The Golden State Warriors have now won three consecutive playoff games with two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant out with a calf injury.
Golden State is now 29-1 in the past 30 games that Stephen Curry plays and Kevin Durant doesn’t.
It’s led to ridiculous opinions that the Warriors are better without the impending free agent. Blazers guard Seth Curry even noted recently that the Warriors are harder to guard with Durant out of the lineup.
Like he does often, KD took to social media as a way to counter the critics. His response was rather simple.
“Hell no.” As noted above, that’s about as simple as it gets.
Though, the argument surrounding Durant’s importance to the Warriors is credible. It’s not that they’re better without him. Instead, Golden State plays different basketball with Curry and Klay Thompson acting as the two main figures. That’s where Seth Curry was coming from.
There’s also an argument to be made about Golden State’s margin of error. As we’ve seen over the past three-plus games, the Warriors can withstand the loss of the planet’s best player.
Publishers note: We’re NOT counting Lebron James, Steph Curry, Giannis Antekoumpo, or James Harden when referencing Kevin Durant as the “planet’s best player” in the above paragraph.
Prior to KD’s arrival in Oakland, Golden State had hoisted the NBA championship trophy and won 73 games. This team is not lost with Durant sidelined.
One has to wonder if the Warriors’ success without Durant will play a role in his free-agent decision. He’s sidelined through at least the Western Conference Finals.
Golden State boasts a 2-0 series lead over the Blazers heading into Game 3 in Portland Saturday night.