It has been officially announced that Kevin Durant will miss the rest of the regular season. The statement which the OKC Thunder made on Saturday was quite expected, it still sounds very disappointing. The team is currently trying to take a firmer grip on the Western Conference’s eighth seed, but they will have to do it without the small forward.
“Several conference calls and discussions amongst the specialist team concluded that, while the majority of the soreness in Kevin’s foot was related to continued inflammation of the cuboid bone and would subside with rest, the evaluation process also determined that the Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal, which had shown significant healing previously, was now demonstrating signs of regression.”
The MVP from last season started the current campaign from the sidelines. However, on 2nd December he finally made his debut. Everything looked fine in the first couple of games, but after nine contests he had to miss time once again. Since 21st February, Durant hasn’t played even one game.
The fact that Durant has been in and out of the lineup and is now shut down for the season is quite alarming. It reminds a bit of Derrick Rose. Even though it’s not exactly the same thing, there are some similarities between the two stars.
Derrick Rose was an amazing offensive player, but once he tore his ACL, he hasn’t been the same. He missed one whole season and in the next one, he got injured again. Rose had to wear a suit for three-quarters of the season. This campaign he came back (again) and everything was looking fine until the point-guard was sidelined once more. Rose struggled throughout this year and he was just a mere shadow of his former self.
The fact that Durant hasn’t been able to return to the court this season because of a reoccurring injury is quite similar to Rose and his inability to stay healthy. The point-guard didn’t have a lot of serious problems before tearing his ACL and the same goes for Durant. The Thunder forward has missed just 16 games throughout his whole career before this season. However, during this campaign he hasn’t participated in 55 contests.
It would be a huge loss if Durant can’t return to full health next season. The championship ambitions of Oklahoma City heavily rely on him, so it would be pretty critical if he continues to have health problems. Furthermore, Durant will be a free-agent in 2016 and his current condition could heavily impact the decision of the Thunder GM, Sam Presti, about the future of the player. Nevertheless, let’s just hope that Kevin Durant recovers from his injury properly, in order for him to chase his championship dreams.
NBA News: Is Kevin Durant the next Derrick Rose? From MVP to multiple injuries?
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