Are the Warriors a weaker team since getting Kevin Durant?
Yes, significantly weaker
0%
[ 0 ]
Yes, but only slightly
0%
[ 0 ]
No, exactly the same
0%
[ 0 ]
No, slightly stronger
13%
[ 3 ]
No, significantly stronger
86%
[ 19 ]
Total Votes : 22
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CandyCanes Retired Number
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36150 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 4:44 am Post subject: Are the Warriors a weaker team since getting Kevin Durant?
It seems to me that they have been a lot more beatable these past two seasons, particularly this last one, than they were during their initial 67-15 championship season and then their 73-9 one the year after. They pretty much needed an injury to Chris Paul to get past the Rockets this year.
This is bizarre since they added Kevin Durant while only losing a borderline All-Star in Harrison Barnes and role players in Bogut and Festus Azeli. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
The Rockets needed GS to diverge completely from their team ball style of play, so much so that Draymond's mom was flaming KD on social media, and needed an injury to Iggy, a finals MVP, to be able to still lose to the Warriors. The 73-9 team was more beatable because they were beaten by LeBron and Kyrie with a couple of clutch three pointers.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36150 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 2:17 pm Post subject:
dont_be_a_wuss wrote:
The Rockets needed GS to diverge completely from their team ball style of play, so much so that Draymond's mom was flaming KD on social media, and needed an injury to Iggy, a finals MVP, to be able to still lose to the Warriors. The 73-9 team was more beatable because they were beaten by LeBron and Kyrie with a couple of clutch three pointers.
But Curry had a lingering knee injury from the first round during that series and wasn't the same player. Draymond was also suspended for Game 5 (though that was his own doing). If not for that, pretty sure GSW would have stomped. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Golden State was not more beatable in 2017. That team won 67 games. If you count the playoffs that team lost 16 games. The 2016 team lost 18 games if you count the playoffs. They were down 3-1 to OKC. The 2017 team was never behind in a series.
It’s no surprise the 2017 team didn’t win 70+ games. A year earlier they learned a lesson that 73 wins doesn’t mean anything without a ring.
In 2018 the team had a lot more injuries and developed some bad habits. After winning 2 rings and making the finals 3 straight years they probably just weren’t as motivated. And the 2017 playoffs were so easy for them that it’s not surprising they coasted in the regular season only months later.
The Rockets needed GS to diverge completely from their team ball style of play, so much so that Draymond's mom was flaming KD on social media, and needed an injury to Iggy, a finals MVP, to be able to still lose to the Warriors. The 73-9 team was more beatable because they were beaten by LeBron and Kyrie with a couple of clutch three pointers.
But Curry had a lingering knee injury from the first round during that series and wasn't the same player. Draymond was also suspended for Game 5 (though that was his own doing). If not for that, pretty sure GSW would have stomped.
The Cavs were up 2-1 on the 2015 Warriors without Love and then Irving got injured. Curry wasn’t injured then. The 2017 Warriors with Durant overwhelmed the Cavs.
And the Warriors are able to withstand injuries a lot better with Durant. In 2015 and 2016, any injury to their big 3 hurt a lot more.
As for Houston, the Rockets were a tougher opponent than any team the 2015 and 2016 Warriors faced.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36150 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:46 pm Post subject:
Steve007 wrote:
Golden State was not more beatable in 2017. That team won 67 games. If you count the playoffs that team lost 16 games. The 2016 team lost 18 games if you count the playoffs. They were down 3-1 to OKC. The 2017 team was never behind in a series.
It’s no surprise the 2017 team didn’t win 70+ games. A year earlier they learned a lesson that 73 wins doesn’t mean anything without a ring.
In 2018 the team had a lot more injuries and developed some bad habits. After winning 2 rings and making the finals 3 straight years they probably just weren’t as motivated. And the 2017 playoffs were so easy for them that it’s not surprising they coasted in the regular season only months later.
So would you say their 57-25 regular season record is meaningless and they could still have won 70+ if they had wanted to and didn't have injury problems? _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Golden State was not more beatable in 2017. That team won 67 games. If you count the playoffs that team lost 16 games. The 2016 team lost 18 games if you count the playoffs. They were down 3-1 to OKC. The 2017 team was never behind in a series.
It’s no surprise the 2017 team didn’t win 70+ games. A year earlier they learned a lesson that 73 wins doesn’t mean anything without a ring.
In 2018 the team had a lot more injuries and developed some bad habits. After winning 2 rings and making the finals 3 straight years they probably just weren’t as motivated. And the 2017 playoffs were so easy for them that it’s not surprising they coasted in the regular season only months later.
So would you say their 57-25 regular season record is meaningless and they could still have won 70+ if they had wanted to and didn't have injury problems?
The Golden State teams that won 67 and 73 games without Durant almost never got any injuries.
Curry missed 2 games in 2015 and 1 game in 2016. Last season he missed 31 games. Green missed 12 games last season. In 2015 he missed 3 games and 1 game. Thompson missed 9 games last season. In 2015 and 2016 he missed 5 games and 2 games.
Durant, Iggy and Livingston also missed 11+ games last season. The Warriors won almost 60 games anyway because they had so many great players. Give the 2015 and 2016 Warriors that many injuries and I think that team gets affected a lot more, especially if Curry misses almost half the season like he did in 2018.
Yeah I think the latest Warriors team could win 70+ if they were more motivated and much healthier. Not only is it a huge pain to deal with people missing games, but having players go in and out of the lineup constantly will mess with a team.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36150 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 9:28 am Post subject:
So would you say there was actually any real chance of them losing to Houston after falling down 3-2 or were they just coasting the whole time? It really would have messed up Curry's legacy to have blown a 3-1 team on the finals and then lost again after being joined by Durant. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Weaker is the wrong word. I think it’s arguable that since the comp got much better with Houston leading the way, GS is more ‘beatable’? Def not weaker
So would you say there was actually any real chance of them losing to Houston after falling down 3-2 or were they just coasting the whole time? It really would have messed up Curry's legacy to have blown a 3-1 team on the finals and then lost again after being joined by Durant.
Yes I think they could have lost to the Rockets. I don’t see why that’s hard to believe. Not only did the 73 win team lose to the Cavs, but they were down 3-1 to OKC and I thought they should have lost that series in 6 games. But instead OKC beat themselves which is one reason why Durant leaving looked so weak. And the year before the Warriors were down 2-1 to Memphis and down 2-1 to an injured Cavs team.
The Rockets were better than any team the Warriors faced. Houston won 65 games despite having CP3 miss 24 games, Harden miss 10 games, Gordon miss 13 games, Ariza miss 15 games, Capela miss 8 games, etc.
Also I thought the injury to Iggy was a big deal. He seems to be pretty important in the playoffs.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36150 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:47 am Post subject:
Steve007 wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
So would you say there was actually any real chance of them losing to Houston after falling down 3-2 or were they just coasting the whole time? It really would have messed up Curry's legacy to have blown a 3-1 team on the finals and then lost again after being joined by Durant.
Yes I think they could have lost to the Rockets. I don’t see why that’s hard to believe. Not only did the 73 win team lose to the Cavs, but they were down 3-1 to OKC and I thought they should have lost that series in 6 games. But instead OKC beat themselves which is one reason why Durant leaving looked so weak. And the year before the Warriors were down 2-1 to Memphis and down 2-1 to an injured Cavs team.
The Rockets were better than any team the Warriors faced. Houston won 65 games despite having CP3 miss 24 games, Harden miss 10 games, Gordon miss 13 games, Ariza miss 15 games, Capela miss 8 games, etc.
Also I thought the injury to Iggy was a big deal. He seems to be pretty important in the playoffs.
Wow, I didn't know Houston had that many injuries... They could potentially have hit 70 wins despite not being as stacked as most other teams who win that many games.
It's easy to forget about Iguodala with the big four on the Warriors, but I guess he has a bigger role than I gave him credit for. He was Finals MVP once after all. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Regular season win count only takes you so far in judging on how good a team is. No matter how much talent a NBA team has, it takes an immense amount of effort and focus on a daily basis to get 70+ wins in a season that is pretty hard to sustain for multiple seasons. When the Warriors got Durant I didnt expect them to meet or break their win record again but they have still no doubt gotten better with him. _________________ (bleep) Kawhi
They have enough talent to destroy pretty much all the teams in the NBA without much effort. They lose interest because they are just toying with the competition and don't really turn it on until when it really matters.
They have enough talent to destroy pretty much all the teams in the NBA without much effort. They lose interest because they are just toying with the competition and don't really turn it on until when it really matters.
During the 73 win season they got lucky a handful of times during the first 75% of the season. Not taking anything away from them, but no matter how good you are, sometimes you make 70% of shots that you should only make 50% of, opponents miss layups, refs give you favorable outcomes on 50/50 calls, and many other examples. When the Warriors saw 73 wins in the regular season was a possibility, they decided to go for it. They made regular season win percentage one of their goals, and stated such, because it was such a rare opportunity. Later years they weren't focusing on regular season and geared strategy towards post season, so it's hard to conclude they are more beatable because they didnt win 73.
Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 11:38 am Post subject: Re: Are the Warriors a weaker team since getting Kevin Durant?
CandyCanes wrote:
It seems to me that they have been a lot more beatable these past two seasons, particularly this last one, than they were during their initial 67-15 championship season and then their 73-9 one the year after. They pretty much needed an injury to Chris Paul to get past the Rockets this year.
This is bizarre since they added Kevin Durant while only losing a borderline All-Star in Harrison Barnes and role players in Bogut and Festus Azeli.
In the two years with Durant, they won two rings and went 32-6 in the playoffs.
In the two years before him, they won one ring and went 31-14 in the playoffs.
Not exactly seeing how they've been more beatable.
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