The Warriors are 5-0 without Kevin Durant this postseason. They’re 6-0 if you count their Game 5 victory over the Rockets, in which Durant left with a calf injury in the third quarter.
With Stephen Curry as the talisman, Golden State appears to be firing on all cylinders, and looks reenergized while playing a more fluid style that defined the first two seasons under Steve Kerr.
Unsurprisingly, this has led to some to speculate that the Warriors are actually better without Durant — the MVP of the last two NBA Finals — and that the Curry-led squad is more than capable of taking care of business to whomever they face in the championship this year.
On Friday, Durant disputed that theory when talking with reporters for the first time since his injury.
“It’s been that way since I got here,” said Durant, who isn’t expected to be ready for Game 1 of the Finals. “It’s been that way since I got here — ‘It’s the Warriors and KD.’ I understand that, and I felt like my teammates and the organization know exactly what I’ve done here off and on the court to become a part of this culture, stamp my flag in this culture and this organization. … I know what I bring to the team, but I also know a lot of people on the outside don’t like to see us together, and I get it.”
It’s not just folks on Twitter who are pushing this narrative. Steph’s brother, Seth Curry, told The Athletic during the Portland series that while he wouldn’t say the Warriors are better, he believes that they are harder to guard without Durant on the court.
KD’s response? “Hell no.”
“It’s hard to get away from that because I watch the game, and you watch the lead-up to the games, and that’s all everybody is talking about,” Durant said. “My perspective is just, like, I want to focus on rehab, but I also want to be a fan of my teammates. I want to enjoy my teammates from a different view. A lot of those guys sit in a chair and cheer for the rest of the guys, the starting guys, and now I get an opportunity to do the same thing. I turn on the TV, and since I can’t travel with the team, all I hear is the noise.
“As a player, I think about that — I’m just like, that’s not true. That’s not facts when it comes from a basketball perspective. The competitive side of me — I also like to talk basketball as well — so if you’re going to say something like that, I’m going to engage in it. So it’s all fun, it’s all cool, but I know the real.”
Steph believes all of the chatter is part of a larger phenomenon that started when Durant joined the 73-win Warriors three offseason’s ago.
“I feel like for the last three years, everybody has taken their shots and trying to nitpick or break us down or drive a wedge in our team chemistry or our togetherness — whatever the case is,” Curry said. “And even this year, it’s even been amplified even more with [Durant’s] free-agency stuff. And nobody can say anything without it getting scrutinized or criticized, or nobody can be happy when people are playing well. That’s the part, to me, that’s the most surprising. If it’s KD playing well, it’s, ‘Oh, they’re playing a different style, and it’s not as fun to watch,’ or when he’s out, and we’re winning games, it’s, ‘Oh, are we better, more fun?’ Whatever the question is, we hear it all the time.”