Oakland (USA), .- The Golden State Warriors admitted that they accepted all the criticism and accusations for the injury suffered by star forward Kevin Durant in the fifth game of the NBA Finals, but they were also willing to fight for winning the sixth game and continue in search of the third consecutive title of champions.
Durant injured his right Achilles tendon and this Wednesday he was successfully operated in New York, as he himself announced through his Instagram account, while giving all the “moral” support to the team when on Thursday he faced the Toronto Raptors, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Durant’s return with the team in Game 5, after being sidelined for a month due to the muscle strain he suffered in the right leg during the Western Conference semifinal series against the Houston Rockets, has generated Warriors all kinds of criticism.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Wednesday’s training that the rupture of Durant’s right Achilles tendon was a “total shock” within the organization.
“I fully understand the world we live in,” Kerr said. “As the team’s general manager, Bob Myers, did on Monday, he’s going to have to blame someone, there’ll be signs and we’ll understand that, and we accept that, this is something you assume when you get the position of coach and general manager in the NBA. “
Kerr said that the existence of all kinds of conjectures, judgments and criticisms were there, they were part of everyday reality within the world of professional basketball.
“The most important thing is our concern for Kevin (Durant), giving him support during the most difficult moments of his professional career in recent days, and overcoming all the frustration that exists within the organization for what happened,” Kerr added.
The Warriors coach reiterated that Durant’s return was done in a consensual manner, without any pressure and with the approval of the player who was most willing to help the teammates.
“The last month was a collective and collaborative effort in his rehabilitation, and that collaboration included Kevin (Durant) and his business partner Rich Kleiman, our medical staff, his own outside opinion, second opinion, doctor outside our Organization. He checked all the boxes and everyone involved authorized him to play, “Kerr argued.
Kerr made it clear that the organization did not feel that it put Durant at risk of further injuries, despite the fact that he had not played in more than a month and was still recovering from a calf injury in the same leg.
Regarding, if they would make the same decisions they made with Durant, Kerr was categorical when saying “yes”, but without giving the “damn” injury.
“But it’s easy to say after the results, when we gathered all the information, our feeling that the worst thing that could happen would be a new twin injury, that was the advice and the information we had.” At that time, Kevin once ( Durant) was able to play, he was comfortable with that, we were comfortable with that, so the rupture of the Achilles tendon was a total shock, “Kerr argued.
Kerr and several of his players recognized the “shock” and sadness that still exists within the organization after Durant’s injury. Kerr specifically mentioned Rick Celebrini, the director of sports medicine and team performance.
“So it’s devastating, especially for Kevin (Durant), obviously, but I also feel terrible for Rick Celebrini, who is one of the best people I’ve ever been with and one of the smartest and brightest minds in which I’ve worked, it’s devastated, Bob, the team, everyone, but we made the decision in collaboration with all the information we had and we thought it was the right one, “he added.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are preparing for the sixth game that, apart from being at stake its continuity in the NBA Finals, will also be the last to be played in the legendary field of Oracle Arena in Oakland. (EFE)
