When the Golden State Warriors added the superstar Kevin Durant to the greatest regular-season team in N.B.A. history, the general reaction was that the season was effectively over. Fans, sportswriters and even opposing players began to speculate on how many more titles the Warriors would win and how many records they would break.
But with the N.B.A. season about half over, it has not worked out quite as expected for the Warriors. The team has the best record in the N.B.A., but has amassed seven losses, compared with nine in all of last season. On Monday night, they lost, 105-102, to the Miami Heat, who are enduring a miserable season at 15-30.