Durant is hurt, but we have Game 6

Published 2:47 pm Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Kevin Durant is hurt. Again.

The superstar on the Golden State Warriors has missed the last month of playoff games after a leg injury. Down 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the Warriors throw Durant into the game. Kind of a desperate move, but seeing as this was a do or die game for Golden State, I guess you have to try everything.

Well, Durant snapped his Achilles tendon—100 percent a result of him not being fully healed from the last injury. The Warriors won the game 106-105, but nobody on that team seemed to be talking about the fact that they are going back to Oakland for a chance to even the series. Everyone was talking about how bad they felt for Durant.

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Charles Barkley put all of the blame on Golden State. Yeah, I think I agree with you on that one, Chuck.

Now the Warriors will be without arguably their best player and back with the lineup that got them in a 3-1 hole to begin with. It’s not a nightmare scenario, but it isn’t exactly ideal, either.

The Raptors had a slow first half, but really ramped up in the second on their way to a six-point lead with about three minutes left in the game. Golden State hit a couple threes and put the Raptors on their heels, and now we have a Game 6 in Oakland on Thursday.

I honestly thought the Raptors would take Game 5 and win their first NBA Championship in the franchise’s short history, but the Warriors did what they do and forced another game. The difference in Game 6 will be the lack of Kevin Durant, obviously, but whether it will be a positive difference or a negative difference for the team, I’m not entirely sure of.

Could the Warriors be setting up a comeback for the ages? Maybe a sort of bizarro-world version of when they were up 3-1 against Cleveland a few years ago in the Finals and lost it. Perhaps.

Heck, I’d be fine with the Warriors winning Game 6 in Oakland and tying the series up. But I would much rather see Toronto take the trophy in the end, at home.