Golden State Warriors can very well win the title without Kevin Durant
The Golden State Warriors once again showed the world their dominance without Kevin Durant in their Game 1 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Such a win further exemplifies that the Warriors can win the title without Durant.
How nostalgic was it to see the Golden State Warriors easily handle a team with their original core? If you’re a Portland Trail Blazers fan you have to feel enormously demoralized. That team was just taken apart by the Warriors without Kevin Durant on a night where they overall weren’t at their best.
That just speaks to championship caliber of the Warriors and that they don’t need Durant to win this series.
In fact, this team can very well win the title without Kevin Durant. It’s really not that difficult to grasp that notion. They were a vaunted team before he even joined the Warriors, which is why it was a bit surprising to see so many people writing this team off in the Houston series once Durant was ruled out.
Yes, Durant is a top three player in this league and when he’s on he’s unstoppable for the Warriors. But the same can be said about Stephen Curry who looked sharp and comfortable Tuesday night scoring 36 points with 27 of them from behind the arc.
Boy, is he really living up to his name “Chef Curry” by serving up a lot of crow to his critics who believed he was a ghost in the playoffs.
Curry just might be one of the most disrespected perennial stars in all of sports. Durant may be the bigger name on the Warriors, but the reality is if Curry is on fire then the Warriors are in better hands.
It’s not just Curry, but all the negative narratives about the Warriors are essentially agenda driven by the media outside of the Bay Area. That’s really the only way to try to derail this team other than injuries and we’ve seen that all regular season with Durant’s free agent rumors.
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At this point, the Warriors should just tell Durant to relax at home since he’s practically on the way out. They really do not need him to beat the Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, or Milwaukee Bucks. Having Durant was always a luxury, not a necessity. It’s why the Warriors have only lost one time when Durant is not playing.
Coincidence? I think not. Now I’m by no means saying that Durant isn’t impactful for the Golden State Warriors.
He does make certain aspects of games easier for the team. However, watching Tuesday night’s game and even looking back at Game 6 against Houston just felt like the players enjoyed themselves more. It looked more natural and organic because there wasn’t a need to force the ball to anyone like they would if Durant was playing.
The Warriors just look more unleashed when it is just the original core. That is what “Strength in Numbers” is all about.
To be able to have the entire team work cohesively and we saw that with the suffocating defense on Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. It’s why the Trail Blazers will be lucky to take one game away from the Warriors. They can’t match up with them from top to bottom and the same goes for the remaining two Eastern Conference teams.
Next. Golden State Warriors: Preview/Prediction for the Trail Blazers series. dark
Game 2 should be another entertaining game from Curry and Thompson since Durant is ruled out for that contest. It wouldn’t be shocking if Durant didn’t return or Game 3 or even the rest of the series.
The lethal attack of the splash brothers and company is more than enough to rout the Trail Blazers and secure the NBA title.