The future of the NBA now rests on the Warriors’ old guard

With Kevin Durant injured, Stephen Curry and company need to party like it’s 2016 again. Can they really do it?

If there was a time for the back-to-back defending champion Golden State Warriors to crash and burn, it was with two minutes to play in the third quarter of a pivotal Game 5 against the Houston Rockets.

After giving up 17 points of a once 20-point lead, the scene at Oracle turned darker on Wednesday night. Kevin Durant pulled up for a two-point shot over the outstretched arms of Iman Shumpert, then reached down at the back of his leg while galloping down the floor. He suffered a non-contact injury the team is calling a calf strain, and didn’t return.

So many NBA ramifications — tonight, these playoffs, this summer and far beyond — ride on whether this scary Kevin Durant injury is what many fear pic.twitter.com/ZYFDnaUkXX

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 9, 2019

KD’s injury could’ve been the final dagger. There was more than a quarter’s worth of basketball left to play in a game that could’ve pushed the Warriors to the brink of not only series elimination, but dynasty extinction. The best player of these entire playoffs was gone.

Suddenly, though, Stephen Curry (finally) became himself again. In the minutes with KD on the floor, Curry shot 4-of-14 for nine points. In the 14 minutes of game time after, he shot 5-of-9 for 16 points as Golden State went on to secure a 104-99 win and 3-2 series lead.

This is what legends do, of course, and Curry is a legend despite his uneven postseason to date. But his sudden burst to save the game almost seemed cynically scripted, as if it was written by every Warriors fan who’s ever criticized Durant and longed for the days of the 2015 Golden State core to return.

Steph Curry is up to 10 PTS in the 4th, 23 total!#StrengthInNumbers 89#RunAsOne 88

4:29 left on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/uVFdpbXzdN

— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2019

Before we dig deep, it’s crucial to point out that none of what unfolded in Game 5 proved the Warriors don’t need Durant or are better off without him. If KD weren’t a Warrior, there’s no guarantee the team even makes it this deep into the postseason. If he should want back in to Golden State for another go at it, he should be welcomed back with open arms.

But what Curry’s performance did show is that the old, once-beloved Warriors — the one where Curry and Klay Thompson were the Splash Brothers and Draymond Green fueled all the fire — still exists, and can still be lethal. In the time since Durant left with his injury, Golden State sunk 12 of the 23 shots it took to secure the win.

That remaining group will likely be tested over the next game or two, or maybe even longer. We’re still waiting on the results of Durant’s MRI, but the assumption is he’ll miss some time. (He’s already been ruled out for Game 6). With the quad tear injury to DeMarcus Cousins last round, Golden State is already short-staffed. With so much money spread thinly across its top five players, the Warriors inexperienced bench is being exposed.

That means success or failure will fall on the shoulders of Curry, Thompson, Green, and Andre Iguodala all over again, but with a fraction of the reinforcements and the gravity of older age. This run will be a lot different than three years ago, and arguably means even more.

Before Wednesday night, there was legitimate doubt to whether that Death Lineup core would ever be enough again, even with Durant. With James Harden playing at even higher level than a season ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo transcending the league, and Kawhi Leonard fully healthy on a team built for him, the thought was the rest of the league had caught up. Throughout the entire season, as Durant’s departure from the franchise felt inevitable, we’ve debated if the remainder of the 2016 73-win core could carry championship weight again without him. Three years and two All-Stars ago, opinions wouldn’t have been this varied.

Now, the rest of this Rockets series will be the ultimate test for a Durant-less scenario we didn’t think possible until 2019-20. Maybe it’ll merely be the perfect Free Agency Needs cheat sheet for the Warriors’ front office as the team collapses spectacularly. Or, maybe it’ll cast another spell of doom over a league that was just starting to taste the Warriors first signs of vulnerability in years.

In the tiny sample size of 14 minutes, Curry and the old Warriors passed their first test. But in context of this series and beyond, the answer by Golden State, Houston, and Kevin Durant himself, could flip NBA life upside down.

The second round of the NBA playoffs has never meant more.

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://bit.ly/2vU7H0V