A lot of Thunder fans have taken to social media to let the world know that they will be fine and that big KD will be back in a month and a half and he’ll be ready to dominate.
Ok, but really though?
As I looked into this story, a few interesting questions popped up.
- How long is 6-8 weeks really?
- Will this affect Durant’s much talked about free agency in 2016?
- How will the Oklahoma City Thunder manage without their premier player?
- Who will eat Durant’s minutes?
- Will this cost OKC home court advantage in the playoffs?
- Could this be the moment we look back on years from now as the official unraveling of the Thunder?
In 2006, former Houston Rockets star center Yao Ming suffered a similar Jones fracture. It took six months before he was able to get back on the court again.
The same injury reared its head several times, despite doctor’s claims that surgery would make it stronger than it was initially.
Yao re-fractured his foot in the 2009 playoffs, and as a result missed the entire 09-10 season. After rigorous rehabilitation, he returned in 2010-11, and managed to play in just 5 games, before sustaining another fracture in his left ankle – which was related to overcompensating from the original injury.
Now, Kevin Durant is not 7’6” and 315 lbs – but everything is relative.
Is it conceivable that this tiny, brittle bone will not heal in 6-8 weeks to the level required by an explosive baller who puts a tremendous amount of stress on his feet?
Is it conceivable that this tiny, brittle bone will cause Durant to miss more time, and possibly become a re-occurring issue?
Is it possible that the crown jewel of the 2016 free agent class, may in fact be viewed as damaged goods?
The answer to all of these hypothetical questions, is of course yes – but everyone is hopeful that KD is able to bounce back strong.
Looking back at the macro level, and what the Thunder do from here; there are some serious questions.
A report was released that suggested backup point guard Reggie Jackson would eat up most of Durant’s minutes. That really doesn't seem to make any basketball sense since Durant is an outstanding wing man who also drops down to play the 4, and Jackson is a shooting guard in a point guard’s body.
Percy Jones has been underwhelming in training camp, and many have their doubts if he can in fact help the Thunder at all.
Jeremy Lamb is believed to have the inside track to replace Thabo Sefolosha as the team’s new starting 2 guard, but clearly doesn’t have the size or strength to step in for the Durantula.
This massive drop off in talent may in fact be enough to drop the Thunder out of the top 4 in the Western Conference, and cost them home court advantage in the playoffs.
This may also open Durant’s eyes to how paper thin the Thunder actually are.
Recent departures of his teammates, motivated by the desire to tighten the purse strings, have left the Thunder with very a small bench that is very guard focused with a couple of journeymen bigs.
If Russell Westbrook can’t manage to elevate the play of Anthony Morrow, Talib Zanna and Mitch McGary, then they might very well be in hot water.
