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Kevin Durant shrugged his shoulders. The Warriors forward hardly sounded offended about the argument. Nor did he sound defensive about the question. But he remains aware of the commentary.

The Warriors will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year, beginning with Game 1 on Thursday at Oracle Arena. That sets up a rematch for the second consecutive year between Durant and Cavaliers LeBron James, whose productivity in his 15th NBA season had led to the following charge. While the 33-year-old James has been lauded for arguably single-handedly leading the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, the 29-year-old Durant has faced skepticism he could do the same thing with a similar roster.

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“I can’t control that,” Durant told The Bay Area News Group. “I know what I bring to my team. I know my role on my team. I’m just trying to play in a way that will help us win a championship. That’s the only thing I can do.”

What has James done? Nothing other than leading the NBA this postseason in points (34.0) and ranking third in assists (8.8) along with 13.4 rebounds in 41.3 minutes (second in the league). James also posted a league-leading 13 double doubles, a 44-point effort in a Game 4 win over Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals and a 46-point outing in a Game 6 victory over the Celtics.

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What has Durant done? He has ranked fourth in the NBA this postseason in points (29.0), though his rebounds (7.1) and assists (4.3) fall short of James’ numbers. Durant had 37 points in a Game 1 win over Houston in the Western Conference Finals and 38 points in a Game 2 loss. But as the Rockets’ switch-heavy defense prompted the Warriors to feature Durant more in isolation plays, his efficiency dipped in Game 4 (9-of-24), Game 5 (8-of-22) and Game 6 (6-of-17). Durant then rebounded with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting in a Game 7 win over Houston.

Through that all, Durant navigated the dynamic between leaning on other sharpshooters in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, while maximizing his own productivity. It arguably presents more of a first-world NBA problem than what James has encountered with a diminished supporting cast after the Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving to Boston last offseason. Then again, most of the NBA’s talent pool resides in the Western Conference.

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“We’re in two different places in our game,” Durant said of James. “I’m still learning, still growing and figuring things out. I feel like he is who he is at this point. He’s experienced so much more than I have. So he’s looking at it from a different vantage point. But that’s the beauty of basketball. You have guys with different paths and different journeys and they meet up on the court. It’s magical and it’s fun.”

Durant helped the Warriors produce magic in the past year at James’ expense.

Durant won both his first NBA championship and Finals MVP award after averaging 35.2 points on 55.6 percent shooting in 39.8 minutes per game. Durant made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 45.3 seconds remaining over James that secured the Warriors a Game 3 victory over Cleveland. In an interview earlier this year with Bay Area News Group, Durant argued that his NBA title, Finals MVP award and go-ahead 3-pointer showed he’s “on the same level” as James.

“I don’t know how it made everybody else feel. But I know it made my friends and family feel proud,” Durant said. “I want to do that again for them. I know how hard it was to do that no matter if we won in five [games]. Every night was hard.”

The Warriors are not expected to have as much difficulty with Cleveland as they had with Houston. James could complicate things, though. And Durant could largely determine how that plays out.

While James will likely assume a more significant scoring load for the Cavaliers, Durant will likely blend his scoring with Curry and Thompson. With Warriors forward Andre Iguodala missing the past four playoff games with a bruised left knee without a definitive return date, Durant might guard James more than usual. In the Warriors’ win over Cleveland on Christmas Day this season, Durant made three defensive stops on James late in the game that the league said in its two-minute report should have been fouls.

And then there is the latest commentary on James arguably being more valuable to the Cavaliers than Durant is to the Warriors.

“No matter what they say or not, you want to prove your doubters wrong. We’ve all been like that,” Durant said. “Every human has been like that. In their whole lives, there has been something. You’ll use it as fuel and use it to push you. But at the same time, I just want to focus on how we can win the game and how to win the series.”

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Before that matchup, Durant sparked praise within the Warriors for balancing his scoring instincts while elevating his teammates. During the 2017-18 regular season, Durant averaged 26.4 points while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 5.4 assists, numbers that are somewhat similar to his career averages (27.1 points on 49 percent shooting, 3.9 assists). Durant showed similar efficiency in the Warriors’ first-round series against San Antonio (28.2 points on 48 percent shooting, 5.2 assists) and second-round matchup against New Orleans (27.8 points on 50.5 percent shooting, 4.8 assists). The Warriors also praised Durant for his subdued leadership style with his work habits as well as the positive reinforcement and constructive criticism he offered behind-the scenes.

After producing a steady line chart during those games, Durant’s play in Houston came in waves. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni conceded the inevitable that Durant will score whenever he wants to in Games 1 and 2. Houston soon found otherwise. Its relentless switching, coupled with Golden State’s inconsistent shooting, prompted Durant to become a high-volume shooter. So much that Warriors coach Steve Kerr prodded Durant during a Game 5 loss to trust his teammates more.

Durant chalked up those struggles toward “wanting it too much.” Durant conceded he forced shots, drove too fast to the basket and relied too much on his footwork and pump fakes instead of reading the defense.

“I just decided to just say, ‘Forget it, just hoop and play ball,’” Durant said. “I just tried to come out and play as hard as I can on the defensive side of the ball and let my offense come around, whereas the games before I was thinking about my offense coming into the game.”

Durant pledged he will not just think about his offense against Cleveland. After all, he will defend James at times. Then again, Durant pledged apathy how a head-to-head matchup might determine individual bragging rights and comparative legacies.

“I can’t think about myself more so than trying to help the team win,” Durant said. “We play a team sport. It’s all about the win.”

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