Prayers up for the Slim Reaper!
The last thing that Team USA wants before the 2024 Paris Olympics is an injury to their squad. It will be up to Steve Kerr to manage this squad’s fatigue while making them give their optimal production for the nation. However, the LeBron James and Stepehhen Curry-led squad may already see one man go down slowly. Who is it? Well, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant does not look like he’s at 100%.
Team USA has seen Kevin Durant hobbling around in some practices and shootarounds. So, the Suns forward’s injury status was a point of concern. While it is important that he shows out for the Stars and Stripes come the 2024 Paris Olympics, it should not jeopardize his career at all. So, what is really going on with the Slim Reaper? It looks like he is dealing with an injury and Steve Kerr has the answer to it, via Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.
“I think [Durant] tweaked it a few days before he got here. It’s not bad,” the Team USA head honcho said.
Apparently, the Suns forward was asked to sit at some point in their Olympics training camp. This is such that Kerr and Co. could manage his injury better. So far, Durant is experiencing some soreness in his calf. Team USA will evaluate this injury and label it day-to-day. They are doing this as well as making him sit out because of an abundance of caution.
Members of Team USA are not new to seeing Durant go down. Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr have seen the Suns forward endure as well as move past these ailments back in the 2019 postseason before he made a move out of the Golden State Warriors. No other head honcho is more qualified to deal with these decisions than Kerr who previously worked with Durant already.
How is Team USA’s Paris Olympics depth looking without Kevin Durant?
In the most unfortunate scenarios, the Stars and Stripes have to get ready to play without KD in their rotation. But, they are stacked at all positions nonetheless. Team USA is not at all short of forwards who can roughly give the same production as the Suns superstar. If they really want the same type of scoring numbers mixed with some playmaking and defensive versatility, Jayson Tatum might still be blazing hot from his NBA Championship run with the Boston Celtics.
Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James are also two big names who can go get a bucket like Durant when the clutch comes in. If the goal is to have a bit more defense, Bam Adebayo or Anthony Davis could provide exactly that in the four-spot. Team USA is versatile and deep on all fronts of the roster. Seeing Durant in limited minutes or not playing in some games at all is not a bad thing. But, it would still be great to see him on the 2024 Paris Olympics floor getting buckets for Team USA for one last time.
Hopefully, Durant heals up just before the enemies’ blood starts to shed.