Kevin Durant: the X-factor to Warriors’ success

By Zaheer E. Clarke

Written June 2, 2017
Published June 5, 2017

Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors to claim the NBA title. This year, Kevin Durant will be the difference-maker for the Warriors.

Kevin Durant and LeBron James first Finals clash was the 2012 NBA Finals. How will the second meeting unfold? 
(Source: Marques Says Blog)

Last Thursday, the 2017 NBA Finals begun the trilogy between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. The game was a re-introduction of Kevin Durant to the NBA Finals, after a five-year hiatus since the Oklahoma Thunder played LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the 2012 Finals.

Back in 2012, the Thunder battled the Heat with James Harden and Russell Westbrook, this year’s MVP front-runners, in tandem with Durant up against James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Thunder made easy work of the Western Conference that year, beating the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs on their way to the Finals. The Heat, surprisingly, were pushed through the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers and a tough-nosed Boston Celtics. Expectedly, Thunder was supposed to make light work of the Heat as well, even though, James, Wade and Bosh – two seasons earlier – were three of the top-4 players in the league in terms of player efficiency rating (PER). After the Thunder won game one of that series by 11 points, Heat stormed to the championship winning the next four games by a combined 31 points to give LeBron James his first NBA title and Final MVP crown.

The Warriors are in trouble, or are they?

By Zaheer E. Clarke

Published March 6, 2017

With Kevin Durant injured, several individuals believe the Warriors are doomed to make it out of the West. Don’t sound the alarm just yet. The injury might make the team better.

Kevin Durant to the Warriors, the rest of the NBA’s nightmare happened.
(Photo credit: SN illustration/Getty Images)

Seven months ago, former MVP and eight-time All-Star Kevin Durant released a statement that shocked the world and changed the landscape of the NBA possibly forever. Part of his statement simply read, “I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors.”

At the end of the last NBA Season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were crowned NBA Champions with Lebron James lifting his team from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Two weeks after his team’s meteoric rise from the proverbial ashes, their beaten rivals in the NBA Finals, the Warriors, acquired former MVP and eight-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant. The Warriors were the newly crowned best regular season team in NBA history, copping 73 wins in their 82-game regular season. This feat had just eclipsed the former record set by the all-conquering 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan of 72 wins. However, the Warriors failed to cap off the effort by winning the NBA title.