For the first time since 2015, the Golden State Warriors are not the favorites to win the championship. Despite what Vegas thinks, the Warriors remain confident that they can repeat as champions. Kevin Durant however, “can’t predict” that the Warriors will repeat.
Talking with USA Today’s Sam Amick, Durant said that the Warriors can’t expect to win the championship this season. Durant made a point to say that the Houston Rockets are a credible championship team and could be a problem for the Warriors. He also mentioned Stephen Curry’s injury as a possible factor that can prevent the Warriors from repeating.
From Amick:
But turn the topic to his injured Warriors, to the question of whether they’ll be able to defend the title and keep their would-be dynasty afloat, and the prognosticating comes to an end.
“I can’t predict that – I wish I could,” said Durant, who has averaged 26.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 blocks during his own MVP-caliber campaign. “But I feel good about where we are. I feel good that we had to go through some stuff, to figure some stuff out.”
…
“If Steph comes back, obviously we’ll all be excited and we’ll be a better team,” Durant said. “But if he doesn’t, I can’t hang my head about that. I’ve got to go out there and play as hard as I can. Klay has to go out and play as hard as he can. Draymond, everybody down the line.
“Everybody has to be on point, because it’s a team game. We all move as one. If two or three guys aren’t focused on the play, you’re still going to lose. It doesn’t matter. That’s what I learned (through) winning a championship. If we get there, that’s what we’re going to have to do and that’s why it’s so hard.”…
“We know how good Houston is,” he began. “We know how good OKC is. We know how good Utah (is), because we play these guys, you know what I’m saying? That’s why we know the narratives, because we come in and we play Utah and we know they’ve gone 22-4 (now 22-5) since they beat us (on Jan. 30).
“It’s cool that people (looked) at us like we’re invincible, but we’re not, and you see it with the injuries that we have. We’re not superhuman. I think when we play basketball the right way, we’re damn good. But if we don’t come out there and focus, we can lose to anybody, and you’ve seen that.”
Durant is clearly being a realist, which may be necessary so the Warriors don’t set unreal expectations for themselves. But like Durant says, the Warriors know they can win the championship and even though they are being counted out, they are hyper focused on repeating as champions.