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All this raises issues, of course, about the logic of keeping Lee into the future, but we’ll all deal with that once this playoff run is over. (He had the short cameo in Game 6 against Denver.) Lee is credited for being their rebounding force and offensive maestro, yet mostly without him the Warriors have the second-best field-goal percentage (behind Miami) and third-best rebound percentage in this postseason. Before I get into the specific reasons, a few statistics on this issue: The Warriors are 5-2 in these playoffs when Lee plays less than two minutes in the playoffs, and 0-1 when he plays more than two minutes. They’re faster, more flexible, more aggressive, tougher, more balanced, better on defense and now they’re built around a powerful three-piece axis: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Bogut, a straight line of influence, and just ask the San Antonio Spurs how imposing that is. It freed the Warriors to be more of who they truly should be, actually. But at this advanced stage of Warriors activity - tied 1-1 with the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals - there just isn’t much doubt that Lee’s torn hip-flexor in Game 1 of the first round hasn’t hurt them. The Warriors don’t win 47 games without him, his work ethic, his ability to pile up double-digit rebounds and points (the much-publicized “double-double”) and his true vocal leadership. OK, let me also point out that Lee was absolutely necessary during the regular season when Andrew Bogut was out or limited and the team’s younger players were playing young. It’s a real thing, though: The Warriors are a more dangerous playoff team without Lee than they ever were when he was healthy. It’s quantifiable, it’s palpable and it’s only deniable if you view all things through the prism of David Lee’s All-Star reputation.