Thunder now look to Westbrook to carry early season load
Over the summer, Kevin Durant withdrew himself from Team USA Men’s Basketball play for the 2014 F.I.B.A. games to get some much needed rest. A well-rejuvenated Durant spoke highly of finally getting time off from competitive play to prepare his body for the upcoming season set to start in exactly two weeks.
The Thunder has announced that Kevin Durant has been diagnosed with a Jones fracture in his foot. He'll need surgery and miss 6-8 weeks.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) October 12, 2014
Unfortunately, the Oklahoma City Thunder broke the worst injury news many NBA fans could’ve envisioned with Kevin Durant missing the start of the season. After a recent check up on nagging foot problems, the team announced their star MVP would be out6-8 weeks with a fractured right foot.
Team GM Sam Presti released a statement saying,
“After practice yesterday, Kevin made us aware of discomfort in his right foot,” GM Sam Presti said in a statement released to media. “We proceeded to perform the necessary imagining studies to determine the cause of his discomfort. At this stage, Kevin has been diagnosed with a Jones fracture. Traditional treatment of this injury requires a surgical procedure and recent NBA cases have resulted in a return to play in 6-8 weeks. We are in the process of collaboratively evaluating the most appropriate next steps with Kevin, his representatives, and Thunder medical personnel. Until a course of action is determined, we are unable to provide a timeline specific to Kevin’s case.”
This is obviously the worst possible outcome Oklahoma City expected to start their season in arguably the toughest Western Conference we’ve seen this decade. Unlike their competitive friends, they made no significant free agency moves and are returning with essentially the same team they left the AT&T Center with in their conference finals lost to the world champion San Antonio Spurs.
The Thunder will look to production from their new big 3 for the time being in the likes of Russell Westbrook, Reggie Shmurda and Serge Ibaka. We’re hopeful Durant has a speedy recovery, but the team is setting a 6-8 week time window return following surgery – with the possibility of an indefinite listing to happen.
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