Kevin Durant's injury is a wake-up call

Wins, injury prevention: the many reasons not to exhaust stars

By Henry Abbott

"Unfortunately, we'll never really see what these guys can really do, because they're tired all of the time—because of the schedule."

—Gary Vitti, former Lakers head athletic trainer to ESPN

As Kevin Durant hobbled a little near midcourt in the third quarter of the Warriors’ Game 5 win Wednesday over the Rockets, I could only think of one stomach-turning thing: Kobe Bryant once grabbed his lower leg like that. In Kobe’s case, it turned out to be a torn Achilles, one of the worst injuries in sports.

Later Steve Kerr would bring up the Achilles, and say “I thought the same thing.” Thank goodness it seems far less severe: Until the MRI scheduled for Thursday, it’s being called a calf strain, with Durant reported likely to miss Game 6.

In 2013, when Kobe tore his Achilles, he went on Facebook: "This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I've done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hel…