Kevin Durant joined the Warriors for three years from 2017-2019.  They obliterated the NBA together, making the NBA finals all three years in a row, and winning two championships.  They are considered to be one of the greatest teams ever assembled.

Heading into the 2019 playoffs, everybody believed the Warriors were easily going to win the championship again due to their overpowering roster.  In the first round against the Clippers, the Warriors shockingly blew a 31-point lead in game two, allowing the Clippers to tie the series up at 1-1.  The Warriors would take games three and four in Staples Center, and everyone assumed they would close the Clippers out in game five.  But the Clippers held on in the fourth quarter to defeat the Warriors and make the series 3-2.  Everyone thought the Warriors might be in some trouble, but in game six, Kevin Durant scored 50 points to propel the Warriors to round two of the playoffs.

The Warriors in round two beat the Rockets just like they had done the year before, but the big concern was Kevin Durant.  Midway through the third quarter in game five, Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles’ tendon injury and had to head back to the locker room.  The injury seemed to be severe and he would have to miss at the very least the entire Western Conference Finals.  

The Warriors faced the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019 Western Conference Finals.  They knew they would have to face them without one of their best players.  Many people were thinking the Warriors without KD were going to struggle a bit with Portland.  But Stephen Curry proved the world wrong again.  The Warriors swept the Blazers 4-0.  In three of the four victories, the Warriors were down double digits and rallied back to defeat the Blazers.  Stephen Curry averaged 36.5 points in the series, which is the highest average in the history of the NBA in a four-game sweep.  This is one of the most impressive playoff series of all time. 

In the NBA finals, the Warriors took on the Toronto Raptors, who had just defeated the Milwaukee Bucks with the league MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo in six games, 4-2.  The Raptors have the home-court advantage in this series due to their slightly better regular season record.  The Warriors and Raptors split the first two games at Scotiabank Arena, evening the series at 1-1.  But unfortunately for the Warriors, Klay Thompson would be out for game three due to an awkward landing after taking a jump shot in game two.  Now the Warriors are missing Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, leaving Steph Curry on his own to carry all the load on offense. 

Stephen Curry stepped up to the challenge and did not disappoint in game three.  He scored 47 points with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.  But his effort simply was not enough to defeat the fully healthy Raptors team.  All five starters for the Raptors scored at least 17 points.  Every time the Warriors hit a shot to try to start a run on their home court, the Raptors would hit a shot to respond right back.  The Warriors were trailing for nearly the whole game and they never led again after 95 seconds into the game.  The Warriors are now in trouble and have to find a way to win game four without their best players.

Klay Thompson decided to return in game four, but many thought he was not 100% healed.  He just wanted to come back to help his team despite not being fully healthy.  He knew if they were down 3-1, it would be extremely difficult to win three games in a row to come back in the series.  In game four, the Warriors came out playing great in the first half and held on to a 4-point lead heading into halftime.  The last three minutes of the third quarter was what lost them the game.  The score was tied 61-61, but then the Raptors went on an 18-6 run to take a 12-point lead at the end of the third quarter.  The Raptors held on to their lead in the fourth quarter and won game four by 13 points.  Klay Thompson played well scoring 28 points on great efficiency.  But Stephen Curry simply couldn’t duplicate his performance from game 3 and scored only 22 points on mediocre efficiency.  

Down 3-1, heading back to Scotiabank Arena, many thought the Raptors would be crowned champions that night.  But before the game, Kevin Durant was cleared to play in game five, giving the Warriors their full healthy roster back.  Knowing the news, many started giving them a chance of completing the 3-1 comeback.  With Kevin Durant on the court in the first quarter, the Warriors felt like a completely different team.  The Raptors were not able to throw their entire defense at Stephen Curry because they had to worry about Kevin Durant as well.  And it seemed like if this continued, there was nothing the Raptors could do.  Durant played most of the first quarters and scored 11 points on three made threes.  But in the second quarter, Kevin Durant was trying to drive past Serge Ibaka on a play.  He fell and landed awkwardly.  He struggled to get up.  At that moment, the world just knew that it was something serious.  Kevin Durant tore his Achilles, and he will be gone for the rest of the series.  He had only played 12 minutes before getting injured.

Without Kevin Durant, the Warriors still had to win the game to stay alive in the series and bring it back home to Oracle Arena.  The game was close the whole night, going back and forth between these two teams.  But with three minutes left, the Raptors were up 6 points at home.  It seemed like it was over.  But Steph and Klay hit three consecutive threes in the next minute and a half to take a three-point lead.  Down the stretch, the only two points the Raptors scored was a layup to make it a one-point game with 29.9 seconds left.  The Warriors held on to win by one 106-105.  

With all the momentum going home, it seemed like the Warriors had the chance to do the impossible.  However, the Raptors came out in a great rhythm from three, shooting nearly 70% in the first quarter, but only led by one, 33-32.  The game continued at a stalemate until halftime.  During the third quarter, both teams tried to gain momentum but were unable to.  However, Klay Thompson had been playing incredibly, already having 30 points with still three minutes left in the third quarter.  With 2:22 left, it happened again. Klay Thompson was going for a fast break, and Danny Green was chasing him trying to block it.  They both jumped and Klay got fouled hard.  He landed awkwardly on his leg and was immediately in pain.  The Warriors had suffered another injury.  Klay Thompson immediately headed to the locker room and was unable to return to the game.  Stephen Curry, without his two best teammates, was faced with 14 more minutes of game action, and his team was only up three points.  In the fourth quarter, the teams fought it out but it ultimately ended with Stephen Curry missing a three for a chance to take the lead and the Raptors winning the 2019 Championship.  Klay Thompson’s injury ended up being a torn ACL, which means he could miss all of the next season too.

Although it ended like that for the Warriors in game six, I believe that even if they had won game six, it would take a miracle for them to pull it off in game seven.  They would have been down Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant again like they were in game three, and 47 points from Steph was not even enough for them to win.  

In conclusion, if Klay Thompson had not torn his ACL in game six, I believe that they would have completed the 3-1 comeback and defeated the Toronto Raptors in seven games.   And if Kevin Durant was healthy the entire series, they probably would have swept the Raptors 4-0, or at the very least won the series in five games 4-1.  They were a way better team when fully healthy, and they were still the better team even without Kevin Durant.