Golden State Warriors' biggest offseason acquisition, Kevin Durant, made his debut in a Warriors' uniform during the preseason game against the Toronto Raptops in Vancouver, Canada last Saturday.
Kevin Durant finished with 9 points on 2-9 shooting from the floor in 19 minutes as the Golden State Warriors vowed down to the Toronto Raptops with a score of 97-93. Durant also committed 3 turnovers.
Durant was booed by the jampacked crowd in Rogers Arena during pregame introductions. He was booed everytime he touched the ball and probably booed going through customs, based on evidence from Rogers Arena.
Durant admitted that this wasn't just another game for him because this is the first game that he played for a team other than the Thunder/Supersonics organization. This is evident as Durant struggled with his shots. It is also clear that he is still adjusting to the Warriors way of basketball.
"I heard more cheers than boos, to be honest," Durant said. "But I was just so locked in on trying to get ready for the game that I wasn't really focusing or listening too hard for any boos or anything. I heard cheers, though," per nba.com.
During most of the game, Steve Kerr allowed the Warriors bench to play. This is a norm culture as the bench players will not play a lot when the regular season starts. So this is their chance to show what they've got. This is also a way to build chemistry around new teammates so that when the regular season began, things will be much easier.
Kevin Durant signed a 2-year 54.3 million deal with the Warriors last offseason. He joined Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to form an NBA superteam.
According to bleacher report, this is not your average NBA superteam because this group now have four of the current top-20 players in the NBA now. They are all in their 20s and all at the top of their game right now.
Durant maybe doesn't have a good first game as a Warriors. But this is not the official game yet. It is still a preseason game. And it is expected because Durant is still adjusting to his teammates and adjusting to the new system of the Golden State Warriors. Once the regular season starts, expect that Durant will play better.
So this is it folks. The Durantula Era for the Golden State Warriors have officially began. Fans will surely watch the Warriors team closely throughout the season. After all, they are the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA championship in the 2016-2017 NBA season.
