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WCF Is Proof that Durant Is Not Needed for Warriors

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by Manny Ramirez, May 20, 2019.

  1. Manny Ramirez

    Manny Ramirez The Music Man

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    As we go through another interminable NBA playoffs thanks to the Warriors eliminating the Rockets, I am reminded at how good this Warriors team is as they have not lost a game since Durant went out with his injury. This was the same team (essentially) that won back to back NBA titles and then 73 games. Yes, any team would be crazy not to want to have the Snake aka Durant on their team but these NBA playoffs once again proves a stark reminder about several things:

    1) The Warriors are so ridiculously good that getting Durant was and has been proven to be completely unnecessary
    2) This Warriors team is still Stephanie Curry's team and always will be
    3) Durant's legacy is that he will go down as one of the greatest scorers and talented players ever but the respect for him, especially for his leadership, will always be lacking as he joined a team that was already the best in the league and is showing they are still the best even without him playing.

    The only thing that would redeem Durant, in my eyes, is if he left the Warriors and joined some terrible team and led them to a title. But I don't see that happening - he can't win a title unless he is piggybacking off one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

    But hey it is ok, KD - there were many other great NBA players, hall of famers, that never won a title like Barkley, Karl Malone, Stockton, etc.

    And I heard on Get Up that there are people who think that the Bucks (a little premature) would beat the Warriors unless KD plays....puhleaze. The Warriors would still win over the Bucks even if Durant missed the entire series.
     
  2. Jugdish

    Jugdish Member

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  3. 1Deep

    1Deep Member

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    I thought the proof was the championship they won without him?
     
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  4. CALI_MOST_WANTD

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    WCF proof we the only team with chance to dethrone them and it should be us meeting them again. I said it blazers going get swept. They can't beat them without KD. With KD it would be 30+ blowouts.
     
  5. Icehouse

    Icehouse Contributing Member

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    They needed him to beat LeBron with help. Now that LeBron is older and playing with kids....
     
  6. Icehouse

    Icehouse Contributing Member

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    LeBron didn’t have help that series. We saw what happened when he did, which is what made them go get big brother.
     
    waytookrzy079 likes this.
  7. seeingredtx

    seeingredtx Enlightened

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    I believe they won 73 without him...
     
  8. Zboy

    Zboy Contributing Member

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    Warriors were up 3-1 that series and then lost Green to suspension and Bogut for the entire series.

    That series would have been a wrap at 4-1 if Lebron didnt catch a lucky break with the injuries and suspension to the Warriors team.

    Lebron wasnt beating that full Warriors team even without Durant.
     
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  9. Zboy

    Zboy Contributing Member

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    And a ring.
     
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  10. Zboy

    Zboy Contributing Member

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    OP must have missed the 2015 regular season and playoffs.
     
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  11. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Contributing Member

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    The fallacy with this line of thinking, imo, was that they had cap space to sign various people. They went all-in on KD. But had they not signed KD, they would have signed someone else. And that someone else might not have been as good individually, but they'd still be going for 3 in a row at the moment.

    What they needed more than him, was Draymond to not get suspended a game and for whomever replaced Harrison Barnes to do better than 2-14, 0-8 and 3-10 in the 3 consecutive losses to lose the 2016 series (and 3-15 from three). He was so bad in Game 6, he put up 0/2/0 points/reb/assists. To put that in perspective, that's worse than Ariza was in the final 3 games against GSW last year, even though Ariza went 3-22 from three...
     
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  12. CCity Zero

    CCity Zero Member

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    As much as I want to believe it'll hurt his legacy, it won't, in 10-20 years it'll be the same bullshit Rockets always face with the well... "Jordan, didn't play in 94 or 95", you then show them the results of him being fined wearing #23 in the 2nd round of 95 and losing to Shaq and his ex-teammate Grant, and then they'll say he wasn't ready... Even though his numbers were damn good. The team wasn't ready, they didn't have Rodman until getting him after the WCFs meltdown with the Spurs, but that doesn't matter, in the end it'll all be about the numbers of chips.

    I do agree and will always remember he joined a team that didn't need him, and he also joined the team that he choked away a 3-1 lead to, something Jordan/Hakeem would have never done since they were competitors.

    As much **** as Harden gets, at least he's wanting to be the leader, but that's a moral victory, I hope he can eventually win a ring for the Rockets.
     
    #12 CCity Zero, May 20, 2019
    Last edited: May 20, 2019
  13. kanariya

    kanariya Member

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    KD is a great scorer but he often ISO and stop the ball. Warriors are playing like the 2015 Warriors now without KD. Less ISO more ball movement. Steph also taking the scoring on his back instead of deferring the ball to KD.
     
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  14. Zboy

    Zboy Contributing Member

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    KD's real value to that Warriors team is actually about reducing the mileage and injury risk to that team throughout the regular season grind.

    Without KD, the load on Curry would increase considerably to carry them in the regular season, which would increase the wear and tear on him and the subsequent injury risk.

    Durant helps them get an excellent regular season record and keep Curry fresh.

    You could say, Warriors use Durant. But dont tell that to Durant. He is going to hate you for it, even though he knows it.
     
  15. Oakland Fan

    Oakland Fan Member

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    I agree that KD is not needed for the Western Conference Finals. But I doubt the Warriors could have beaten the Rockets without KD.
     
  16. RocketDream

    RocketDream Member

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    Durant isn't necessary, but he's enormously helpful. He gives them injury insurance, to help weather the storm if Curry got hurt, and he gives them an extra win condition when other players are having bad games.
     
  17. TimDuncanDonaut

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    Agree that a KD-less GSW can probably still beat the Bucks.

    You don't need them until you need them. If the franchise player goes down to injury then what? If Giannis, the Joker, Kawhi, Dame, or Harden went down (out for the playoffs), their respective teams would have a very different playoff journey. Single point of failure.

    The thing about stacked teams is that they have superstar depth. KD/Boogie go down, they're still a championship level team.
     
  18. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    KD on the twitter warpath! Not even using the burners!

     
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  19. RayRay10

    RayRay10 Houstonian

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    They did beat the Rockets without KD. He wasn’t there at the end of Game 5 or any of Game 6.

    In fact, his not being there probably hurt the Rockets more since there team was built to try and beat a Warriors team with KD. Once they went back to the free-flowing style and got away from iso-ball, the Rockets didn’t have the personnel to counteract that...no one does.
     
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  20. Icehouse

    Icehouse Contributing Member

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    That someone else would not have been arguably the best player in basketball and one of the few that could actually match up with LeBron on both sides of the court. I haven't even mentioned him being arguably the best closer in basketball

    The fallacy there is that they could not have lost with Draymond, like they did in G6 and G7, or when they lost 2 games with him the previous year when LeBron was playing with bums.

    Barnes was horrible, but I can also identify horrible role players for the Cavs. Go pull what Smith, Love and the Cavs 3 man bench shot in G7.
     

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