Warriors vs. Clippers: Kevin Durant Warns Against Complacency, Identifies Key Players

The Golden State Warriors had its worst regular season record in the last five years in 2018-19 but still locked out the top spot in the Western Conference. They had a marginally better record last season but finished second behind the Houston Rockets, the only time the Warriors has not finished top in the last five seasons.

Steve Kerr’s team had a 57-25 record this season and will go into the playoffs as the favored team to win the NBA championships for the third straight year. They will face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.

Doc Rivers’ team had managed to climb up to sixth leading up to the final few games but four losses in their final seven saw them drop down to eighth place in the West. It gives his team the unwanted task of facing the favorites in the first round.

The Warriors has a phenomenal record against the Clippers with the latter trailing the series 1-8 but Kevin Durant has warned his team against complacency when they take on Rivers’ team. He believes they have a lot of players who know how to tackle the playoffs.

“We got our work cut out for us. I know it's a 1-8 series, but they got a lot of talent that know how to play in the playoffs. They got players that are ready for the playoffs, so we're looking forward to seeing what our game plan is, looking forward to preparing for this team. We'll see how it goes," Durant said, as quoted on Real GM.

The Warriors small forward, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, is certain that it will not be a walk in the park despite their superior record. Durant picked out five players who can make an impact for Clippers during the seven-game playoffs.

“They got an an all-world scorer in Lou Williams who can get it going at any time in the game from anywhere. You got [Danilo] Gallinari who can do the same,” the Warriors forward added. “And then you got wing players like [Landry] Shamet and Wilson Chandler, guys that can come in and give you some problems in the playoffs for a stretch; having another big like [Ivica] Zubac, so they got a nice team, well-coached. They're going to definitely play us extremely hard from the start, and it's not going to be as easy as people think it is.”