Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, right, shoots against Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic (15). (AP Photo/Ben Margot) By Rafael Bandayrel The Golden State Warriors are a safe bet to win this year's NBA finals and probably in the next couple of years. Despite being just number two in the West, Las Vegas odds-makers see the Dubs winning the Larry O'Brien trophy this year. It is not difficult to see why. The Warriors have four all-stars, three of which are top-10 players in the league. What’s difficult to imagine is a team that could match-up against Kevin Durant’s dominance, Stephen Curry’s magnetic offense, Draymond Green’s unrelenting hustle, and Klay Thompson’s cold-blooded shooting. Out of all the weapons that the Dubs possess, which one of them is the most vital? It is obvious that Thompson and Green – albeit being highly valuable – are not the top guys in Oakland. Golden State has two MVP’s in Durant and Curry. And one of them is more valuable to the dynasty, but which one? Durant is last year’s finals MVP as he led the Warriors to a near-sweep against the feisty Cleveland Cavaliers. In that series, KD averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. On paper, Durant clearly is the Warriors’ best player. But as we have seen in the past couple of years, the Warriors are capable of winning a championship without him. In 2017, Durant missed 19 games due to a knee injury. The Warriors, however, were unfazed as they went on to win 15 games and only lost four times in their forward’s absence. Credit should also be given to head coach Steve Kerr, who overcame the tragedy and went on to lead the team to its third title. More importantly, fans should be reminded that Golden State is still Curry’s team. During Durant’s absence last year, he carried the team to a successful campaign. And despite playing second fiddle to Durant during the finals, Curry is still the Warriors’ most valuable player. A couple of days ago, it was Curry who went down due to an ankle injury. The defending NBA champs then went on to lose the next two games without him, to Portland and Minnesota. Even the MVP candidate Durant admitted that he is missing the services of his co-star. “It's weird not having Steph out there," Durant told reporters. "And Andre and D-West, Jordan , so we're missing a lot, and we're just kind of playing on the fly each possession," he continued. Surely, a Warriors team with Durant as the centrepiece instead of Curry would also have been built for success. But the identity of the Warriors is based on “Chef” Curry largely. That statement, however, is not meant to undermining Durant’s importance or his contributions to the team. Just think of it this way: Curry brings Golden State to an elite level, and Durant widens gap from the rest of the elite teams.