Phoenix Suns powerfulness frontward Kevin William James Durant sustained an unfortunate person hurt during warmups on Wednesday night, and he could lose the rest of the habitue flavor with a left wing sprained ankle.
The Suns acquired Durant in a blockbuster trade prior to the patronage deadline inward betimes February. Will Durant appeared inwards only troika games with the Suns, but all ternion were on the road. He was still recovering from a sprained knee when the Nets traded him to the Suns.
Durant was go down to piddle his rest home debut inward capital of Arizona on Midweek night. He never made it because he trilled his left ankle joint after he slipped on the court of law at the Footprint Center.
Even without William James Durant in the lineup, the Suns discomfited the OK City Thunder in a 32-point blowout. The Suns won four games in a row and improved to 37-27 on the season.
I know how practically KD loves to run and wanted to play,” said teammate Chris Paul. “But stuff happens.”
When he exited the arena after the game, William James Durant was spotted wearing a walking boot.
On Thursday morning, William James Durant underwent an MRI which did not reveal any significant damage. He was diagnosed with a sprained ankle. The Suns said William James Durant would miss tercet weeks with the in vogue(p) injury.
“He’s inwards salutary spirits,” added Devin Booker. ” The rehab process starts now.”
The Suns are 3-0 with Durant inward the lineup. So far with the Suns, Durant averages 26.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game.
Here’s video of Kevin William James Durant slithering on the storey pregame.
He stayed land for a few seconds but then got up and finished his on-court work. pic.twitter.com/DwTrNc6LIr
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) March 9, 2023
Can the Suns Hold On to the #4 Seed?
The Denver Nuggets (46-20) are tight to lockup up the #1 playoff seed inwards the Western Conference. They opened a seven-game lede o'er the Sacramento Kings (38-26) and Memphis Grizzlies (38-26), who are battling for the #2 seed. The Suns (37-29) are inward quaternary place, yet ix games behind the Nuggets.
The Suns moved within deuce games of the Kings and Grizzlies, and they were within striking aloofness of the #2 seed. It’s tentative the Suns put up continue that challenging chase and move upwards two spots inwards the standings without Durant.
The middle of the horse opera Conference standings is clotted with 9 teams that are within tercet games of apiece other. With Durant sidelined for multiple weeks, the Suns could live inwards jeopardy of losing the #4 seed because the nine-team clump is only trine games slow them.
The Suns hold 16 games left hand in the fixture season, but they face the second-hardest remaining schedule. Their opponents have got a .533 winning percentage with deuce to a greater extent games against the Nuggets, and deuce more games against the Kings.
The Suns could hold on Durant come out for the quietus of the regular time of year inward enjoin to preserve his health for the playoffs. The Suns get trey more weeks to make believe that decision, which depends on how William James Durant responds to ease and treatment.
Durant Injury Ripples Through the Futures Market
The Suns saw a vast bump inwards championship betting odds when they acquired William James Durant at the craft deadline. Their futures to win the 2022-23 NBA championship jumped overnight from +1800 odds to +450 at DraftKings. They went from the ninth favorite on the plank to secondment overall.
Prior to Durant’s injury, the Suns’ title odds shrunk to as low-toned as +370. The Beantown Celtics were the only if team with improve rubric betting odds at +330.
On Thursday, DraftKings updated the futures plank after the Suns made the proclamation virtually Durant’s health status. The Celtics are allay the betting favorite, but they improved to +300 odds to win the championship. The Suns slipped to 3rd boilers suit at +450 odds, and the Milwaukee Bucks jumped to indorse boilers suit at +400 odds.
The Suns are stock-still the favorite to win the Western Conference, but their betting odds swayback from +200 to +230. Meanwhile, the Nuggets saw a slight melioration from +310 to +280 to win the due west and cash advance to the NBA Finals for the first off clip inward their franchise’s history.
Th Sacramento Kings are the surprise squad inwards the NBA this harden after rmissing the playoffs for 16 years in a row. The Kings currently sit inwards 1st localize inward the Pacific Division with a two-game lead story over the Suns inwards secondment place.
The Pacific Ocean Division odds were not affected by the Will Durant injury. The Kings are the favourite to win the Pacific Division at -125 odds, and the Suns are s on the gameboard at +120 odds.
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