Report: Kevin Durant has 'Good Chance' of Playing in Game 2 for Rockets

Heading into the start of the postseason, we'd heard that the Houston Rockets had a circled matchup on the docket. The Rockets wanted to face the Los Angeles Lakers.

And likely every team viewed the Lakers as a favorable matchup, due to the absence of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The team was already a top heavy group with Doncic and Reaves.

They're extremely compromised without those two. Or so, it seemed, in theory.

However, they still were able to handle the Rockets. And it didn't necessarily seem like it was a daunting task for them, either.

Luke Kennard went full scorched Earth mode, going 5-of-5 from long-range and scoring 27 points, which was a game-high. The Lakers shot 52.6 percent from three, albeit on just 19 attempts.

The Rockets struggled to make shots, going 37.6 percent from the field. Which is horrid.

God awful, even. They also fared 68 percent from the foul line.

There's no excuse for that, let's first make note of that. One facet that certainly made a difference is the fact that the Rockets were playing without Kevin Durant.

Durant's diagnosis changed 24 hours before the game, as he was suddenly listed as questionable, due to a knee contusion.

On Saturday, Durant tried to give it a go before the game. Durant warmed up and went through a pretty extensive shoot around but realized he wasn't going to be able to suit up.

The injury is more of a matter of mobility, or a lack thereof, rather than pain tolerance.

Kevin Durant Injury News Seems Positive, as There's a Good Chance that he Returns for Rockets

In the immediate aftermath of the game, USA Today's Ben DuBose, of the Rockets Wire, gave an immediate update on Durant's injury prognosis.

"KD, from what I've heard, there's a good chance he could return in Game 2."

DuBose continued.

"There's hope that Kevin Durant can return by Game 2, which is on Tuesday night."

Durant bumped knees with a teammate in practice on Wednesday, as explained by Rockets coach Ime Udoka. The exact location of the injury was above the knee -- in the patella tendon area.

Udoka stated that he imagined Durant's injury would just be a one-game thing. So it's not just DuBose that pointed this out.

Durant played 78 games during the regular season and finished second in total minutes played in the league. Durant's 36.4 minutes per night also ranked third in the league.

By Game 2, Durant will have had six days to rest and/or recover. Even if he's able to give it a go, it would seem like he'd still be limited. But even a hobbled Durant would be better than anyone replacing him.

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