"I haven’t done anything, man. It’s killing me," Durant said. "I tried to get some shots up but they wouldn’t let me, but I shot some free throws so I did a little something."
Scott Brooks said that James Harden would start in Durant's place were he not able to go, and that it's a day-to-day injury.
A starting lineup of Westbrook, Sefolosha, Harden, Ibaka, and Mohammed looks a little bit thin to me, but when you look at the bench, your worries dissipate. I mean, if we're not going to be able to play Kevin Durant, Nate Robinson is going to have to get minutes. Some teams would start the guy, and nearly all NBA teams would find time for him on their bench. Having that kind of bench security will be critical for the Thunder's imminent playoff run, and a great fall-back during the regular season when these types of injuries happen.
Does this hurt our chances of winning against Atlanta? Obviously, but it doesn't crush them. It simply forces us to rely more heavily on our defense, and hope that Harden, Cook, and Robinson haven't forgotten how to shoot. The Hawks are in a transition of their own, exchanging Point Guard Mike Bibby for Kirk Hinrich, and possibly are in some trouble of their own, with top scorer Josh Smith spraining his knee as well. The point is, both teams might be in the same boat on Friday. So if there was a time for Durant to get injured, now might be it.
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