On the heels of the Golden State Warriors’ 113-91 romping of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James was asked what stood out about his foremost rival. His answer was simple.
“KD.”
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That’s the kind of night Kevin Durant had. He finished with 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on a blistering 14-of-26 showing from the field. He drained pull-ups, smashed dunks, hassled LeBron on defense, even waltzed his way right to the rim on occasion, when Cleveland’s defense completely broke down.
Though the game was close coming out of halftime, this was a complete and total destruction. The Warriors rattled off a 13-0 run in the third quarter, and the Cavaliers’ actually lost the minutes they played with LeBron when Stephen Curry and Durant were on the bench (-3), according to NBA.com. That can’t happen. And Durant most certainly cannot be getting as many wide-open looks, particularly at the rim, if the reigning champs are hoping to keep the trophy.
This is the inherent, perhaps unsolvable dilemma, of facing the Warriors: Harrison Barnes, essentially, has become Durant. Even LeBron pointed out that one of the best teams ever just added one of the best players ever. That’s why the Warriors can have only two players, KD and Steph, scoring in double-figures and still take down a class act like the Cavaliers.
Sure, LeBron eventually expanded upon this answer. But in two syllables, he reached the root of Cleveland’s problem: KD is no longer in Oklahoma City.
