Kevin Durant says injuries have killed Warriors’ morale

The usually formidable Golden State Warriors stumbled their way to the end of the regular season, and Kevin Durant thinks that the team’s recent slate of injuries had a big effect on them psychologically.

After the Warriors were blown out by the Utah Jazz 119-79 on Tuesday in their final game of the season, Durant discussed the team’s rough sledding to finish.

“I just feel like there was so much movement in our lineups,” said the former MVP, according to Anthony Slater of The Athetic. “I think that we let that take a toll on us a bit when we should’ve just pushed through it. I felt like it killed the morale a bit towards the end of the year.

“Just a weird finish to the season,” Durant continued. “Hopefully that mojo doesn’t come with us into the playoffs. I’m confident that we’ll be ready to play, and I’m excited to play. I think we’ll be fine.”

Tuesday’s blowout loss gave the Warriors a final record of 58-24, well below their usual standard of regular season excellence. They also went just 7-10 over the last month of the season.

Granted, the various leg injuries to Stephen Curry, who missed 31 games this season and is expected to sit out the first round of the playoffs as well, would be enough to trip up any team, even one as mighty as the Dubs. Meanwhile, Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green were all also felled by multi-game and/or multi-week ailments in March, while others like Patrick McCaw and Andre Iguodala have yet to play in April thanks to injuries of their own.

Still, there have been signs that the team is not on the same page mentally, and it’s worth wondering if simply getting everyone healthy will be enough for them to get back on track as they continue their title defense in the playoffs.