Without Durant, Warriors is still dominant!!

Without Durant, though, the Warriors are a different team. It’s not clear they’re that much worse, which speaks to both how improbably top-heavy their roster is and how imperfect Durant’s integration into the Golden State system has been at times. They finished off the Rockets, who were expected to be their toughest match-up, without K.D. and, barring any major surprises, will complete the sweep against the plucky Trail Blazers tonight and roll into the Finals just as everyone had expected all along. But the Warriors no longer seem inevitable or invincible. Maybe it’s because this Durant-less formation blew a 3-1 lead; maybe it’s just because losing Kevin Durant should make a team objectively less scary. Either way, the Warriors suddenly have to play their way to a title just like every other team, rather than hedging against the assumption that that many Hall of Famers could only ever accomplish so little.