Reigning NBA MVP, Kevin Durant, is set to return tonight versus the New Orleans Pelicans, according to reports. The plan is that if he goes through shoot-around and all the pregame warm-ups, he’ll be back.
Here’s what ESPN’s Brian Windhorst had to say.
The return of both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to the Thunder lineup is exactly what the team needed. They started the season off to a rocky start at 3-12 and now have a little early season hole to climb out of. The west is tough this year and the first opponent for a fully healthy Thunder team will be early MVP candidate, Anthony Davis and his New Orleans Pelicans.
The return to the lineup for Durant today marks the first game in a short 3 game road trip for the Thunder. Out of their next 8 games, 5 are against teams who didn’t make the playoffs last year. But there are some tough contests against the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers at home. They also play the Sacramento Kings on the road which begins a short 3 game road trip in California against the Cali teams including visits to the Kings, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.
The next 15 games for the Thunder are all going to be very interesting to watch, especially when it comes to seeing who works well with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook after some role players got used to playing big minutes and producing at an elevated rate.
