Pulling a bit of a Stephen A. Smith by casually dropping the fact that he has dinner with important people in the sports world, Jay Williams informed the viewers of “Get Up” this morning that he “would be shocked” if Kevin Durant doesn’t play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals tonight.
This is the strongest statement from anyone in the media that Durant will, in fact, play in the NBA Finals. Yesterday, Durant practiced for the first time since injuring his calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, so there were indications he would try and gut it out with the Warriors down 3-1 to the Raptors in the series. But before Jay’s dinner with KD, no one in the media was willing to say they expect Durant to play. He is officially listed as questionable for the game.
Durant, who has won the last two NBA Finals MVP Awards, isn’t the only player on the Warriors playing hurt. Klay Thompson missed Game 3 with a hamstring injury, Boogie Cousins came back early after a quad injury and Andre Iguodala injured his leg in Game 1 of the Finals. Steph Curry has played hero ball without his usual supporting cast around him, but getting Durant back could completely change the course of these finals. Of course, Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors will have something to say about it, but if Williams is right, the NBA Finals are about to get very interesting.