The Golden State Warriors are playing terrific basketball with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant shooting the lights out and leaving their opponents in the dust this early in the season. Having two of the best players in the game for the past two seasons has made the Warriors even more dangerous coming from a successful championship defense last June.

In contrast, their Finals opponent of the past four years has fallen on hard times after the departure of all-world talents of LeBron James. The Cavs fell to 0-5 for the first time since 2003-04 when James was still a rookie and now they have infamously made it to the NBA’s record books for futility.

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If the Warriors suffered the same fate as the Cavs, losing either or both Durant or Curry, how would they fare this season?

The Warriors without Curry

Curry’s absence on the hardwood would prove quite significant for Golden State given how he opens up the middle of the lane for drives to the hoop and alley-oops. He spaces the floor like no other player in league annals with his uncanny knack for making threes from the farthest distances. When he’s on fire like he was on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, it almost automatically guarantees a win. In that game, the two-time MVP scored 51 points on 11-of-16 shooting from three-point range in only three quarters of play. He didn’t need to play in the fourth after he put them away early.

The fact is, Curry is perhaps the only player who teams worry about from 30 feet out, one who is a threat to score from various distances and sending your defensive schemes back to the drawing board. If you remove him from the equation, the Warriors become more predictable and more likely to rely on Durant to initiate the offense for them. Make no mistake about it, the Warriors are successful because their system is built around Curry and his shooting prowess from almost any area on the court.

When Curry suffered a sprained knee on March 23, Golden State lost 10 of its last 17 games of the 2017-18 season. SB Nation’s Zito Madu explained what happened to the Warriors without the three-point marksman in the lineup:

“Curry’s impact on the team, with and as opposed to Durant, is easily reflected in the Warriors’ offensive rating. When he’s played with Durant, the Warriors score an average of 121.7 points per 100 possessions, which is nearly nine points higher than the Rockets’ league-leading mark. (Golden State is second at 112.7 points per 100 possessions overall). When Curry is on the court and Durant is off, that rating drops to 116.6, which is a dip, but still firmly leaves them as an incredible offensive team.

But in the time when Durant plays without Curry, the Warriors’ offensive rating is at 108.”

When Curry goes down, the Warriors have no choice but to change their style of play. This means that the Bay Area Squad will look a bit more like the rest of the NBA teams though they are going to remain a title contender. What that looks like in the standings is that they are more than likely to have lost two or three of their first five games of the season rather than have a 4-1 record.

The Warriors Without Durant

Steve Kerr and his coaching staff designed the team’s system around Curry after he inherited the lineup from his predecessor, Mark Jackson. That coincided with Curry evolving into the game-changing, offensive force that he is today and the Warriors becoming the world-beater that they are.

Durant came to the team around the time that the Warriors already had a system in place that was built around Curry. One wonders what could have been if the roles were reversed where Curry would come in with a system built around Durant’s talents and abilities. Needless to say, we would have a vastly different-looking Warriors attack than what we’re accustomed to seeing.

Would it be better or worse? Who knows?

The fact is, the Warriors aren’t as vulnerable without Durant than they are without Curry. We already know what Golden State’s record would be for an entire season without Durant since they spent years playing without him. The pinnacle of their success sans the 7-foot forward was the 2015-16 season in which they recorded a history-making 73-9 win-loss card that bested the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls 72-10 mark. That Bulls team had otherworldly superstars in Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman in the lineup coached by Phil Jackson.

If the Warriors were to somehow lose Durant at the beginning of the season, they only need to return to the way they played without him during their record-winning season. Would the Warriors lose more games to start this season without Durant? Maybe but maybe not. With Curry at the top of his game this season, it’s hard to see the Warriors missing a beat even if Durant left the Warriors for another team over the summer. Klay Thompson would easily slide into position as his second-in-command just as he did before. This early, I can still see the Warriors having the same record that they have now.

That’s not to say that Durant isn’t valuable to the team. He is, especially when the rest of the team’s shots aren’t falling as regularly from the outside. Durant’s value is apparent when the system breaks down and the team needs a reliable scorer who can create shots on his own from mid-range and with defenders swarming all over him. He can easily negate a player of James’ caliber much like he did during the last two NBA Finals series. Without him, the Warriors’ chances of winning a third straight championship could go down the drain even with the presence of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins on the team.

But at the start of the season when everyone else is still learning how to play with their new teammates? The Warriors can take care of themselves without Durant. I see them having the same record regardless.

The Warriors Without Curry or Durant

Now, this is where it gets interesting for everybody. Will losing Curry and Durant equate to the Cavs losing James to free agency?

I’d say it’s close but it’s not exactly the same.

First, the Warriors still have three All-Stars on the team in Thompson, Cousins and Draymond Green. Thompson is one of the best two-way players in the league and a shooter of the highest caliber. Cousins would not play at the beginning of the season but the All-Star center is going to be a game-changer once he steps on the hardwood. Meanwhile Green is one of the top defenders in the league and a player who can create opportunities for others on offense with his passing ability.

Second, their offense is predicated on ball movement and finding the open man, unlike Cleveland which was too dependent on James creating and distributing the rock to everyone else on his team.

Nevertheless, the Warriors won’t have a winning record without their two All-Stars along for the ride at the beginning. Among their first five opponents, it’s highly probable that they would have lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards. I could go as far as to say that without Curry and Durant, the Warriors also lose their game against the Phoenix Suns.

The true difference between this Warriors team without their two superstars and the Cavs without their King is in the final standings. By season’s end, I believe that the Warriors will be at least six games better than the Cavs in the final standings. It’s not that big of a difference because the Warriors play in the All-Star-laden Western Conference while the Cavs play in the superstar-starved Eastern Conference. But if Cousins had played from the start, the Warriors would continue to be title contenders though unlikely to defend their crown next June.