The Golden State Warriors will have to get through the Portland Trail Blazers if they want to make it to a fifth consecutive NBA Finals. Assuming Kevin Durant’s opinion has not changed much since the offseason, he can’t be all that worried about his upcoming opponent.
Back in July, Durant made an appearance on CJ McCollum’s “Pull Up” Podcast and talked about the upcoming season. McCollum was upset that DeMarcus Cousins had just taken less money to join the Warriors and wanted the big man to sign with Portland. Durant dismissed McCollum’s frustrations, because he said the Blazers star should not be concerned about contending for a championship.
KD told CJ McCullom not to worry about contending this season and to just enjoy playing. CJ said the Blazers would meet him at the top, and here we are. pic.twitter.com/yzxigjbRR8
— Dylan (@dyllyp) May 12, 2019
“I mean, you know you guys aren’t gonna win a championship,” Durant said while laughing. “Let’s be honest. I like y’all. You’re hard to stop, but I mean, come on. You can’t be upset about this.”
Durant went on to advise McCollum to “just keep playing and don’t worry about what goes on at the top of things.”
Durant and McCollum are obviously close, so Durant’s comments were really nothing more than friendly banter in that context. Still, it would not be a surprise if the Blazers use them as motivation to play up the whole “they don’t think we belong here” angle.
McCollum scored 37 points in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday and made some huge plays on both sides of the ball. The Blazers will be underdogs, but their confidence should be at its peak. That makes them as dangerous as any team the Warriors have faced.
