1. Louder, boos or cheers for KD on Saturday?

Sheed Malek

Boos. I get it, they are still butthurt over him leaving…But, KD gave that franchise almost a decade of his career and then decided to move on. Let the hurt go.

Andy Liu

Did we see LeBron James go back to Cleveland for the first time as a Miami Heat?

Bram H

KD will be booed louder than Trump at a public appearance in California. It won’t be justified, but it’ll be angry.

Alex Torres

Definitely boos. Russell Westbrook is the face of the franchise and you won’t see him honoring Durant at any point during the game. Instead, he will be going at his throat. Westbrook was the one who signed an extension with the Thunder, they can’t disrespect their superstar by cheering for a player on another team. It was an ugly break up, it is what it is.

Sam Esfandiari

Boos.  Fans, by definition, are fanatics and thus irrational.  Midwest fans tend to be even more passionate in terms of desiring undivided player loyalty.  Add to it the OKC fanbase (and media) as a whole did not think KD would leave, I only expect it all to be exacerbated.  I’d like to think they’ll give Durant a cheer initially and then boo the remainder of the game but I’ve seen this song and dance before, expect it to be testy.

Pin Tsan

Some quiet, wistful cheers quickly giving way to an overwhelming tsunami of boos. Can’t really blame the OKC residents it they booed — the whole state is still reeling.

2. Gave OKC franchise almost a decade of his time, will he forever be a villain to them now?USATSI_9308105_168381750_lowres

Sheed Malek

Yes, even more so if the Warriors win the title this season.

Andy Liu

Time heals all wounds, as they say. I’m confident that he will have his jersey retired and become that acclaimed public figure he was less than a year ago. For now though, I expect the hatred to ascend the levels even the craziest fans would be proud of.

Bram H

Time generally heels most wounds, but beware the fury of a crowd scorned by a superstar. If KD doesn’t win a title in Golden State, OKC will eventually remember what he did for them. But, if Durant has the type of success that we all expect (and Thunder fan has to watch endless SportsCenter clips highlighting him enjoying every second of it) they’ll hate him forever.

Alex Torres

As mentioned above, as long as Westbrook is there, you won’t see any type of appreciation from the franchise. Over time, they will appreciate all the blood, sweat, and tears that Durant provided on behalf of the Thunder and the city. Durant deserves better, but he knew this was part of the deal. Besides, he will forget about it if the Warriors end up with some hardware at the end of the season.

Sam Esfandiari

Probably not in the foreseeable future, but at some point he will be.  Time heels all wounds.  I’m sure in 10 to 20 years they’ll look back upon Durant’s time with found memories but right now it’s too close.  They still have remnants of the team that got close but didn’t win the title (Westbrook etc).  When they are all gone and writing a new chapter in the franchise’s history, I expect they’ll look at Durant differently.

Pin Tsan

Chris Webber returned to play for Nellie and the Warriors. Lebron James just won a championship with Cleveland. Give the franchise, the fans and KD some years and the hurt feelings and bruised egos will eventually heal.

3. KD’s statline for Saturday?

Sheed Malek

33/12/6

Andy Liu

At least 40 points to go with 10 rebounds and zero assists.

Bram H

36/8/7, two blocks and at least 10 pre / post game comments where he says how much he loved playing there and has no ill will towards their fan base.

Alex Torres

Let’s see how loud the boos are during the introductions. If they OKC crowd comes out in full force, then I expect him to return he favor and have a big night. Obviously the most important thing is that the Warriors get the win, but you won’t see Durant hold back. He will end up with 35 points, 13 boards and 5 assists.

Sam Esfandiari

40 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists.  I expect this to be a good game.  Golden State is down big men, and OKC’s key strength is rebounding.  So OKC should be able to keep it close just via match up.  The emotions of KD’s return will only help them.  The good news for Golden State is they tend to feed off this energy.  I expect the entire team to look to feed Durant as they know how much this game means to him, how emotional it will be.

Pin Tsan

Durant had a 39-7-1-1 in the first OKC meeting and a 40-12-4-3 in the second. Draymond and Steph are going to make sure he gets shots, we know that. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t net something like 30 points with 8 boards and a handful of assists and blocks.

4. Russ Triple/Double?USATSI_9307961_168381750_lowres

Sheed Malek

Of course, he’s thirsty for them, his teammates are thirsty in helping him get them and the fans are circle jerking in the stands waiting for him to get the triple doubles.

Andy Liu

He just doesn’t play well against GSW but I expect a Herculean effort in a double-digit loss. Which fits right into his spectacular but ultimately meaningless (in the grand scheme of the NBA) season so far.

Bram H

Yes, but if a player gets a triple double in yet another 15 plus point ass stomping loss to a team he desperately wants to beat, does it really count.

Alex Torres

Yes and I am pretty confident about it. Westbrook already wants to beat you and with this extra motivation, rest assured that he will be amped up from start to finish. Westbrook will finish with 41 points, 15 boards and 13 dimes.

Sam Esfandiari

Who cares?  Jokes aside I expect us to see peak Russ.  He generally is going 100 miles per hour, but with Durants return, I’m sure he’ll have a little added energy.  And the crowd won’t hurt.

Pin Tsan

Triple-double? Russ is going to be so amped he might record the NBA’s first triple-triple. 100 points, 100 rebounds, 100 mean mugs at Durant.

5. How many techs in Saturday’s game?

Sheed Malek

0. No Zaza and Kanter.

Andy Liu

One for KD, one for Draymond, one for Enes Kanter from the bench with a broken hand, and one on Westbrook.

Bram H

0. If Zaza was there, we’d see at least one.

Alex Torres

I don’t expect too many technicals on Saturday night. I would say about 2-3 techs. Westbrook will surely get one to add to his impressive stat line. It will be a little chippy, but the Warriors should be under control, so most of the techs should be coming from OKC’s side.

Sam Esfandiari

Four.  Draymond is a lock.  In these high emotion games it seems like refs are extra strict so to not lose control.  One bad look and I anticipate Draymond will get a tech. It should only snowball after that.

Pin Tsan

One on Draymond for sticking up for his guy and one on the chair that broke Enes Kanter’s hand.