Notes from Team USA training camp: Kawhi Leonard to play vs. Canada, Kevin Durant is out.

LAS VEGAS — When Team USA tips off Wednesday in its first warm-up game before the Paris Olympics, Kawhi Leonard will be suited up and ready to play. Kevin Durant will not.

After going hard on the first day of practice, Leonard was held back some during the second day of scrimmages on Monday. On Tuesday he went through the walk-through, and both he and coach Steve Kerr said he would play on Wednesday
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“I’ll be good tomorrow,” Leonard said. Everything’s been good so far. It has been in a neutral state, and hopefully, it stays that way.”

Leonard talked earlier in the week about his return from a right knee injury that kept him out of the playoffs. “I took the time, and I was able to turn around over the last two weeks. So, I’m out here now, and, yeah, I’m having a good time.”

“It’s fun coaching Kawhi, just seeing him up close,” Kerr said. “Just the physicality, the strength, the skill. And it’s great to see him back on the court and this has been his first real live action since the end of the NBA season, so he’s he’s just getting his rhythm and his conditioning, like mostly guys, but it’s good to see him out there healthy and playing.”

Durant has yet to practice with the team due to calf soreness, and he will not play against Canada on Wednesday, although he said he was close to a return.

“Yeah, I feel better,” Durant said Wednesday. “I hurt it working out, probably about 10 days before camp. So just working through it, taking it day by day.”

Considering Durant’s history with a torn Achilles tendon, they will be cautious about his return from a calf injury.

Here are a few other notes from the last day of Team USA Training Camp.

• Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by to speak to team. The Vice President has a few important things on her plate, but she took a minute on Tuesday to speak to Team USA.

“That’s exactly what it is, a great reminder of the fact that we’re playing for our country,” Kerr said. “And Vice President Harris was great. She told the guys how much she admired them and how they really embodied excellence.

“The fact that we are going over there to try to win a gold medal for our…

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Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-10 00:11:13

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