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kd June 6, 2019
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So, are the Warriors completely f*cked without KD and Klay Thompson?

The Warriors were without Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant for Game 3 Thursday — the former missing the first playoff game of his career, following 120 consecutive appearances. (KD has been out since he strained his right calf in Game 5 against the Rockets on May 8th.)

In a heroic but ultimately vain effort, Steph Curry scored 47 points, making him just the second player in NBA history to score at least that many points in Finals game loss — following LeBron’s 51 points in last year’s Game 1 against the Warriors.

But while the Cavs went on to get swept in that series, the Warriors are facing significantly less daunting odds, with the hard-fought series set at 2-1 Raptors. Besides, on a roster full of nobodies and has-beens (looking at you, J.R. Smith), it was a shock that Bron could propel his team to the Finals.

Steph, meanwhile, is on one of the most stacked rosters in the league, with all-time great Kevin Durant — who had been averaging 34.2 points a game during the playoffs before his injury — and All-stars in Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.

The latter two didn’t produce much in Game 3, scoring 17 points and 11, respectively, and the Warriors were sorely missing KD and Klay Thompson’s defense. That left Steph in the strange position of putting the team on his back.

Comparatively, the big scorers on the Raptors were more evenly spread, with Kawhi putting up 30 points; Kyle Lowry posting 23 (in a game where he got shoved by a fan, who turned out to be Mark Stevens, billionaire and part owner of the Warriors); and Pascal Siakam and Danny Green both scoring 18.

Green credited Shaq with game-changing shooting advice. Shaq told him to “leave it,” or leave his hand up; hold his follow-through and be confident in his shot. In Game 3, Green ended up going 6-for-10, all of them 3-pointers.

Coach Steve Kerr announced that KD will be out for Game 4 on Friday, but that Thompson will be in.

This begs the question: could Thompson have played Game 3? After Game 3, Kerr said, “Never would have forgiven myself if I played him tonight and he had gotten hurt.”

Kerr wanted to play it safe, but did he play it too safe? Or was sitting Thompson out the most rational choice? Wherever you fall in this debate, one thing is undisputed: Game 4 is a must-win for the Warriors.

At this point, they might need to just unleash their secret weapon!

 

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BREAKING: The Warriors have a secret weapon for Game 4!!! Created By @shady00018_

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kd June 20, 2017
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I miss the old KD, man I used to love KD

For almost a decade, Kevin Durant was known solely as an extremely likable 7-foot basketball player who just loved to hoop.

Drafted when he was just 19 years old, he spent the first year in Seattle, but really grew up in Oklahoma City, a small market where every Thunder fan seemingly developed their own personal relationship with the former Texas star.

He opened a restaurant in OKC. He donated money to the victims of a devastating earthquake in Oklahoma that upended thousands of lives. He gave that emotional speech after winning the MVP in which he told the world that his mother was, in fact, “The real MVP.” He was a part of their community.

Man, I miss the old KD.

The KD who griped on Twitter when LeBron took his talents to South Beach. The KD who told the world he would drink Scarlett Johansen’s bathwater. The KD who tweeted “Erykah Badu thicker than a kindergarten pencil.”

But KD changed, man.

I think it all started when KD berated the media during the 2015 All Star Game and told reporters, “You guys don’t really know shit.” Up to that point, KD could do no wrong in the media’s eyes — what was he so upset about? He had never been slammed on sports talk shows for weeks at a time like LeBron or Kobe. He lost to LeBron in the 2012 Finals but that young Thunder team was never expected to truly challenge a Heat team featuring LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Now KD plays on a superteam. His life is easy, he makes millions of dollars on and off the court, he has a ring, a Finals MVP, and probably many more to come. But sadly, he is also the NBA’s villain — a role that really doesn’t suit him, but one he seems to have accepted and is definitely thriving in.

KD used to be the guy who would stroll into Rucker Park, drop 66 while sniping threes from all over New York City’s most legendary court and then get mobbed by a massive crowd. Moments like that are the reason fans connected with KD and saw him as more accessible and relatable than LeBron James.

Man, I miss the old KD.

Remember when KD carried the Thunder for weeks in 2014 when Russell Westbrook went down with an injury? Remember how KD built the Thunder into a perennial contender by toppling some of the best Western Conference teams, including the Lakers, Spurs, and Clippers.

I don’t hate KD for moving on from OKC, a small, conservative city where it surely wasn’t easy for a 7-foot African-American to blend in.

He definitely traded up by moving to the Bay Area where he hangs out with tech moguls and goes to concerts with Draymond Green. But KD didn’t leave OKC because of the city’s nonexistent nightlife or investment opportunities.

I think he got tired of playing in an isolation-heavy system with a ball dominant guard like Westbrook. He saw the Warriors playing a free-flowing, democratic version of the game where every player was having the time of their life and he said to himself, “I want that.”

But joining forces with the Warriors, the team that you came so close to beating in 2016, was whack for the culture. It deprived us of seeing KD eventually overcome a great Warriors team and potentially a LeBron-led Cavs team in the Finals.

KD walks away from the 2016-2017 with some serious hardware. But I found it strange when he told Bill Simmons that he didn’t attend the Warriors celebration party following their Finals victory. If he had won in OKC with Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka would he have skipped out on celebrating such a momentous occasion with his teammates? I don’t think so.

The old KD is gone forever and NBA fans will have to adjust to the new version. KD might waltz into four, five or maybe six titles. And that’s great for him.

But man, I miss the old KD.

kd June 8, 2017
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Game 3 brought us closer to the inevitable, Warriors on verge of sweep

Sigh.

Despite knowing better, it really felt like last night would be an inevitable win for the Cavaliers, that LeBron would will them to victory and we’d have some semblance of a series again.

And for most of the game that looked like the case.

Kyrie Irving went off, flipping in ridiculous layups from physics-defying angles and keeping the Cavs above water against the firepower of the Warriors.

Klay Thompson went on one of his little streaks where he makes everything, Steph Curry looked like last season’s Steph, and Kevin Durant looked was the best player on the court, but the Cavs still hung around.

It looked like it was over. The Cavs had a safe-looking six point lead with three minutes to go, and a four point lead with two minutes, and then… it all fell apart.

Kevin Durant, who has taken heat from every direction all year since he decided to join the Warriors last July 4th weekend, took over. KD went on a personal 7-0 run, including the ultimate cold-blooded pull up from 30 in LeBron’s grill, to ice the game and give the Warriors a 3-0 lead.

I mean, maybe there’s hope. If anyone can turn around a 3-0 lead it’s LeBron James, right? But yeah, this series appears to be over, no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 lead.

Despite the lack of a competitive series, there’s a bunch of #narrative in this series and last night’s game definitely reinforced that. Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Game 3 and the aftermath.

Remember last year’s unanimous MVP? He’s still out here doing his thing

Random side note: Richard Jefferson hasn’t aged since 1983

Kyrie really did take over for a minute, shoutout all the #FlatEarthers

But KD ended the series

https://twitter.com/SheaSerrano/status/872661098071289856

Kyrie stepback 3 down by 1 with 25 seconds left? Probably not the shot

Tough break to effectively end the series

I mean, what else can the Cavs do?

Let’s talk about the Cavs’ supporting cast…

Tristan Thompson, what’s good with you?

It’s quiet for “The Land” or whatever they call it

Some took the loss pretty hard…

https://twitter.com/greghoward88/status/872666931047931905

LeBron is rather unslanderable, unless you’re trashyboy Skip Bayless

Draymond not scared to stir the pot a little…

JR will always shoot…

…in this case he missed.

https://twitter.com/netw3rk/status/872670611415252992

At least the mamas are hype…

kd June 7, 2017
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Sound off: Who’s the better player right now, LeBron or KD?

After NBA fans waited all year for last year’s Finals rematch, the first two games have been mostly disappointing, at least in terms of actual competition.

The Warriors look like they’re just on a completely different level than the Cavs, despite LeBron’s heroics.

It seems kind of obvious that this would happen when you look at what happened last year, with the Cavaliers miraculously coming back from 3-1 down to beat the Warriors.

Then the 73-win team, with the first unanimous MVP in league history, added… Kevin Durant.

It’s been a wrap for the league ever since. If LeBron can somehow turn this series around and beat this ridiculous super team, he might go down as the GOAT.

But the first two games have shown the contrast between the two teams. LeBron is simply not getting the help he needs from Kyrie, K Love, and whoever else is supposedly good on this Cavaliers team.

But KD has shown the fuck up. Dude put up 38-9-8 in the first game and 33-13-6 with 5 blocks and 3 steals in game 2.

Meanwhile LeBron is averaging a triple double in the finals and 32 ppg in the playoffs, dude is ridiculous.

Despite their heroics, it’s safe to say, Durant and James divide opinion. People feel a certain type of way about KD and LeBron, whether it’s love and admiration or hate because of their respective moves in free agency.

But who is the better player right now?

I think it’s probably fair to say that KD is the better all-around scorer in the league. He can do shit that LeBron (or anyone else) can’t do on the offensive side of the court, but LeBron can control the game and play defense on a different level.

It’s a fascinating debate and there may not be a real answer, but tonight’s Game 3 might give us some added insight as to who is more locked in right now.

kd June 5, 2017
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Game 2 was another blowout, NBA Twitter gives Cavs some advice

Game 2 of the NBA Finals was… a lot like Game 1 of the NBA Finals, just without Rihanna.

The Warriors are just completely ridiculous. Steph Curry looks healthier than last season and is back to his best, while Kevin Durant is showing why he’s probably the best offensive player in the league.

The Cavaliers hung on for awhile. For most of the first half the Warriors were dominating but the Cavs kept it close, always countering with a three or a mini-run of their own to stay within striking distance.

In the second half the Warriors just pulled away. At one point in the third quarter LeBron went to the bench gasping for air, looking like he had just run a marathon. He’s out here putting it all on the line just to stay close to the Warriors, but it doesn’t look like anyone could beat this team right now.

But, as always, the real action was on social media. Although there was no Rihanna drama in Game 2, Basketball twitter still brought it.

We put together some of the highlights.

Steph put LeBron on skates… but realistically it was a double dribble

LeBron still LeBron

As for the rest of the squad… some aren’t quite looking right

https://twitter.com/JonesOnTheNBA/status/871547440607789057

Cavs role players just not showing up

It’s still #JRHive forever

https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/871735793974472705

KD toying with Kevin Love

https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/871552695412436993

Durantula putting up ridiculous numbers

Shooters everywhere… what are you supposed to do?

WARRIORS STILL CORNY

Even the Warriors floor cleaner dudes are performing at peak efficiency

The postgame scrap stole a lot of the headlines

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU8Q0RWh2GC/?taken-by=houseofhighlights

ABC tried to play it off…

The origin of the fight:

As for the actual game, look at these shooting numbers the Warriors put up…

https://twitter.com/WeNotSocks/status/871567862460272644

They’re scoring 132 points despite turning it over

Just having fun out there…

https://twitter.com/erikmal/status/871523452603088896

Meanwhile the Cavs are drowning their sorrows in piff (#JRHive)

LeBron was asked if the Cavs need to protect home court…

Some people have some interesting ideas for the Cavs to come back…

Might be time for the “Nuclear Option”

https://twitter.com/netw3rk/status/871551046614736896