Kevin Durant cleared to practice, expected to return Saturday
The Golden State Warriors will soon be back to full strength. The team announced Thursday that Kevin Durant has been cleared to return to full-team practices and is expected to return against the Pelicans on Saturday if the four-time scoring champ doesn’t suffer any setbacks.
https://twitter.com/WarriorsPR/status/850041142003474433
Durant has missed the last 19 games after suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee against the Wizards in February. The Warriors have recently been surging despite Durant’s absence, winning a season-high 13 consecutive games and securing the best record in the NBA for the third straight season.
Durant was in the MVP conversation before the injury, averaging 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 54 percent from the floor. Golden State struggled initially after Durant went down, going 3-5 in their first eight games without the eight-time MVP.
The Warriors eventually adjusted to his absence, rolling to their third consecutive season with at least 60 wins. If Durant does return Saturday, it will give Golden State three games to readjust to him being in the lineup before the start of the playoffs.
