NBA playoff preview:
Everything you need to know before the Warriors open their playoff run.
Late Monday night, when asked about playing his first game with Stephen Curry in six weeks, Kevin Durant glanced down at the box score from the Warriors’ 105-99 loss to Utah.
“Well, 9-for-16, six threes, 28 points — I guess I don’t make him worse, after all,” Durant said, smiling. “He came out tonight, shot the ball extremely well, got us going on the offensive end. It looks like we can play together.”
More than the average NBA superstar, Durant reads what is written about him and internalizes the criticism. The slew of stories published while he was sidelined by a left knee injury suggesting that Curry was better without him only fueled Durant’s rehab. Now, as Golden State readies for its first-round matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, two of the league’s top players are coex-
isting as well as ever.
It is just one of many reasons the Warriors are prohibitive favorites to capture their second NBA title in three seasons. In addition to boasting the league’s most talented roster, Golden State has benefited from a macro approach that prioritized getting right for the playoffs over maximizing its regularseason win total. Unlike last season, when the pursuit of an NBA-record 73 victories seemed to take its toll, the Warriors enter this postseason playing some of their best basketball.
“This year we’re finishing the season on a high note,” said Curry, who is averaging 28.6 points on 50 percent shooting over his past 10 games. “There’s also a little less hoopla going into the final stretch of the season, which I think could be a good thing.”
At this point a year ago, Golden State was fresh off an emotional victory over Memphis in the regular-season finale that broke the 1995-96 Bulls’ regular-season wins record. Going for history had made sense because, by the time they clinched the Western Conference’s top seed, the Warriors were within striking distance of 73. Along the way, the Warriors delivered playoff-caliber efforts each night while attracting unprecedented media attention.
It is unfair to pin the Warriors’ Finals collapse solely on their exhausting regular season.
What can’t be debated is that Golden State wasn’t at its best when the stakes were the highest. After not dropping back-toback games in the regular season, it went 15-9 in the playoffs. It reached its Finals rematch with the Cavaliers only after climbing out of a 3-1 hole to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals and then — playing the role of the Thunder in the Finals — blew a 3-1 lead against Cleveland.
For a group that insists it doesn’t regret chasing the wins record a year ago, the Warriors were quick to hush any talk of going for 74 this season. In late September, during the team’s media day, Draymond Green called pursuing 73 “brutal.”
With a roster headlined by Curry, Durant, Green and Klay Thompson, Golden State had the luxury this season of winning games without exerting maximum energy. It was hardly unusual for the Warriors’ AllStars to watch the fourth quarter of blowout wins from the bench on nights the team was far from its best.
Throughout the season, head coach Steve Kerr kept practices light and rested his core players periodically. And Durant got a five-week hiatus from games while he recovered from his knee injury. During that span, Golden State weathered a 2-5 rut to rattle off 14 consecutive wins, including Durant’s first game back. A bench that had been overshadowed much of the season reinforced that it is still filled with capable contributors.
As his team prepares for Game 1 against Portland on Sunday, Kerr sees parallels between this year and the Warriors’ 2015 NBA title run. Like two seasons ago, when it locked up the No. 1 overall seed a week before the playoffs, Golden State has been free to give key players nights off down the stretch. While the 2014-15 club closed the regular season by winning 15 of its final 17 games, the 2016-17 edition won 15 of its final 16.
Still, there are noteworthy differences. Instead of trekking across the country to New Orleans during their first-round series, the Warriors will have a quick flight to Portland. And then there is this: Unlike the team that won the franchise’s first championship in 40 years, the 2016-17 crew features a player named Durant.
“I think mentally we’re in a good space,” David West said.