Suns Downplay Potential Kevin Durant Debut on Wednesday
When will Kevin Durant finally make his debut as a Phoenix Sun?
Since he was traded to the Suns on Feb. 8, many conflicting reports have come out on when Durant would make his return to the court from a sprained MCL suffered in January. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated that Durant was eying a Mar. 1 return against the Charlotte Hornets but Monty Williams did not confirm nor deny this report after Phoenix's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
“We'll have to see, we are not quite sure yet but we'll have to see,” Williams said in response when asked if Durant would make his return to action on Wednesday (h/t Duane Rankin).
Durant was initially believed to return last Friday (the league pushed the time back an hour and put the Suns-Thunder game on ESPN) but Durant ultimately didn't play.
Devin Booker also kept everybody in suspense while adding his own dash of optimism.
“Is he supposed to play Wednesday? I hope so,” Booker said.
The Suns have 20 games remaining in the regular season. Each and every one carries extreme significance. It takes time to build chemistry especially when ball dominant players like Durant, Booker and Chris Paul are paired together.
If the Suns are to be ready for the playoffs, they need to get Durant back as soon as possible. Durant coming back on Wednesday night would be a perfect scenario for Phoenix. The Suns will battle against a struggling Hornets team with a 19-43 record so Durant would be able to ease his way back into the mix and not have to worry about returning against a top-notch opponent.
It is a positive sign that Durant is traveling with the team on their four-game road trip, as he is at least likely play in one of these games.
While it's exciting that Durant is inching closer to his return, expect him to be on a tight minute restriction during his first few games as he still may not be 100% healthy.
Whenever that may be, of course.
