The Golden State Warriors ran a full practice session on Friday which featured their now fully recovered superstar small forward Kevin Durant. Durant after the practice on Friday stated he was excited to get out there and return to playing after suffering a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury and has not played in a game in the last five weeks.
Kevin Durant is glad to be back
"Today was one of those days where I went out there and played and practiced with the guys, and I felt healthy," Durant stated after being interviewed after practice. Durant will feature in the starting lineup for the Golden Stae Warriors when they face the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena Saturday night.
Durant also stated that he has been feeling ready for the past two weeks now, but was waiting until trainers gave him the all clear.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also interviewed after Friday's practice has stated after consultation with medical staff that he would not play Kevin Durant on a minutes restriction. The reasoning for this is Kerr and the medical staff believe Durant's knee is healed, however, if Durant shows signs of fatigue Kerr will substitute him immediately as a precaution.
Kevin Durant participated in a full team scrimmage for the first time since his injury, to get himself ready for his return. His performance received compliments by Steve Kerr who stated that the All-Star small forward looked great.
Durant said that at times that in his rehabilitation that he was frustrated and angered about not being able to play. Durant credited his teammates and coaching staff for helping him keep a cool head.
Kevin Durant is vital to this team's success
Kevin Durant along with Steph Curry both lead the Golden State Warriors in points (25.3).
Durant is however also the Warriors' leading rebounder (8.1) and is first for the Warriors in blocks. Before Durant's injury on February 28th, The Golden State Warriors were beating opponents by a mean of 12.5 points, which is the best in association history, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
The Golden State Warriors have three more regular season games left.
They are currently on a 13 game winning streak and have officially secured the top record in the NBA, which secures them home court advantage during the postseason. Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Stephen Curry, however, is listed in doubt for the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night having suffered a left knee contusion in the Warriors' victory over the Phoenix Suns. However, Kevin Durant is not concerned about accumulating game time with the reigning back-to-back MVP before the postseason, having already played 59 games with Stephen Curry this season.
Nobody knows if Kevin Durant will return to his MVP form, but Durant determined, is focused on coming out all guns blazing Saturday night against the Pelicans.
