The Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James should prefer that Golden State Warriors small forward Kevin Durant is fully healthy come playoff time.
When LeBron James saw that his friend Kevin Durant, a NBA MVP and four-time scoring champion, had left his game last night with a Grade 2 MCL sprain and tibial bone bruise, he said what all the Cleveland Cavaliers fans were all thinking, right?
LeBron on KD's injury: "I hope it's not serious and we'll see what happens"
— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) March 1, 2017
Maybe not, as some would love the easier path to a second NBA Finals victory.
A serious injury to Durant could result in a few Western Conference teams other than the Golden State Warriors going to the NBA Finals. In any case, is a Finals rematch against the Durant-less Warriors going to be the highly anticipated matchup it was hyped to be anyways?
Unless Stephen Curry entered a basketball god mode or the Cavs lost one of their big stars, no. To be honest, although the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and other top-tier teams in the West are exciting and ultra-talented themselves, it’s not what I’ve waited all season to see.
I want to see the Cavs take down the 73-9 team that added Durant. I want to see LeBron battle it out with Curry, Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
I wonder if the Cavs can bottle up Curry again. I wonder if the series could be, like the Miami Heat’s NBA Finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012, more lopsided a matchup than some would think. In my opinion, the Cavs can beat a fully healthy Golden State Warriors squad in six games.
That’s why I understand why James, who is back on his Godfather kick as the playoffs near, truly hopes Durant is okay.
Here at Cavaliers shootaround where LeBron James is thumbing through a paperback Godfather
— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) March 1, 2017
Of course, a ring isn’t guaranteed to the Cavs or any other team just because of an injury to Durant. Nonetheless, the matchup will be different.
What the NBA world wants to see is James and Kyrie Irving versus Curry and Durant.
That’s the matchup that’s supposed to catapult James into an unquestionable Michael Jordan-like status if he wins. Boy, do I ever hope James wins. James, who is admittedly chasing the ghost of Jordan, might be thinking along the same lines.
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Would you want the Cleveland Cavaliers to face a Kevin Durant-less Golden State Warriors team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.