The Phoenix Suns’ brilliant start to the season had cold water poured all over it at the weekend due to Kevin Durant’s injury which will see him miss games.
Kevin Durant and his Phoenix Suns were riding a wave of momentum and their narrow win vs the Dallas Mavericks was a high point, sending them 8-1 on the season.
That’s when they received the news that Durant had strained his left calf and would be missing for two weeks at the minimum.
For a player who has done remarkably well to come back from a serious injury to return to previous MVP levels, it was a big setback.
The Suns, reeling from the news, promptly lost the next game vs The Sacramento Kings in overtime, clearly missing their key player’s contribution.
The injury came as a shock to NBA analyst Tim MacMahon, who was in attendance and was led to believe nothing had happened due to Durant’s actions until the end of the game.
It is not yet clear at what point Durant got injured vs the Dallas Mavericks since outside of the player rubbing his calf a couple of times, there were no other signs.
That is what befuddled MacMahon, who said on The Hoops Collective podcast that he was ‘stunned’ to hear about Durant’s injury keeping him out for at least two weeks.
He said: “When I saw this come out, Saturday night, I was stunned because he finished the game, and hit some big shots in the fourth quarter.
“There was no indication, he might have rubbed his calf at one point. I talked to him after the game, he didn’t get extra treatment, and he didn’t have any wrap. He was upbeat, and in a good mood, he wasn’t limping or anything.
“The good news is that they don’t think it’s a major strain or too serious. He’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks. There’s hope it will be a short-term absence.
“With Durant, especially with a calf injury, you’re going to err on the side of caution.” [Relevant section begins near 17.20-mark]
When the game is going on, it’s normal for athletes to play through even the most serious injuries as the adrenaline is pumping. There have been countless examples of players coming back to hit shots or complete a play even with ACL injuries so it’s not beyond the realm of reality that the true extent of Duran’t injury was revealed only after the game.
Having said that MacMahon makes a point that Phoenix Suns have had a role to play in Durant’s body breaking down.
With their latest loss to the Kings, the Phoenix Suns sit second in the Western Conference table, level with the Warriors at 8-2.
A look at the table would say that they are trending in the right direction and should be contenders for the title, as the record is third-best across the NBA.
However, with a point differential of just 21 after 10 games, they sit 18th in the NBA, indicating that things are perhaps not as rosy as the win-loss record might make it seem.
Their wins have been extremely narrow in games that could have gone either way if a shot fell this way or the other for the opponents.
Close games have forced the team to stretch the minutes of their star players more than they perhaps would like, and Tim MacMahon says it has played a part in Durant’s injury.
He said: “The concern with the way the Suns have been pulling out games, Durant’s minutes were really getting run up because every single game went down to the wire.
“Of all their games, only one win has come by more than six points. His minutes were up there and with his age and injury history, he’ll have to sit out and it will be interesting to see how the Suns fare without him.”
The Suns haven’t started well without as they lost to the Kings in overtime, with the extra minutes of basketball not easing any pressure on their stars.
The NBA Cup is up next and as it’s a chance at a trophy with ramifications for the regular season, the workload is not going to get any lighter.
The injury to Durant should be considered as a warning sign so that it doesn’t become a precursor to something worse happening to him or any other player.
For that, the role players will need to step up in the coming weeks and carry the team to some wins.
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