Adding a free agent the caliber of Kevin Durant should be worth an extra nine wins for most teams. Well, the Warriors aren’t most teams.
After setting an NBA record with 73 regular-season wins last year, the Warriors and reigning back-to-back league MVP Stephen Curry are quelling expectations after adding Durant to a stacked starting lineup.
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“We’re not going to go 82-0 and blow everybody out. We are going to be challenged,” Curry said after Durant’s introductory news conference Thursday (via MercuryNews.com). “Just because we have KD, because the guys we have on the roster — we do have one of the most talented rosters in the NBA — but that doesn’t mean we’re just going to blow everybody out. … We’re going to have to work.”
The Warriors’ trophy case expanded last season with Curry’s second MVP, Steve Kerr’s Coach of the Year award and a trio of All-NBA honors, but the Larry O’Brien Trophy eluded them. Now with Durant in town, Golden State is focused on avoiding another letdown.
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“It was the same thing last year. We’re used to having that kind of pressure,” Curry said. “We know what it feels like. We’re more prepared for it and we will be better for it."