Portland Trail Blazers' Seth Curry does not think the Golden State Warriors are a better team without Kevin Durant but he does think the two-time reigning NBA champions are harder to guard.

Golden State star Durant missed the opening game of the Western Conference finals due to a calf strain as the Warriors beat the Trail Blazers 116-94 on Tuesday.

Curry – the younger brother of Warriors superstar Stephen Curry – was asked about facing Golden State without Durant ahead of Thursday's Game 2 at Oracle Arena.

"I think they are harder to guard [without Durant]," Seth Curry told The Athletic. "They move around faster when he's not out there. They're definitely not a better team, but they're harder to guard.

"Obviously, they play a different style of basketball when Steph and [Golden State guard] Klay [Thompson] are the focal points offensively, and we haven't played that team in a while. We've got to re-shift our focus and make some adjustments."

Portland's Curry scored three points on one-of-seven shooting in Game 1, while his brother finished with 36 points and hit nine three-pointers to lead Golden State to victory.

Durant – a two-time champions and NBA Finals MVP – has not played since he suffered the injury in Golden State's Game 5 win over the Houston Rockets last week.

He is still "not close" to returning, according to an earlier report from ESPN.

Warriors team-mate Klay Thompson told reporters Durant is "dying" to get back on the court.

"Just him being back there in the locker room and being around practice, I know he’s just dying to get out there on the court," Thompson said, via The Mercury News. "But we definitely feel his energy, and we can't wait until he comes back. We miss him."