Golden State Warriors: 3 big questions heading into 2018-19 NBA season

3. Will Curry, Durant start decline?

In short, the answer is yes. Kevin Durant‘s physical prime ended when he had three foot surgeries over a six-month period, as evidenced by his declining free throw and dunk rate. Last year, both of these numbers continued to drop. Durant got to the line just 5.9 times per game (compared to 7.8 for his career), and had 115 dunks — his lowest full-season total since 2008-09.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry‘s 5.9 free throw attempts were a career high. What the 30-year-old has lost in explosiveness, he has gained in strength, guile and fearlessness. However, he saw his ankle troubles return after years of respite, and suffered the second — and most severe — knee injury of his career. Unless he starts getting to the line at James Harden levels, there’s nowhere left to go but down.

More from Golden State Warriors

• Grade the Trade: Warriors become title-favs in proposed deal with Raptors
• 5 NBA players everyone should be keeping a close eye on in 2023-24
• New detail about title-costing mistake reopens old wounds for Warriors
• 5 NBA players facing do-or-die 2023–2024 seasons
• 7 Harsh realities of the Golden State Warriors offseason

That’s really not the question though. LeBron James was no longer in his prime last season, but it was clear through observation that his regular season struggles were due more to pacing than inability. Had he spent 82 games struggling to get around defenders, losing lift on his jumper or finishing at a lower clip around the rim, alarms would have sounded. Instead, we saw him not try on defense, and sometimes not on offense either. Clearly, it was an issue of effort.

It is exactly this sort of thing that we will look for in Curry and Durant this year. Will KD’s free throw rate continue to decline? If so, will it be due to him opting to attack less? Or will we see him struggle to penetrate the lane when he tries? The same questions will be true of Curry, along with whether he takes fewer 3s off the dribble, and if this is due to conservation or erosion.

Of course, this will be hard to discern. The key is to look for flashes in moments that matter. If Curry starts doing Curry things late in close games — much like James did in his all-time great clutch season last year — that will be a sign that things are okay. If he and Durant fail to conjure up their magic on command, there will be more cause for concern.