The Warriors play Game 2 on Sunday. For once, they will be playing from behind with uncertainty if their star player will return.
TORONTO — When the shots do not fall and the ball-movement no longer seems crisp, the Warriors usually have a solution to jumpstart their sluggish offense.
Get the ball to Kevin Durant. He often covers up the Warriors’ blemishes with consistently efficiently scoring. If only the Warriors had that as an option.
The Warriors labored through a 118-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. The result offered the latest evidence to a topic that should have been irrefutable even during the Warriors’ recent success without him.
The Warriors are worse without Durant, who missed his sixth consecutive playoff game because of a strained right calf. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for a 16-of-35 clip from the field. Draymond Green became plagued with early third-quarter foul trouble (four), while also struggling with his offense (10 points on 2-of-9 shooting).
