NBA Broadcaster says Media did a 'Poor Job' Covering Kevin Durant's Injury

One of the key concerns when the Houston Rockets made the blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant last summer centered around Durant's health, or lack thereof. Durant was an aging player (36-years-old at the time of the trade) and was coming off a season in which he'd played just 62 games.

He'd also missed a considerable amount of time in the previous seasons due to injury, having played just 65 games once in the previous five seasons, due to injuries in his lower extremities. However, that wasn't an issue during Durant's debut regular season campaign.

Durant played 78 games and missed just one game because of injury. Two of Durant's missed games were due to personal reasons and the Rockets opted to sit Durant in their final regular season game against the Memphis Grizzlies, due to rest.

And Durant finished second in total minutes played and third in minutes per game. As it turns out, Durant's workload would ultimately catch up to him, right before the Rockets' opening round postseason matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Durant initially suffered a knee contusion prior to Game 1 of the series, after bumping knees with a teammate while diving for a loose ball in one of the practice sessions leading up to the start of the series. He ultimately tried to give it a go in Game 1 but realized that it wasn't a possibility during a shootaround.

In Game 2, however, Durant did suit up. And he showed out. Especially in the first half, scorching his way to 20 points in the first half, which was a game-high.

Ultimately, Durant suffered an additional injury late in the second half of the contest, albeit this time on his ankle. Durant would suffer a bone bruise in addition to an ankle sprain, which had him listed as day-to-day throughout the duration of the series.

His teammates were even asked about his status, and offered little to no additional clarity. Same goes for Rockets coach Ime Udoka. Durant ultimately missed the remainder of the series.

Conspiracy theories began to surface regarding the veracity of Durant’s injury, especially after he declined to sit with the team during Game 3. NBA champion and NBA broadcaster Brendan Haywood believes Durant’s injury wasn’t properly covered, as explained to long-time NBA analyst Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.

"I think the media did a poor job covering his injury. There were reports saying his teammates didn’t know what was going on, which is very disingenuous. As a guy who has been in the locker room, if you ask me about a teammate’s injury, I’m going to say “I don’t know” because it’s not my place to speak on it. People were saying he was faking, but the man has a bone bruise. We saw this guy risk his Achilles for a team he was leaving; why would we question him now?"

It was always a bizarre suggestion that Durant was able to go past Game 2, especially based on the graphic nature of the injury, as Durant’s ankle touched the floor. But also, it seems like it would have been easier to have done that much earlier in the season, rather than playing the second-most minutes at age 37, only to sit out near the end.

Haywood makes good points here. It's certainly hard to disagree with him, at the very least.

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