Though the NBA regular-season has yet to begin, haters are out in full force as the Golden State Warriors began preseason play with newbie Kevin Durant. The former NBA MVP made waves in the offseason by leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder via free agency to join a team that finished with the best regular-season record in NBA history at 73-9.
When the Warriors took the court for its preseason opener Saturday night in Vancouver, fans booed the superstar forward every time he touched the basketball. If fans in Vancouver, which no longer has an NBA team, showed such disdain for Durant, imagine what will happen in actual NBA cities.
Some rejoiced at Durant’s subpar performance (9 points on 2-of-9 shooting, 3 TO) in the meaningless 97-93 loss to the Raptors. It was obvious though that the opener was just a warmup for the Warriors as none of the starters played more than 19 minutes.
Two-time MVP Stephen Curry was not amused by the reaction from the fans.
“It’s just funny,” Curry told reporters. “I highly doubt anyone in this arena was affected by that, so it’s just funny. They’re just buying into a narrative that doesn’t really make sense to me.”
The humble KD, who once attempted to nickname himself “The Servant,” took the jeers in stride.
“I’m sure we’re going to be a hot ticket coming into town and everybody’s going to want to see us play. I look at it that way,” Durant said.
The team’s second preseason game, a 120-75 blowout of the Los Angeles Clippers, gave a small glimpse of the Warriors’ full-fledged capabilities. Durant,Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and sixth-man Andre Iguodala each played at least 20 minutes and the Warriors lit up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree in front of the excited home fans.
Thompson led the Warriors with 30 points on 10-for-14 shooting in just 21 minutes. Durant followed with 21 points on 6-10 shooting in 24 minutes.
Win or loss, preseason outcomes are generally nothing to get excited about. However it can’t be completely ignored that at one point the Warriors led by 53-points versus a 53-win team from last season. ESPN’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss pointed out that Durant and Thompson outscored the entire Clippers team by 10 points at the half.
Back to the haters and boo-birds, the ever-salty Stephen A. Smith continued to demonize Durant’s decision on First Take by proclaiming he has “ruined the regular season.” Smith’s stance makes little logical sense, considering he supported LeBron James decision to leave Cleveland to form a ‘super team’ in Miami with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. He also supported James’ decision return to Cleveland in order to form another ‘super team’ in Cleveland to play alongside (and win a NBA title with) Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Smith and other Durant bashers have also been silent on the 67-win San Antonio Spurs’ acquisition of All-Star forward/center Pau Gasol. Gasol joins Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge to form an all-All-Star frontcourt, but they have been overlooked due to Durant’s move to the Bay Area.
As with any team that makes major offseason changes, the Warriors squad will have its up and downs over the 82-game grind. They won’t finish 82-0. According to Green, they likely will not try to chase last season’s record for regular-season wins. All eyes in Oakland are focused on the championship that eluded the team a season ago.
For what it’s worth, Durant seems to be ecstatic to play in Golden State’s free-flowing, find-the-open-man offense. Who wouldn’t be?
According to Durant, in Kerr’s offense, he quickly learned that he wasn’t as smart as he thought on the basketball court. Once he gets comfortable in the new system, with three All-Star teammates, the sky is the limit. The boo-birds better make room.
Mizzou-made Pressey pushing to make the team
Former Mizzou Tiger point guard Phil Pressey is competing for a spot with the Golden State Warriors. Pressey played most of the 2015-16 season with the Idaho Stampede of the NBDL. He did earn two consecutive 10-day contracts with the Phoenix Suns in February and March before being released and returning to the D-League.
The lighting-fast, pass-first point guard would be a wonderful fit for the Warriors bench. There is no shortage of shooters for him to find when pushing the basketball up the court. However, the Warriors currently have guaranteed contracts for 14 out of its 15 roster spots, meaning there is likely only one spot available. The favorite to fill that position is JaVale McGhee. The seven-foot center could provide badly needed rim protection for the Warriors. However, he averaged just 5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 34 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season. So it remains to be seen if he has enough left in the tank to make the team. If not, Pressey might just make the cut.
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