Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors routed the Spurs 120-108 in Game 3 of their series, the second straight full game San Antonio has been without star Kawhi Leonard, to take a commanding 3-0 lead in what has become, like their counterpart in the East, a one-sided conference final.
The win was the ninth double-digit victory for the Warriors in their 11 playoff wins (in 11 games), which means between Golden State and Cleveland, 14 of the 21 games played by the favorites in each conference (not top seeds, but favorites) have been decided by double digits. The Cavs, after a sluggish start with all four games of their first-round series decided by single digits, have woken up in the last two rounds and, despite only being up 2-0, have managed to crush the dreams of top-seeded Celtics thanks to a pair of blowout wins in Boston.
Most recently, the Cavs picked apart the Celtics to the tune of a 130-86 victory, with a 41 point halftime lead that left no doubt of the result before 20 minutes had been played. This has caused many to lament the lack of parity in the NBA and the lack of competition for the two best teams. These NBA playoffs have been without the same level of drama that we’ve grown accustomed to throughout the years, and some have wondered why bother watching.
Kevin Durant was asked about this, and how he feels about the blowouts and fan complaints, and he said while understanding that they want buzzer-beaters all the time, as a player you want to dominate the opposition and those that don’t like it can just not watch.
Kevin Durant on the amount of blowouts this postseason: "If you don't like it, don't watch it." pic.twitter.com/WaqGEt93k5
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 21, 2017
This was so close to being a great, diplomatic answer from Durant, right until the very end when he hit them with the “if you don’t like it, don’t watch it.” Durant’s point is that players want to win and, while it might be more entertaining for fans to watch a close game, as a player it’s far more enjoyable to win big and not have to stress over a close game. That’s more than understandable, but the NBA probably won’t be thrilled that their biggest star is telling fans to turn blowouts off.
The problem with this year’s playoffs hasn’t just been the inevitability of Cavs-Warriors III, as many have complained. That series, which we’ll get in two weeks, will be fantastic and likely redeem much of the last two months, but it’s been the lack of excitement in series not including the two best teams that has been the problem. For example, Spurs-Rockets, which should’ve been the best second round series and probably the best non-Finals series of this playoffs, was a dud as the two teams traded blowout victories in their six-game set.
This just hasn’t been the year for excitement, as Durant noted. That ought to change once we get to the Finals, health pending for the Cavs and Warriors, and those upset about the lack of competition in this playoffs will likely quiet down. Until then, it looks like we have to three more games of non-competitive basketball to get there, and no one, not even the players, will fault you for not watching.
