TORONTO — Injured Golden State star Kevin Durant made the trip to Toronto.
He could have stayed home.
Durant, who missed Game 1 of the NBA Finals, also will miss Game 2 against the Raptors on Sunday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed Friday.
Durant hasn’t played since injuring his calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Warriors were able to beat Houston in six games, then swept Portland in the conference finals.
“We have been sort of holding out hope, but I might as well just say it now,” Kerr said. “He's not practicing today. We'll have a practice tomorrow. But he's still progressing. It's near impossible for him to play on Sunday.”
The Warriors missed Durant in their Game 1 loss to the Raptors. Before his injury, Durant was at the top of his game, averaging 34.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and shooting 51.3% from the field and 41.6% on three-pointers.
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Kerr is not lamenting Durant’s absence.
“The only thing that matters is we have to win the game with what we have, and then when he comes back we'll put him out there. Nothing else matters,” Kerr said.
The Warriors are cautious with Durant's return. First, they want him to have a full practice before playing in a game and more important, Kerr said, “This is a tricky one. If you re-injure the calf, then that's it and then he's done for the series.”
Golden State forward Draymond Green said Durant traveling with the team and participating in more team meetings is a sign he's engaged mentally.
"Once you start to get closer, you start to kind of move back into a normal schedule," Green said. "You starting to see him, hear his voice more. You're starting to hear him coming up with adjustments even before the game, giving his input. But that's kind of just the natural buildup when you're going through an injury."
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