5 reasons the Golden State Warriors can win the 2017 NBA Championship

3. The Thunder are no longer a threat

Not only does Durant make the Warriors a scarier team than they were last season, he also eliminated the Warriors’ biggest threat in their road back to the NBA Finals. While other teams struggled to keep up with their small ball lineup that set the league on fire, the Thunder had the perfect blend of size and athleticism to compete with them in a playoff series. If it wasn’t for a historic performance from Thompson in Game 6 and a dominant showing by Curry in Game 7, the Thunder would have represented the Western Conference in the NBA Finals instead of the Warriors.

It’s not like nobody can hang with the Warriors in the Western Conference now that the Thunder are a one-man show. In their two victories against the Warriors this season, the Spurs beat them by a combined 51 points. (Granted, the second game came without Curry, Thompson, Durant, Iguodala and Green in uniform, but still). The Rockets also proved their reliance on Harden’s scoring and his ability to create open shots for his teammates can beat any team when they get hot.

However, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for the Spurs and Rockets to beat a healthy Warriors team four times in a best-of-seven series. Not only does Kawhi Leonard have to shut down one of Curry, Thompson and/or Durant for at least four games, he also has to carry the Spurs on the other end of the floor. It’s a similar case in Houston: Harden, who averaged 21.8 points, 11.3 assists, 11.0 rebounds and 6.5 turnovers on 31.5 percent shooting from the field against the Warriors this season, would need to find a way to consistently beat the second best defense in the NBA for them to prevail.

It’s less about them not being able to do it and more about how their teams don’t match up with the Warriors quite as well as Thunder did with Westbrook and Durant. That’s good news for the Warriors.