After blowing a 6-point lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation during Friday night’s 112-108 overtime loss, the Houston Rockets find themselves in a 0-3 hole against a short-handed Los Angeles Lakers squad.
With Houston’s season officially on the line tonight in a do-or-die Game 4 at the Toyota Center, Kevin Durant’s availability is crucial if they are to have any chance of saving their season.
Will Kevin Durant Play in Game 4 Against the Lakers?
When the Rockets traded for Durant over the offseason, the expectation was that the two-time champion would help them turn into legitimate championship contenders.
However, injury troubles began before the series even tipped off, as Durant was forced to miss Game 1 due to a bruised right knee. He returned for Game 2, logging 41 minutes and scoring a team-high 23 points in a 101-94 loss.
With Houston down 2-0, Durant was out for Game 3 due to a sprained left ankle, forcing him to watch Houston’s brutal Game 3 collapse and a LeBron James clinic from the sideline.
It has been that kind of year for Durant in Houston. Between the knee, the ankle, and a hamstring issue that cost him time in February.
For a player acquired specifically to push the Rockets over the championship hump, the injury fragility has been a recurring, frustrating theme the front office will have to grapple with, regardless of how tonight ends.
The latest on Durant’s injury does not look too promising for the Rockets’ ambitions. As of Sunday morning, he has been officially ruled out for Game 4.
“Durant has a bone bruise in his sprained ankle, which would sideline him 2 to 3 weeks in season. He’s had around-the-clock treatment to play but has not been cleared by doctors,” Shams Charania reported.
ESPN insider Dave McMenamin has also raised questions about how Durant has been recovering from the injury. He claims that Durant’s teammates have no idea what’s going on with the 2-time champion, and wonders if he has been recovering away from the Houston team.
Addressing Durant’s injury situation, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said, “He’s getting treatment still around the clock. I think there’s some soreness and [he’s] pushed a lot of swelling out, but it’ll be a matter of if he can go. We’ll try it out, I’m sure, tomorrow morning and before the game, and we’ll know his status then.”
When asked how likely it is that Durant will suit up in the elimination scenario, Udoka replied, “Every day that goes by, the likelihood goes up. But I thought he might be OK [Friday] based on shootaround, and that’s different going half speed and then ramping it up right before a game. And so you really can’t tell, but he’s doing everything he can to get back.”
The Rockets will be asking a lot of Alperen Şengün and the rest of the squad to keep their season alive.
Meanwhile, despite missing their entire starting backcourt in Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves (with the latter questionable for Game 4), the Lakers have overwhelmed Houston, leaning heavily on James’ heroics.
A sweep would very well trigger a difficult summer for Houston’s front office, with questions on roster construction and coaching decisions.
