Game 3 displayed just how vital, and irreplaceable, Kevin Durant is

The Dubs dominant Game 3 victory over the LA Clippers proved how vital, and irreplaceable, Kevin Durant is for the Golden State Warriors.

While it’s still just the first round, Game 3 could go down as the string of moments that helped turn Kevin Durant into the absolute monster that could annihilate the entire NBA postseason.

He went from nine turnovers and eight shots in Game 2 to almost a postseason career high with 38 in Game 3.

It was Patrick Beverley, who almost fouled out of Game 3 as well as fouling out of Game 2, who sparked this fight in Durant. People were crediting Beverley’s debilitating defense with the reason Durant failed to score his typical 20 points in Game 2.

Well, it wasn’t just that Bev was locking Durant down, but it was more on the mindset that Durant entered the game with. He was lackadaisical, making ill-advised passes and carelessly losing the ball.

That was not the Kevin Durant we’d grown to love over the last three seasons.

In Game 3, he made everyone forget what could’ve arguably been the worst game of his career.

That said, Durant’s 38 points not only carried the team during Game 3, but it proved how irreplaceable he will be come June. It wasn’t how many points Durant scored, but it was the combined difficulty of the shot and the shot efficiency that isn’t easily replaced.

Here’s a perfect example. Shot clock running down, Durant doesn’t have many options but to just heave up a fade-away jumper. Luckily, he’s Kevin Durant, so it hit the bottom of the net. That’s the first clip in this minute-long breakdown of Durant’s play in Game 3.

Durant does what no other NBA can. His height plus efficiency from both inside the arc and outside isn’t matched by any player in the league. For Golden State, that was crucial for their Game 3 victory.

Although they were likely going to dominate Los Angeles regardless if Durant even played in the series at all, his impact has caused them to have 30-plus point leads in each of the last two games.

Durant’s full impact hasn’t even been on full display given that there’s been little clutch time in these games. Wait till the second round. Then, fans will really get to experience how irreplaceable the superstar Kevin Durant really is.