Durant will not play in Sunday's preseason rematch against Dallas, Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle reports. The forward finished Friday's preseason contest with 15 points (7-12 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 0-1 FT), two assists and one block in 23 minutes.
Analysis:According to coach Ime Udoka, Durant was initially scheduled to play only the first half Friday but requested additional minutes to build chemistry with Fred VanVleet and his other new teammates. The veteran forward's absence Sunday appears to be a planned precaution rather than an injury-related setback, and Houston should have additional minutes available for its other wings and forwards.
