Durant: 0-10 FG in the 2nd Half

[DayofMourning]

Everyone is going to have some off shooting nights. Kobe, MJ, Lebron, etc. I'm sure Durant will go off at some point.

[bstein14]

Durant was so great last year in the playoffs... completely locked in. You have to wonder if all the **** with the Kyrie situation, Harden situation, and now the Simmons situation not being able to play this season has got him a bit less focused out there. He looked like the best player in the league last year but right now he clearly isn't. It also could be from that injury maybe he isn't 100% its hard to say for sure.

[homecourtloss]

KD is 2-13 with 7 turnovers when defended by Jason Tatum in this series. He’s been doubled a lot, but when the person directly defending him is Tatum, it’s been ugly for KD.

[timO]

Sheeeit he is over, 31% in this 2 games.

[bubonicphoniks]

Not sure. His sustained greatness is unarguable. He has made the impossible seem routine for years.

He doesnt look right mentally. He lost that game for them then came out and said hes going to shoot alot.

Its like he couldnt just let his team win without being the leader.

I give him a pass but its been bad.

Tough to be a Nets fan.

[GWVan]

KD is 2-13 with 7 turnovers when defended by Jason Tatum in this series. He’s been doubled a lot, but when the person directly defending him is Tatum, it’s been ugly for KD.

In 2022 Tatum>>>Durant
BTW, it's 2022

[Kobe187]

His dribbling is bad, because of his length his bounces aren’t very secure and he losses the ball way too much to deflections.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Kevin Durant is having a 2011 LeBron level meltdown in this series so far.

The stats don't even tell how bad he is. He can't make shots. Hes a turnover machine. And he has big defensive lapses.

Never in my life did I think there would be a question he would be the best player in this series.

I have never seen him play this bad in a Nets uniform. And he did it twice in a row.

In fact, I have routinely seen the Nets go on runs and play better when he is on the bench.

The Celtics do have a good defense. But this is nothing he or other great time players have not seen before.

Look at what LeBron had to deal with so many times in his career. How is this any different?

KD is doing incredible damage to his legacy by playing like this. Does anyone think the Celtics defense could shut down Giannis?

Even Kyrie was scorching the Celtics defense in Game 1. And the Celtics were throwing the kitchen sink at him by the 4th. Leaving KD in single coverage just to double Kyrie. And he was still making shots.

With all that being said, its just 2 games.

KD can easily go for 35 the next 2 games, tie the series, and redeem himself.

I think he will.

[Harry Garris]

His problems against the Celtics trapping defense stem mostly from a lack of an elite handle. If the Celtics are going to play that style Kyrie needs to be the guy setting up the offense because he's far more difficult to trap. Durant unfortunately doesn't handle double teams very well because he just can't dribble out of it.

Steph and Lebron could, sure, but they have their own weaknesses as well. I'm not convinced that just because a guy has one flaw in his game means he can't be a top tier player.

[Hello Brooklyn]

His problems against the Celtics trapping defense stem mostly from a lack of an elite handle. If the Celtics are going to play that style Kyrie needs to be the guy setting up the offense because he's far more difficult to trap. Durant unfortunately doesn't handle double teams very well because he just can't dribble out of it.

Steph and Lebron could, sure, but they have their own weaknesses as well. I'm not convinced that just because a guy has one flaw in his game means he can't be a top tier player.

Udoka seems to have inside knowledge of KD's weaknesses.

I think him spending a year on the Nets bench has been a huge disadvantage for the Nets.

[holdenwait]

not a Durant hater and have enough respect for him as a player/scorer but it always bugged the hell out of me when some folks openly stated that he's a top 10 all time player or something to that effect OR the current best player in the league. Never that high for me. Kyrie and him both stunk it up last night indeed but don't think they'll give up easily and fold in this series. Boston's defense was hugely effective yesterday, enough to get in his head and throw his rhythm for a couple of easier looks late in the 4th quarter as well.

[WarriorGM]

The Celtics were promptly dismissed by the Nets in last year's playoffs. It looks like they paid special attention to preparing how to deal with the Nets since then.

[CobraCommander]

I want to avoid recency bias but does KDs struggles to even dribble the ball against physical defenses make you doubt that he would have been effective in the Jordan, Magic or Bird era/s....in other words without complete freedom of movement does KD become just an aight player....? And not “the most skilled 7 footer ever”. Like does the fact that we can’t touch him ever give his slight frame and weak body a chance to excel when in other eras he would have just been ok at best

[Jadoogar]

KD has played poorly in the playoffs but he had to play a ton of minutes just to get in the play in. The benefits of playing with part time Kyrie and Ben Simmons.
He played 37 mpg this season, most he has played since 2013/14.

[CobraCommander]

Kevin Durant is having a 2011 LeBron level meltdown in this series so far.

The stats don't even tell how bad he is. He can't make shots. Hes a turnover machine. And he has big defensive lapses.

Never in my life did I think there would be a question he would be the best player in this series.

I have never seen him play this bad in a Nets uniform. And he did it twice in a row.

In fact, I have routinely seen the Nets go on runs and play better when he is on the bench.

The Celtics do have a good defense. But this is nothing he or other great time players have not seen before.

Look at what LeBron had to deal with so many times in his career. How is this any different?

KD is doing incredible damage to his legacy by playing like this. Does anyone think the Celtics defense could shut down Giannis?

Even Kyrie was scorching the Celtics defense in Game 1. And the Celtics were throwing the kitchen sink at him by the 4th. Leaving KD in single coverage just to double Kyrie. And he was still making shots.

With all that being said, its just 2 games.

KD can easily go for 35 the next 2 games, tie the series, and redeem himself.

I think he will.

Great post....it’s good to see a fan of a team and player be objective

[Nate505]

You all are not being fair to Durant. He needs a minimum of three more HOF players around him to be successful.

[CobraCommander]

His dribbling is bad, because of his length his bounces aren’t very secure and he losses the ball way too much to deflections.

He so frail that as soon as he gets contact, if there is no foul called, he is knocked off rhythm.

[Tanks1]

People are missing the point. This team need Joe Harris. With him on the floor, that "blitz" defense the Celtics are using, does not work. The other shooters are too small and inconsistent.

With that said, the Nets should be able to come up with a counter to that defense. Nash????

[xdrta+]

People are missing the point. This team need Joe Harris. With him on the floor, that "blitz" defense the Celtics are using, does not work. The other shooters are too small and inconsistent.

With that said, the Nets should be able to come up with a counter to that defense. Nash????

Nash's counter seems to be to hope KD starts making shots.

[SunsLyf3]

The Lebron fans are so desperate to end the LBJ vs KD debate just because Lebron is closer to KD in the all time debate than he is MJ or Kareem lol. Yeah I said it.