The Golden State Warriors’ recent struggles without the injured Kevin Durant have opened up the race for homecourt advantage throughout the NBA playoffs and raised rare doubts about a title favorite’s ability to contend with the other members of the league’s elite. Through it all, though, there has remained the possibility that the Warriors’ problems had as much to do with an especially difficult stretch of the schedule — eight games in 13 days, all in different cities — as they did with the loss of such a terrific player. Golden State was bound to be worse with Durant, but a team with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green usually doesn’t lose five of seven games.
Maybe all the Warriors needed was a few days at home. The cautious optimism that attended Tuesday’s narrow win over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers blossomed into something a lot more like confidence on Thursday night when the Orlando Magic visited Oracle Arena. The Warriors dominated their inferior opponent, winning 122-92 in the sort of straightforward blowout that has typified Steve Kerr’s tenure as head coach. The win puts Golden State a full game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs at the top of the West, but it’s probably more meaningful for what it signals — a potential return to normalcy.
The Warriors took control early thanks to a signature hot streak from Klay Thompson. The Splash Brother made his first five three-pointers and scored 21 points in the game’s opening 8:36 to start the night with a 31-10 lead. It was all very familiar — Thompson found space and utilized his quick release to exploit any weaknesses in the Orlando defense. Thompson only scored eight more points the rest of the night, but his early impact put the Magic in a deep hole they lacked the will to escape.
The result seemed decided with a few minutes left in the first quarter, but the Warriors did well to maintain their edge and take advantage of the Magic’s unimpressive performance. Golden State only shot 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) from three-point range and missed 11 of its 23 free throws, but 57.5 percent shooting from the field and a 36-to-12 assist-to-turnover ratio display the ease with which they scored. Stephen Curry did not quite escape his shooting slump (2-of-6 from deep), but his efficient scoring (25 points on 15 shots) and playmaking (nine assists) kept the Warriors offense flowing throughout his 28 minutes. It was a classic Warriors win — professional, joyful, and over in a matter of minutes.
Naysayers will claim that any playoff team should handle the Magic with ease, and they’re not entirely wrong. Orlando is just playing out the string at this point and waiting for the front office changes and new rebuilding process that should come this offseason. Frank Vogel’s team played with no cohesiveness and often seemed willfully unaware of their surrounding — they played six guys out of a timeout for a technical foul and put both D.J. Augustin and C.J. Watson on the court at the same time over a short stretch of the second quarter. It would have been quite concerning if the Warriors had struggled to put them away.
On the other hand, the Warriors’ inability to dominate lottery teams has been the biggest issue over these past few weeks. A 30-point win over the Magic isn’t surprising, but meeting that expectation is a definite sign of improvement for the Warriors. It’s the clearest sign yet that they can hold on to their No. 1 seed.
Saturday’s matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks will be a more serious test. The Bucks are challenging for a playoff spot in the East, beat the Clippers at Staples Center on Wednesday, and boast a star in Giannis Antetokounmpo who could pose serious matchup problems for the Warriors without Durant. Win that game in comfortable fashion, though, and Golden State suddenly looks in much firmer control of the conference.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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