TORONTO — Kevin Durant is ready.
Durant will return to the Warriors lineup for a do-or-die Game 5 vs. the Raptors on Monday night, league sources said. Warriors coach Steve Kerr had earlier listed Durant as “a game-time decision” but sounded optimistic the star forward would make his long-anticipated return.
Durant participated in Monday’s morning shootaround at Scotiabank Arena and Kerr said he “looked good.’’ Durant practiced on Sunday for the first time since he went down with a partially torn calf more than a month ago.
“He worked at shootaround, went back to get treatment,’’ Kerr said before a mob of cameras and reporters. “We’ll list him as a game-time decision, he looked good. We’ll see where it all goes. That’s what we’re hoping for. No guarantees. It’s just how he feels and training staff feels.”
Kerr said Durant won’t be on a minutes restriction if he plays and he’d decide the allotment based on how he looks on the court.
The Warriors trail in the series 3-1. If he is ready to play, Durant could have his Willis Reed moment from the 1970 NBA Finals. A hobbled Reed’s participation in Game 7, though, was more an emotional lift than carrying the Knicks to a victory.
“You worry about the conditioning,’’ Kerr said. “The skill is undeniable. He can get a shot off any time he wants. He’s been in similar situations with us where he had long layoffs. He’s Kevin Durant. If we have him out there, he’ll be a threat. We know that.”
Asked about the Durant cloud hovering over the Finals, Kerr said, “It’s the way it goes. Injuries happen. But it’s been frustrating.’’
Kerr confirmed Durant did a scrimmage with the younger players after Thursday’s practice as planned, but wouldn’t specify if it was 3-on-3 or 5-on-5.
“A little of this, a little of that,” Kerr said.
The Warriors coach admitted when Durant first got hurt late in the Houston series, he was informed that Durant’s healing process could be two months. That would have put him out until training camp.
“We talked about it when the injury occurred, pretty vague a lot of gray area,” Kerr said. “One of the first things [team doctor) Rick [Celebrini] told me with calves, it could be a couple weeks, it could be a couple months. And it’s not often you have injuries like that. Usually you get that four-to-six week thing or two to three weeks. Calves, Achilles, muscular stuff, it’s a little tougher to gauge than a joint. And when you combine that with the scrutiny and the media coverage of The Finals, we’ve just been in the spotlight, he’s been in the spotlight, and it’s been tough.”
If Durant plays, it could still be his final game as a Warrior with free agency looming.
