With Durant back, Warriors set to enter playoffs as clear front-runners for title
For someone who thought he had broken his leg less than six weeks ago, this wasn’t half bad.
Kevin Durant, as evidenced by his outing Saturday in the Golden State Warriors’ 123-101 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, is healthy and still very good.
His midrange pull-up, and his impossible-to-guard sweep through leading up to it, was still there as he finished with 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting. He showed fluid motion on drives, with those long strides that cover so much ground. His defensive impact hasn’t gone anywhere, either, the pride he takes in hitting the glass (a game-high 10 rebounds) and pushing the tempo as a playmaker for the league’s best offense (six assists).
And he showed on one play there were no more worries about the Grade 2 medial collateral sprain and tibial bone bruise of his left knee he suffered Feb. 28.
Early in the fourth quarter, Durant flew past David West’s high screen and was bumped by big man Alexis Ajinca as he barreled through the lane. He fell to his right and planted his left leg, which not so long ago had sparked so much speculation that the Warriors’ title hopes were in jeopardy.
No one could have blamed everyone from Warriors owner Joe Lacob on down for being nervous. But Durant — after getting help from two teammates to get off his backside — rose with a smile and headed to the free throw line.
With Durant back in the fold, the Warriors (NBA-best 66-14 record) stand alone as frontrunners heading into the playoffs. He’s back in time to make a great team even better.
As surviving without a superstar goes, you can’t do much better than the Warriors. They won 15 of 19 games in that stretch and showed defiant dominance.
Their net rating, widely seen as the most accurate indicator of teamwide performance, lapped the field (first in the NBA at +11, with the Portland Trail Blazers a distant second at +6.5, and just below the league-leading 12.5 mark Golden State had posted before Durant went down).
Their defense, second in the NBA as Durant emerged as their top rim protector (101.4 points allowed per 100 possessions), was somehow even better without him (100 points allowed per, tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the league’s best mark during that time).
The only drop-off — and coincidentally the very area that Durant is best equipped to assist — was on the offensive end. Before Durant’s injury, the Warriors were the league’s best (113.9 points scored per 100), and they ranked seventh without him (111). The Warriors, who had plenty of time to learn about maximizing Durant during his four healthy months, are in prime position to merge the best of both worlds.
They look headed for a firstround matchup against the Trail Blazers, who lack the firepower to put up much of a fight, especially with Jusuf Nurkic recently breaking his leg. Durant has a chance in his final two regularseason games to regain his rhythm. And as impressive as the Warriors’ 14-game winning streak has been, there’s not a person inside the organization who doesn’t realize how valuable his elite scoring abilities will be when they’re pushing into June.
But as Durant shared in those weeks after the injury, there was a short time when he thought his season would be over. Doctors were concerned there was a fracture in the leg, and everything he dreamed of last July when he decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency had disappeared in a flash.
In the end, the break came in the form of an updated diagnosis. Now, with Durant back to his old self, the Warriors look as unstoppable as ever.