The Warriors won 73 games last season are being predicted to win 83 with the addition of Kevin Durant.
Free agent point guard Jason Terry doesn’t think that ensures a third trip to the finals — with the former NBA champion believing the Clippers will quietly be motivated.
“The Clippers can easily win 60-plus games and be the No. 1 or 2 seed and win the NBA championship,” Terry said Tuesday on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“The best thing that could have happened to the Clippers and the rest of the Western Conference is Kevin Durant going to Golden State. There’s no pressure on those teams,” Terry said.
Terry elaborated further for those that were confused.
“The Clippers will never quite be that dark horse because of those big three they have with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. But they won’t be as high on the radar as Golden State, as San Antonio when we get ready to kick this thing off. All the attention is going to be on Kevin Durant. That’s where the attention is going to be at, that’s where the focus is at. That’s what’s going to allow the Clippers to fly under the radar, which they need to be,” Terry said.
Last season — the Clippers finished with a record of 53-29, 20 games behind the 73-9 Warriors — albeit they didn’t improve this offseason at all.