PORTLAND, Ore. — The Warriors are not better without Kevin Durant.
Anyone who is pushing that narrative is, in essence, saying that the Warriors are better off with an amalgamation of minutes from Jonas Jerebko, Alfonzo McKinnie, and Shaun Livingston instead of 35-plus from perhaps the greatest scorer in NBA history.
No offense to those reserves, who have played well in this series against the Blazers, but that’s a downright a laughable sentiment.
Yet the Warriors are 5-0 since Durant went down in Game 5 in the last round against the Rockets and 30-1 in recent games when Durant is out, but Stephen Curry plays.