Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Pelicans

1. KD signing passes its first test

After Curry sprained his MCL on March 23, there was major concern about the Warriors’ title chances. Forget a Western Conference Finals showdown with the Houston Rockets; there were questions as to whether they would make it past the first two rounds.

The skepticism was valid. The team was sputtering down the stretch, and the numbers stated fairly clearly that they were merely good without Curry.

Something didn’t add up, though. The 2015-16 Warriors took Curry’s first sprained MCL in stride, getting through Round 1 and going up 2-1 in Round 2. Curry was not 100 percent upon returning, but the team still came within inches of winning the title. They went out and signed Durant that summer, primarily to be an over-qualified insurance policy.

In theory, they signed Durant for exactly this moment. I wrote on this in late March, explaining how the move was being put to a more perfect test of the move than we ever could have anticipated.

Next: Full two-round 2018 NBA Mock Draft

After beating down the Spurs in Round 1, the Warriors stomped a New Orleans team that entered Round 2 as the talk of the NBA. With Curry expected to return for Game 2, we can definitively say that the Durant signing was a success. Sans their best player, the Warriors remained the league’s best team.