When superstar small forward Kevin Durant hit the NBA free agent market last offseason, teams got into a dogfight as they tried to claim the league’s biggest matchup nightmare. But when the race for Durant ended in the same golden city where he played his last game as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, his decision sparked major controversy. Joining the team that knocked him out of the playoffs was part of the criticism, but leaving MVP candidate Russell Westbrook and their well established relationship took matters to a level that created the most cutthroat player rivalry in today’s NBA. But, 61 games into the season, the once unstoppable and greatly improved Dubs have already totaled two more losses than they did all of last season. Last year’s 73-9 campaign was a truly incredible and rare feat, but the this year’s warriors were heralded as being better than even last years. So far, as their record indicates, that has not been the case.To make matters worse, the San Antonio Spurs are only two games out of the number one seed. It’s ironic. The Spurs are catching up because of the same man that many thought would make the Dubs even better —  Durant. In a 108-112 loss to the Washington Wizards on Feb. 28, Durant suffered a grade two MCL sprain and a tibial bone bruise. And with reports saying that he will be only re-evaluated in four weeks, the Warriors now find themselves in a tougher bind if they want to pull away from the Spurs without him.

Without Durant, the Warriors still have an extremely daunting lineup with Green, Curry, Thompson and their deep bench. But, the Dubs have lost two of their last three games, a feat almost unheard of for this club since January of 2015. Durant’s injury doesn’t change the fact that the Warriors were a heavy favorite for the title even before he landed in Oakland, but it certainly vaults other teams slightly above the Warriors as favorites for the title in the West. Given the Warriors ability to overcome obstacles and still win, there are only two other teams who can truly answer back. The Cavaliers won’t benefit much from the injury as they won’t be able to alter seeding in the West and Durant will be healthy for a potential Finals rematch. But the Spurs and Rockets, on the other hand, are in a great position to shake up the seeding while Durant is out.

The Spurs can take advantage of the Warriors’ struggles and overtake them as the number one seed in the West. San Antonio is on a seven game win streak, playing some of the best basketball they have all season. The Spurs have a high chance of grabbing the one seed and of putting the Warriors at two. That would give the Warriors a much tougher first round matchup against the Grizzlies or Thunder (déjà-vu?) rather than the sub .500 Nuggets. If the Warriors get past the first round, which they most likely will, they get a matchup with Houston in the second round instead of playing the Clippers or the Jazz, who the Dubs have demolished this year. Houston poses the biggest offensive threat in the whole league. They have a subpar defense but can still go toe-to-toe with the Bay Area juggernauts. In fact, the Rockets are good enough offensively to mirror what Oklahoma City did last year in the first four games of the Conference Finals. But let’s say the Rockets somehow fail to take down the Warriors, which is also very much possible, the Spurs will be waiting in the conference finals with homecourt advantage. If the Warriors pull off a victory against the Spurs and make it to the finals, they’ll meet the Cavs in a rematch of the last two years. The scary thing about the Warriors is that they can still win that series with a healthy Durant. But, the road appears a lot easier when looking at what could have been had Durant not gotten injured. The Nuggets, Clippers, Spurs and then the Cavs in Oracle sounds a whole lot better than an angry Westbrook led Thunder, the Rockets, the Spurs in Texas and then the always dangerous Cavaliers. Durant’s injury will sideline him for a while and could put the Warriors in a challenging position. But, if there is any team that can take a challenge and beat it, it’s the Dubs.