Warriors ready for reboot against Spurs

OAKLAND, Calif.— Kevin Durant is confident Golden State’s struggles down the stretch might be just what makes the defending champions dominant on the postseason stage again.

Maybe not quite 16-1 this time around, sure, yet plenty capable of another remarkable run.

“I always knew everybody on our team had a good spirit, a good energy for the game,” said Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP. “We might have lost some games and had some tough stretches but that doesn’t define everybody here as an individual player. I’m kind of positive on, optimistic on each of these guys and how we approach the game no matter what the score of some of those games. I’m glad we can kind of learn from those tough times and continue to move forward.”

The Warriors have been hurt and humbled. Beaten handily and beat up hard. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry is expected to be sidelined the entire first round with a knee injury. Four All-Stars—Curry, Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson—were out together at times, too.

Today, Golden State begins its championship quest with Game 1 of the best-of-seven first round against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena.

“We learned a lot,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Every experience that you gain you can learn from. This has been such a chaotic month with all the injuries and the meaningless games. We’ve been frustrated. We haven’t performed very well. The good news is we have performed well for four years, so we know who we are. We know what we’re about. We know this team well, we know the Spurs well, so we know what we have to do. We’ve got to go do it. The last month is meaningless now. Everything starts over.”

Some of that is what Kerr gained from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: “You take whatever is in front of you and you embrace it.”

Here is a key story line for the Spurs-Warriors series, a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals swept by Golden State:

SPURS STRUGGLES

While the Warriors endured a stretch of seven losses in 10 games, the Spurs dealt with their own eight-game skid down the stretch.

And San Antonio went just 14-27 on the road.

Even if the Spurs’ 2017 series with the Warriors was swift, this is a fresh chance.

“It’s a new year,” LaMarcus Aldridge said. “This team has fought and put ourselves in a position to be here. Last year is last year.”