Kevin Durant will have to return for the Golden State Warriors to win the 2019 NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors won’t be winning the 2019 NBA Finals without some on-court involvement from four-time scoring champ Kevin Durant.

Without Kevon Looney, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson in Game 3, the Golden State Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors by 14 points. Despite a 47-point performance from Stephen Curry, the Warriors failed to get timely results and paid the consequence.

Looney, who fractured his collarbone, is likely out the entire series. The Dubs third-leading scoring, Klay Thompson, was sidelined in Game 3, a huge development that ended being the definition of a game-time decision.

Without Klay, Kyle Lowry, Thompson’s usual defensive assignment, lit up Golden State, making five threes. Danny Green added in six threes on just ten attempts to put the Dubs away. Let’s not also forget Kawhi’s 30.

Klay could’ve minimized the damage. Even with Thompson, the Warriors still may not have enough contributing pieces without Looney.

Although DeMarcus Cousins has returned, he really hasn’t looked the same. But, at the same time, that could’ve been a result of not having Thompson on the court to space it out. Green’s assist numbers were down, likely due to Thompson’s absence.

Thompson joining the Dubs again may not be enough. The Dubs don’t have many viable options at the five without Looney. However, the return of Durant would re-create the Death Lineup, arguably the most feared five-man lineup in the league.

Also, it would give them much-needed length on the defensive end.

The Warriors have scored 109 in every Finals game so far, but they can’t slow down Toronto. Durant, who was a viable Defensive Player of the Year candidate last season, can man Leonard or Siakam, putting them out of their comfort zone.

Even with Klay, the Warriors haven’t slowed down the third-year star. He gets buckets at will by using his length to get around defenders deep in the post. Durant could put a halt to that. Then, with Klay shutting down Lowry, the Dubs would easily be able to contain Toronto.

That’s the biggest need for Durant, but I guess adding on a player averaging over 34 points per game this postseason would be nice as well. His offense would take pressure of Curry and allow the Dubs to have their go-to bucket on the court.

Without Durant, the Warriors won’t be able to slow down Toronto, specially Siakam. They may be able to outscore them for a period, but if Durant doesn’t return, the Golden State Warriors won’t be three-peating.