Team USA head coach Steve Kerr confirmed to Fadeaway World that Kevin Durant will miss Team USA’s first friendly against Australia tomorrow as he continues to deal with a calf injury. Durant didn’t participate during full practice earlier today.
“He won’t play tomorrow. I’ve not talked to the trainer but if he does anything, it would be light. But yeah, he won’t play.”
Steve Kerr confirms to @FadeawayWorld that Kevin Durant will not be participating in Team USA's game against Australia tomorrow
"He won't play tomorrow. I've not talked to the trainer but if he does anything, it would be light. But yeah, he won't play." pic.twitter.com/nCmp9H0Zcq
— Ishaan Bhattacharya (@IshaanBhatta) July 14, 2024
Durant suffered a calf injury during Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas, with KD missing their first exhibition match of this stretch against Canada as a result. Steve Kerr went with a three-guard lineup in Durant’s absence, starting Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, and Jrue Holiday alongside LeBron James and Joel Embiid.
It’ll be interesting to see if Kerr adjusts his strategy in light of Embiid’s struggles during their first game. Embiid would foul out in 12 minutes, with Anthony Davis dominating off the bench, notching a double-double as a two-way terror. After Dwight Powell clamped Embiid, Davis came in and showed why Powell is out of the rotation on the Mavericks.
Holiday did a great job standing in for Durant, holding his own offensively while being USA’s primary POA defender on the perimeter against stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray. There are plenty of players Kerr could put in to shake his lineups up.
Jayson Tatum let us know in Abu Dhabi that he intends on being the team’s sixth man, having never started a game for Team USA, going back to when he was playing for the junior team. If Durant is out, Tatum would be the closest to a like-for-like replacement, but it seems his energy off the bench is a lot more useful, along with the likes of Anthony Edwards.
Durant’s status for Wednesday’s game against Serbia is unclear, but hopefully, we can see him in action before Team USA heads off to London to prepare for the Paris Olympics.
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