Warriors Medical Staff Clears Durant To Play
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Warriors star Kevin Durant, sidelined since Feb. 28th with a Grade 2 left MCL sprain and tibial bone bruise, has been cleared by the medical staff to return to action for Saturday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena.
The staff has put Durant through the paces in recent days -- including 2-on-2, 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 scrimmages – and the knee has responded well.
After initially stumbling in Durant's absence, the Warriors have rolled to a 15-4 record including their current win streak of 13 straight games.
"We'll play him in shorter bursts, and we'll have to figure out our rotations from there," head coach Steve Kerr said recently.
But there is no doubt that he will be immediately reinserted into the starting lineup.
"When he comes back and the training staff says he's ready, we're going to put him in the starting lineup," Kerr said.
Before he was injured, Durant was averaging a team-high 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists a game and nearly 2 blocks a contest.