NBA scores 2018: No Kevin Durant, no problem for the Warriors, and 5 more things from Thursday

The Golden State Warriors have already won one finals without Kevin Durant — what if they missed him for another? It’s likely — hopefully — just a thought experiment. Certainly, the Warriors shed valuable depth when acquiring Durant, infamously, in the summer of 2016. They’re a team that needs Durant, and the competition around them has arguably grown as well.

Still, as the Warriors beat the Houston Rockets, 124-114, on Thursday, all these questions seem relevant. They missed Durant, even though the Rockets were lacking James Harden. (Houston also didn’t have Nene and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.) It’s not a healthy Rockets team, but this is still probably the largest non-LeBron threat to Golden State this season...and the Warriors passed the test just fine.

It still seems like the Rockets could legitimately pose a threat to the Warriors. In a hypothetical situation where Durant was missing, though, would anyone still doubt Golden State? It would be, at least, a series that could go either way. It certainly feels that way.

And that right there is the gift and the curse of Durant. For the Warriors, he’s an insurance blanket that contending teams virtually never have. When we write things like, “The Warriors might be the greatest dynasty in NBA history,” it takes into account that they have had the best regular-season record over a three-year span and also that they’re the heavy favorites, no matter what, for the next two or three years. For fans, you miss the question of who will win at the end.

Anyway — without Durant, the Warriors look ridiculously good but also venerable. It’s a nice feeling for the team at the top of the league...and also short-lived. Ah well.

The Clippers’ international guard played only nine minutes on Thursday before leaving the game with plantar fasciitis, and it doesn’t really appear if that will make him healthy for future games. While the Los Angeles lead guard is one of the best ball-handlers and scorers in the league, he is not a natural point creator — something that had him often at odds with the Warriors.

If Teodosic can stay healthy, then he’s consistently one of the league’s best exciting players. But he has struggled from several injuries so far, and we’re not buying whether he can hold up for the entirety of an 82-game season.

Warriors 124, Rockets 114 (Golden State of Mind recap | The Dream Shake recap)

Thunder 127, Clippers 117 (Welcome to Loud City recap | Clips Nation recap)