Getty Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant
The Golden State Warriors have been incredibly impressive since Kevin Durant suffered an injury in round two of the 2019 NBA Playoffs. With Durant sidelined, the Warriors first went on to win back-to-back games against the Houston Rockets to close out that series, including the first game when KD was initially hurt.
This dominant two-game stretch sent the Warriors to the Western Conference Finals for a date with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and the Portland Trail Blazers. And Golden State’s strong play without Durant continued on as they opened the series with three consecutive victories, leaving the Blazers on the brink of elimination Monday.
But what stands out above anything is the team’s record without Durant as of late, as their success goes beyond just the playoffs. While the Warriors are a great team with Durant, they’ve shown the potential to be equally as dominant even without him, which is scary for the rest of the NBA.
Warriors Record Without Kevin Durant
In an eye-opening breakdown from Dieter Kurtenbach of The Mercury News, he points out that along with Golden State’s (now) 6-0 playoff record without Durant, the most recent run of games is even more impressive. In games which the star forward has missed but Stephen Curry has played, the Warriors have gone 31-1 following their Game 4 win in the Western Conference Finals.
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It’s worth noting that the 31-1 mark is just over the most recent stretch, as Durant has missed 38 total regular-season games in three seasons with the Warriors. This goes along with the six games missed during the 2019 NBA Playoffs and two postseason games which he was sidelined for during 2016-17.
It’s also constantly brought back up that the Warriors won the 2015 NBA title along with tallying a record-breaking 73 regular-season wins in 2016. Both feats came before Durant joined up with Golden State.
Warriors Record Without Kevin Durant vs. Without Stephen Curry
As The Score recently detailed, courtesy of FS1’s Nick Wright, the Warriors are 32-4 when Curry plays and Durant doesn’t. But on the other hand, the team has posted a 28-18 mark with Curry out of the lineup and Durant in – two records which equate to very different adjusted win totals.
UPDATE: The Warriors are now 33-4 when Curry plays and Durant sits, following Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
Just sayin’… 👀 👀 👀
Obviously, these numbers are eye-opening, but this still doesn’t necessarily mean the Warriors are a better team without Durant. With that said, it does show that the group can win games without the All-Star forward in the lineup, even though they’re able to add another dimension offensively when he’s on the floor.
While the Warriors have looked good with Durant sidelined, there’s a real chance they could be without him far beyond just this postseason. It appears to be a strong possibility that Durant will at least consider leaving the Warriors and signing elsewhere in free agency this offseason.
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