The Warriors, got, well, ‘warriored’. Generally it is the Warriors blowing out teams and leaving them exasperated looking for answers. Sunday the Warriors took their turn from the wooden spoon. Their was plenty of blame for everyone. Draymond Green appeared to have been possessed with Kendrick Perkins. He was 1 for 9 from the floor. Curry and Thompson shot poorly and their once stellar defense was shoddy at best allowing 133 points. Durant played like a man among boys on both ends and the Warriors were ran out of the building. Most reactions are giving up on the Warrriors.
Good article from Chris Mannix writing for the Vertical:
“Where was the Warriors’ confidence? Gone, beaten from them by a relentless performance from Kevin Durant, the one-time MVP, who shook off two subpar games to deliver a 33-point, eight-rebound gem. The accolades have come fast for Curry, deservedly, yet here was Durant, firing in midrange jump shots, steamrolling down the lane for dunks, reminding everyone that any list of the world’s best scorers includes him – that the war he once waged with LeBron James for the NBA’s most dominant player was ongoing.
Where was the Warriors’ swagger? Hijacked, first by Russell Westbrook, who, for the second time this series, has outdueled Curry, the reigning MVP.”
“We’ve hardly ever seen this incarnation of the Warriors destroyed so thoroughly, and never in a game that meant so much.
“Putting aside why it happened — yes, the Warriors had one of their worst (unluckiest?) shot-making nights of the season, but they also played some of their most porous defense of the year and looked out of sorts for long stretches of the game — Golden State’s Game 3 drubbing has left the team in trouble.”
Fivethirtyeight’s NBA Playoff predictions seem to be down on the Warriors chances and the Thunder are now 64% favorites to make the NBA Finals. According to ESPN’s BPI The Thunder are 60% favorites.
Dieter Kurtenbach for Fox Sports isn’t convinced that the Warriors are cooked:
“It was the kind of lopsided victory from which teams don’t usually come back. It’s the kind of knockdown that keeps teams on the mat. To double-down on the boxing metaphors, the Thunder’s Game 3 win was a punishing haymaker straight to the jaw.
The Warriors were floored Sunday — there’s no questioning that, in a 28-point loss where the margin was as large as 41 in the second half — and it’s put them in a must-win scenario ahead of Game 4. But it’s a bad idea to presume the Western Conference Finals is over and that the Thunder will be heading to the NBA Finals.
Write them off if you want, but remember: the Warriors are historically good, and a single game is a pretty small sample size.
And for all of the narrative out there, Sunday’s Game 3 win for the Thunder was just that, a Game 3 win. Impressive as it was, it only counts as one.”
I am expecting a series win from the Warriors and hope to make my money back from last nights loss.