Kevin Durant’s Warriors are becoming unbeatable

Kevin Durant’s Warriors are becoming unbeatable

Kevin Durant’s Warriors are becoming unbeatable
NBA

Kevin Durant’s Warriors are becoming unbeatable

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It’s only one game, but the NBA Finals may turn into a coronation if KD plays like this.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant just had one of the great games of his career, and all anyone wanted to talk about on Twitter was whether it was fair. That’s the burden for becoming the living avatar of Warrior exceptionalism, and it’s difficult to consider Durant in any context other than his immediate surroundings.

Make note of how he operates with such grace in the space afforded by his skilled teammates, and it becomes a reminder of just how obscenely talented the Warriors have become. Comment on their fluid passing and unselfish movement, and it feels like a backhanded slap at his former team.

Durant can’t win with the public right now, which is its problem as much as his. So he has no other choice than to continue piling up victories. If he thrives under these circumstances as he did in Golden State’s 113-91 Game 1 victory, then it’s expected. If he fails, well, that’s unacceptable.

That hasn’t been a problem throughout the postseason. With Game 1 in their back pocket, the Warriors became the first team to win their first 13 straight playoff games and they tied the late ‘80s Lakers for most consecutive postseason victories. Golden State has become unbeatable in reality as well as in theory.

Given all that, KD shouldn’t be looking for any sympathy, and if this season has been any indication, he isn’t expecting any either. He made his career choice and seems at peace with both its pleasures and its ramifications.

Then again, Durant didn’t need any after posting a 38-8-8 line without a single turnover. In any context, it was one of the great finals performances of all time, and that it came primarily against LeBron James only adds to the magnitude.

This is ultimately the way out for Durant. If he outperforms LeBron on the finals stage while leading the Warriors to a championship, then no apologies will be necessary. James himself offered the most succinct summation of what stood out the most to him about Game 1 when he answered, simply, “KD.”