Finally, Kevin Durant returns to the Bay Area when the Brooklyn Nets take on the Warriors at Chase Center on Saturday.
While his reunion will miss out on a grand celebration with no fans in the arena, from a basketball standpoint, there probably couldn’t be a more intriguing time for the two squads to compete against each other.
The Warriors (14-12) are riding high on a three-game win streak, and Steph Curry is riding even higher. In fact, Curry’s game lately is eerily reminiscent of his NBA MVP days, and Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash has taken note
The Nets (12-15) have been still configuring new team chemistry since they acquired eight-time NBA All-Star James Harden in January, and have been without Durant for the past week due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
However, Durant will return just in time for Saturday’s showdown, and while the Warriors look vastly different from his time in the Dubs dynasty, he still knows what to expect from his old squad and his old coach. (h / t Nets daily).
“They’re playing fast,” Durant told Warriors reporters after practice on Friday. “They are going to move the basketball at a high speed. Steph shoots the basketball as good as he ever shot it, probably. It feels like the basket is wide open for him. He gives confidence to many players with his shots, and gives Steve (Kerr) confidence as a coach when he makes such shots. “
It’s true that Curry has been putting on some alien appearances lately, and his confidence is rising to his teammates. Curry put in a 40-point performance in Golden State’s 111-105 win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday, and shot so well from the deep that Juan Toscano-Anderson started celebrating before the basket even counted.
With DeAndre Jordan reportedly out for Saturday’s match-up, the Nets could deploy a small-ball-center game plan much like the Warriors in recent games, as centers James Wiseman and Kevon Looney fight back from their respective injuries. Durant, however, will be a “full go” in his first game back, according to Nash, and the Golden State defense should face a tough test to guard Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving’s trifecta.
When Golden State took on Brooklyn at Opening Night, the result was a 125-99 forgettable blow to the Warriors. Now, after almost two months, round two will probably look very different. Durant also knows.
“It should be a different game from the first game,” said Durant. “Clearly we’ve included James (Harden) in our line-up. So we’ll see how it goes and I look forward to the game.”
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Curry, the Warriors and NBA fans certainly are. After Thursday’s win, Curry told reporters that he and Durant’s run with the Warriors was “one of the best basketball games in the world.”
While the two no longer share a dressing room, they share the hardwood Saturday, and with both teams looking for a breakout, it will certainly be a must-see game.
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