Warriors Workshop Webisode 1: Writers Reminisce About #WeBelieve

3. With Kevin Durant out indefinitely, what do you feel the players/team need(s) to do to adjust moving forward?

"Carlos Murillo: Steph needs to Steph. Kerr needs to unleash his best player instead of resorting him to being a spot up shooter getting beat up on screens. Curry needs the ball on his hands. Durant also made a huge impact defensively so Draymond Green and co. will need to find ways to replace that production on that end. Everyone will need to step up, but it starts and ends with Steph Curry."

Charles Rahrig V: They need to take a mental approach with this one and recognize that they’re still the same team that won 73 games last year. Sure, they’re minus a few pieces but they have all the ingredients necessary to compete. At this point, it’s a mindset thing and once they have that on lock, it’s nothing but success going forward.

"Segun Giwa: The obvious answer here is Steph and Klay need to get out of their funks. 2016 Steph Curry might have had the best offensive season of any player in league history, and it would be nice to see him play like that down the stretch. Steph and Klay will eventually get back to splashing, and the offense will be fine. Defense is the real worry as KD was having his best year as a defender/rim protector. We began to see last season in the playoffs that he is an elite defender and it’s carried over into this season. I’m curious as to who will help fill his shoes and help Draymond protect the rim and rebound."

Eric He: There’s been a lot of talk about the Warriors “sacrificing” for Kevin Durant this season. I think with KD out indefinitely, the other players — Steph specifically — need to play like themselves and not feel obligated to give up shots so KD can fit in. Sure, Steph and Klay may be struggling a bit right now, but the only way the Warriors win without Durant’s consistent scoring is if Steph and Klay make their shots and play like they’re capable of. We saw Steph open up a bit against the Knicks. Let’s hope that continues.

"Michael Shultz: The Warriors need to change their philosophy without Durant by incorporating more pick and roll between Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Curry is running off of way too many screens, getting grabbed and bumped on almost every possession. All that physical contact is wearing him down during the game and thus affecting his shot. In the pick and roll with Green, he can conserve his energy and thus his shot will start falling."

Derek Tahara: With KD out indefinitely, everyone has to step up from Steph to McAdoo and play with a sense of urgency on every possession of every game. The biggest adjustment should be Curry running the pick and roll more with either Klay or Draymond because it becomes a pick-your poison kind of deal, where you double Curry, you leave Klay open for a three or a Draymond dunk. The bench has to step up because if they step up, it will make the starters’ jobs much easier. I expect the vets such as Shaun, Andre, D West and Matt Barnes to lead this bench mob.

"Ryan Viera: I don’t think there needs to be a big adjustment with KD out. The biggest thing is going to be minutes and rotation so it’ll be interesting to see how Steve navigates that going forward. Kevin ate up a lot of minutes at the four, which means Looney and West are going to see more floor time when Dray switches over to center. I think it’ll be a few minor adjustments to find what works with KD out, but I don’t expect them to crumble without him."