Before Kevin Durant was injured during Game Five of the Western Conference semi-finals nearly three weeks ago, he was in the midst of yet another dominant post-season run, averaging 34.2 points per game in 11 contests. — Picture by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, who are part of the ABC/ESPN broadcast team for the NBA Finals that start tomorrow in Toronto, dismissed the idea that Durant’s legacy would suffer should the Warriors triumph without him. “Do they play a little different, with a little bit more movement when he’s not there? Yes. That gives them their best chance to win when he is not there.”
The Warriors were already an offensive juggernaut before Durant joined the team, having won a championship in 2015 and then going on a record-setting 73-9 run the next season before squandering a 3-1 NBA Finals lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers.