2019 Playoffs: Warriors @ Blazers Game 3

I can't remember seeing nearly as great a defensive performance than I saw from the Warriors. This was very clear even without looking at Dame and CJ's stats. Combined with their never before seen offensive potency, that level of ferocity on defense would make them title favorites WITH KD. Even if Golden State wins it all without him, the very popular notion that they're better without him is complete nonsense. In these playoffs Durant is averaging (clears throat) 34.2 points on 51.3% from the field and 41.6% from 3 on 7 attempts. And a team is supposed to be better WITHOUT that? Nope, basketball simply doesn't work like that. And yes, the ball moves way more without him but when an offensive system is struggling to produce good shots, that's when having an ultimate bail out option like KD becomes even more important. Remember the last 2 finals? That's one of the countless examples that highlight his importance. (The basketball purists who make these kinds of arguments purposely ignore that he's the most talented scorer this game has seen.) Anyway, like I said in my post on game 2, Portland isn't as good as it needs to be when Dame and CJ get trapped. Every team should trap them going forward and for this series, the Blazers need to greatly lessen the pick n rolls they run for their 2 star guards.