In the latest news of notable injuries, one of the NBA’s biggest stars is going to miss the start of the season due to a fractured foot. Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant suffered what General Manager Sam Presti described as a “Jones Fracture” in his right foot at practice Saturday. The injury will require surgery and he is expected to be out 6 to 8 weeks. This is the first injury that Kevin Durant has ever had in the NBA to cause him to miss a significant amount of games. Although the reigning league MVP is obviously going to be missed, luckily for the Thunder their team is still loaded with talent and with Russell Westbrook & Serge Ibaka fully recovered from last year’s injuries; they should be able to carry the team for the first couple of weeks before their MVP returns.
This is also a great opportunity to see what Russell Westbrook will look like now being the “Go-To Guy” for his team. Ever since the Thunder lost to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2012, Westbrook has been the main “Scapegoat” for the Thunder’s playoff failures. People have even questioned if Westbrook & his running mate Durant can “Co-exist” together long term. It is now their 6th season as teammates and everybody knows that the Thunder Organization is in “Championship-or-bust” mode and these first couple of weeks without Kevin Durant is a great way for Westbrook to show all his detractors how valuable he is to the Thunder. If Westbrook can help the Thunder keep up with the Spurs & Clippers while Durant is out, there should be no doubting that Westbrook is in fact the Pippen to Durant’s Jordan type of abilities and skill.
– JRC
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