Would Cavs have won the 2017 NBA Finals without Kevin Durant playing?

Recently, Draymond Green stated in a crossover show with JJ Redick for both of their podcasts that he believes that the Golden State Warriors would not have beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals if not for the addition of former MVP Kevin Durant. You can see more on that starting at roughly the 19:30 mark.

This has naturally sparked some controversy as do all hypothetical situations, and with all hypothetical situations there are a lot of different ideas that are all valid, and a lot of situations that could have happened if something was different.

So, would the Cavs have won the 2017 NBA Finals without Durant in the mix? It’s tough to say.

While many will look at this idea and immediately point at the 2016 NBA Finals and the Warriors’ historic breakdown in the final three games, it really isn’t that simple. There were many different circumstances that happened in that series that allowed the Cavs to win that championship.

First, Stephen Curry was hurt, even if he was still a great player, even a small amount of hesitation from one player can hold their entire team back.

Second, Harrison Barnes played horrendously the entire series. Yes, he did do that in 2015 as well, but if we compare his stats from the Finals to his career stats, it favors the Cavs heavily.

Third, Andrew Bogut broke his leg. Bogut was a major piece of the Warriors defense and often got them second chance points on offense as well. His absence really opened up the paint for the Cavs, making it easier for LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to score.

Finally, the Draymond Green suspension. While he may have only missed one game, it allowed the Cavaliers to gain momentum in the series when it could have been closed out in five if Green played.

None of this takes away from the 2016 championship, but saying Durant not being in the series against the Cavs will immediately lead to a championship isn’t as easy as we all want to say it is.

Don’t forget, the Cavaliers also had two of the greatest plays in NBA history on nearly back-to-back plays to shut down the Warriors in Game 7.

The Warriors would have likely used the money used on Kevin Durant to focus on other free agents.

The rumored backup for Kevin Durant was Nicolas Batum, who disappointed a bit with the Charlotte Hornets, but has surged in a better situation for him with the LA Clippers. Batum could have helped the Warriors more than Barnes ever did.

They also could have upgraded from Zaza Pachulia to a player like Andre Drummond, Al Horford, or Dwight Howard. All of which would have contributed to this roster much more than Bogut or Pachulia ever did.

It’s impossible to say whether the Cavaliers would win this series or if they fall to the Warriors anyway.

The only thing that can be said definitively about the series is the fact that it would have been much better and far more fun to watch without Kevin Durant on the Warriors, essentially telegraphing who would win the series.

That’s the issue of playing the hypothetical games. We, as sports fans, love to play every year. Whether it be Michael Jordan on the Cleveland Cavaliers instead of LeBron James, or the 2017 NBA Finals without Kevin Durant, we will never know what would happen.

Sports aren’t played on paper for a reason, so getting caught up on whether or not the Cavaliers got robbed of a championship or if the Los Angeles Lakers have a ring pop for 2020. A ring is a ring and there’s nothing we can do to change it no matter how much we try.