Kevin Durant makes the Golden State Warriors a sporting powerhouse

Durant is in the top three best players in the league and he’s joining one of the other two, it’s that big. Source: slamonline.com

Two days ago, the internet shook as Kevin Durant revealed his destination for his NBA future.

He chose the Golden State Warriors.

In a move that makes the beaten NBA finalists look more like the Monstars from Space Jam, the whole NBA stood with their mouths open to the news. Why would Durant do this? How will they all get the shots they need? But more importantly, who can stop them?

The first question is pretty simple, KD is determined to win. Some will take a chop at him for joining another bunch of superstars, which he has every right to do and some will call it “weak sauce” that he joined a team that beat his Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs.

That series was really the only chance that OKC could convince him to stick around long term and even then, with Russell Westbrook’s future up in the air with or without the small forward, it was a difficult sell. The Warriors can win now, have a good-to-great-to-MVP player in every starting position and adding him almost guarantees a ring somewhere down the line.

The second question is absurd, as they all know the real key in basketball is to get everyone involved. The benefit they have now is that they have at least four excellent players that can take over the game in a pinch should they find themselves on an off night.

These three will be delighted to add a fourth big name to their roster. Source: nbabayarea.com

Steph Curry, the reigning two-time MVP, can rain threes as can his splash brother Klay Thompson. As seen in the playoffs, Draymond Green can get it going as well so to add a player that averages over 27.4 points in his career can only be a good thing, even if on some nights he doesn’t put up 25 shots.

The biggest question is that final one and it’s a tough one to answer as there isn’t a clear way to stop them. They have so much range with a smaller unit, able to shoot from absolutely anywhere and with a number of very good options that can all score heavily even when contested.

Someone would have to come up with a stellar defensive performance for four quarters that at least kills some of their three-point threat and then emulate the Cleveland Cavaliers and crush them in the paint where they struggle the most with the smaller line-up. Even saying that, it would have to be a superhuman effort to deny them when they are all locked in and even if one or two aren’t, they have at least another two to lean on.

Adding a player of Durant’s calibre to any team would be a shot in the arm. He was the top average scorer in the playoffs with 28.4 points per game, was third in scoring in the regular season and the 2014 MVP has really bounced back with a vengeance from his injury-ravaged 2014-15 campaign.

When you put him in the mix with a championship-chasing team that could feasibly win it without him, that creates a scary prospect. This is a team no one will look forward to facing next season and should they go on to win it all, this could be a dynasty that could dominate the basketball world for years to come.

Iguodala reminding us that defence is king

These three helped them in the regular season, but Iguodala’s defence helped them win it all.
Source: resetsanfrancisco.org

Defence wins championships. It’s a sentence that’s repeated in American Football regularly and it’s shown to be the case on almost every occasion. That also translates well to the NBA and despite the Golden State Warriors’ shoot-happy offence, it’s their defence that won them the Larry O’Brien trophy.

The Warriors offensive prowess is very hard to ignore and took centre stage throughout the entire regular season. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Splash Brothers as they are affectionately known, are deadly from three-point range and can top 40 points on any night if given the chance.

Curry wasn’t just voted as the league’s MVP simply because he’s dead-eye from beyond the arc, he has probably the best handle of the basketball in the NBA and create assists that boggle the mind even whilst watching replays. He’s a true superstar, adding Thompson and the vastly improved Draymond Green to that mix, the Warriors are a potent threat.

However, they stalled against a under-powered Cleveland Cavaliers who lost two of their best three players. Granted, they still possessed the best player in the world but they also missed another key contributor in Anderson Varejao.

Iggy sacrificed his starting role for the better of the team but that didn’t stop him from being a key component. Source: pac12.com

Many saw the Finals as a cake-walk as soon as Kyrie Irving limped out of Game 1 but LeBron James went up another gear. Role players like Matthew Dellavadova and Timofey Mosgov gave everything and it surprised the Warrior, who lost Game 2 at home and then tumbled 2-1 behind. It was a riddle that Golden State were struggling to overcome.

Then, Steve Kerr made a bold move. Out came Andrew Bogut from the starting line-up, in slotted Andre Iguodala to stop the freight train that was becoming LeBron James. It would have old-school fans turning in their graves, a smaller line-up would have been scariligious to some but oddly enough, it absolutely worked.

It didn’t completely stop LeBron, he still racked up plenty of points but more often than not, Iguodala made him think for a moment longer than before. It cause Cavs coach David Blatt to try and find an answer, like removing Mosgov almost entirely from Game 5 and it failed.

LeBron was special but not enough and was very gracious in defeat. Source: Sky Sports

Not only that, Iggy brought a bit of offence to a team that was stagnating and breaking them out of that funk got them the win. Daring to change something, especially to have more of a focus on defence, was absolutely vital and it was even evident in last year’s Finals when Kawai Leonard won the Finals MVP by stopping LeBron and producing on the other end.

There’s certainly a case that had the Cavaliers been fully fit, this would have been a different series. They could have even combated the Warriors small line-up with a huge line-up of LeBron, Kevin Love, Tristain Thompson, Varejao and Mosgov, which would have been an insane match-up.

However, the realisation that defence is key is clear in the NBA once again and a lot of the credit should go to Coach Kerr. No matter how dangerous the Warriors are on offence, it’s their defence that pulled them through the mire and got them their championship.