3 reasons the Golden State Warriors can win the Finals w/o KD and Cousins

The excellence of the second unit

The Warriors knew when Durant went down that he’d be out multiple games. They knew Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green would step up, but what they weren’t ready for was the eruption of Kevon Looney and other second unit members.

The Warriors bench has scored just over 24 points per game, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t come up with a few huge performances down the stretch. Take Kevon Looney’s Game 6 against Houston and Game 2 against Portland for example.

He scored 14 points in each game, combining to go 12-for-14 from the field. He also averaged over three offensive rebounds. With Durant in the lineup and high-volume minutes given to Andre Iguodala, Looney would’ve never had the chance to impact either of those games as he did.

Quinn Cook, Alfonzo McKinnie and even Jordan Bell have been important parts of the Warriors in this past series as well. Each has averaged over three points per game with Bell leading the pack at 6.7 per game on 57% from the field.

The second unit has been an important part of the Dubs success without Durant.

For these three reasons, the Warriors should feel confident about heading into the Finals (assuming they defeat Portland) without Durant. However, it’d obviously be ideal to see his return for the last series of the 2018-2019 season.