who is the best scorer of the team and who is a great all-around player. Durant is averaging 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game this season, and he is shooting career-high 53.7 percent from the field.
The Warriors are on an 11-game win streak at the moment, but they lost four games during Durant's absence. Furthermore, they had a 3-game losing streak in this period, which is something they hadn't experienced since 2014. They cannot allow that to happen again, especially not in the playoffs, and Kevin Durant will make sure he helps his team win games.
Durant might not play a lot on Saturday
Golden State Warriors have a comfortable lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the western conference as they are 3.5 games ahead of them. With five games left in the season, it is highly unlikely they will lose the first seed, so they probably won't let Durant play a lot.
Saturday's game against the Pelicans should be easy for the Warriors as they are a much better team, and Durant will most likely play under 25 minutes in it.
While it's true that he needs some real basketball action before the playoffs, the Warriors don't want to risk him suffering another injury, and they will give their best to preserve him for the most important period of the year.
