For just about every team, losing their best player for at least a month and possibly into the start of the playoffs would significantly hinder their chances of winning the 2017 NBA Finals. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case with the Golden State Warriors, who are still favored to win the title.
Despite Kevin Durant’s recent injury, the Warriors still have the best odds to win the championship in June by a significant margin. Bovada.lv lists them as -135 favorites, just a small change from their -140 odds on Feb. 1.
Golden State appears to be optimistic about Durant’s potential to be ready for the start of the playoffs, but there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding his health. After suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee, Durant will miss four weeks before being re-evaluated. That gives Durant a little more than six weeks to get ready for the first round of the postseason.
Even though Stephen Curry is coming off consecutive MVP seasons, including being named the first-ever unanimous winner last year, Durant is the Warriors’ best player. The forward leads the team with 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and a 27.6 PER. He’s shooting 53.7 percent from the field while helping the Warriors immensely on the defensive end.
Without Durant, the Warriors have a similar roster to last year’s team that set a record with 73-regular season wins. Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are all having All-Star seasons, while Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston remain contributors off the bench.
Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee have replaced Andrew Bogut at center. Bogut recently signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are considered to be the biggest threat to Golden State’s title hopes.
After defeating the Warriors in last year’s finals, the Cavs have +250 odds to defend their championship. Cleveland has a three-game lead atop the Eastern Conference standings, but they are overwhelming favorites (-325) to reach the NBA Finals. LeBron James has made six straight trips to the finals.
Golden State has to worry about making it through the Western Conference before they can think about a matchup with the Cavs. The Warriors have just a 3.5-game lead on the San Antonio Spurs, and even if Durant recovers ahead of schedule, Golden State could play it safe and rest him for the remainder of the regular season.
But even with a 46-13 record after 59 games, San Antonio still isn’t given a great chance to upset Golden State. The Spurs have +700 championship odds, the same odds that they had a month ago when Durant wasn’t injured.
San Antonio threatened to challenge the Warriors last season, winning 67 games before the playoffs. They never got to meet Golden State in the Western Conference Finals, losing to Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.
The 2016-2017 NBA season is largely considered to be a three-team race. No team besides the Warriors, Cavs or Spurs has better than 10/1 odds. The Houston Rockets are fourth with +1400 odds, followed by the Boston Celtics at +2000.
Kevin Durant's injury did little to affect the Golden State Warriors' championship odds. Pictured: LeBron James is guarded by Durant at ORACLE Arena on Jan. 16, 2017 in Oakland, California. Photo: Getty Images
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