Durant: 0-10 FG in the 2nd Half

[Impuniti]

To be fair, Durant is 35 now. Boston is a terrible match up for him.

But career wise, Durant has been an excellent post season scorer/player/closer. Statistically, anecdotally and overall eye test would prove this true. How is this even up for debate?

He's 33

[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????

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

He was/is a point guard. He should be able to come up with a counter move with two days prep time. If not, he should be fired.

[phanman]

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????

Umm, the other pieces are all making their shots from deep through two games:
Kyrie 6/11 = 54.5%
Brown 4/5 = 80%
Seth 5/10 = 50%
Mills 2/4 = $50

Except for Dragic who is 2/8 = 25%, but he is 12/17 from inside the arc.

If you look at the series stats, its KD's numbers that stand out for the wrong reasons: 13/41 FG = 31.7% & 2/7 from deep for 28.6%

The onus is on both KD and Nash imo. KD looks like he rushing with all the length that Boston is able to throw at him along with the constant doubles as he rises up/drives into the paint and Nash is literally running no sets to get him easy looks. All I seen in that 4th quarter where they had that crazy drought was the high screen with Kyrie to switch defenders and make the struggling attack 1on1... which he was unsuccessful more times than not.

If not for the gifted FT's, that 25ppg would look a whole lot worse.

[lambchop]

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.

And for whatever reason he continues to do crossovers in front of his body against shorter defenders, which is extremely difficult to pull off even for elite PGs

[Nate505]

Just lol @ "he isn't the same player anymore". He was doing this **** in his prime too. Not everybody forgets. Y'all just changed your tune because he went to a 73 win team and became a convient prop to use to diminish LeBron.

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.

You know, it is possible to detest them both.

[PistolPeteJR]

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.

What debate?

[bisme37]

I guess you have to be watching the games to understand this but it's not like KD has been out there sucking for no reason. He's got 2-3 guys contesting his shots and a swarm of plus defenders waiting to strip the ball from him whenever he dribbles.

The Celts overall defense still has room for improvement in this series but this is some of the best defense on a superstar scorer that I can remember.

I get the strong impression that Tatum's experience with KD in the Olympics is a big part of his remarkable success guarding him. They went at each other in practice all summer and clearly Tatum came away knowing something we didn't know until now. He has been owning the matchup and I'm so impressed.

[G35]

Objectively, Durant is better post Achilles than Kobe.

But Durant's had an up and down career with the injuries in his prime, which Kobe didn't have, missing '19 and '15. And '16 he played poorly when it mattered.

No one thinks he's as good as LeBron or Kobe though, but in his prime, he was a top 2 player in the league for a couple of years.

What he's doing at 33 post Achilles is impressive though, and to knock him for 1 bad game given that is silly.

Kobe playoff career, 26, 5, 5 on 48 percent EFG
Durant payoffs - 30, 8, 4 on 53 percent EFG

A lot of people would take Durant 5 year prime over Kobes.

They would and they would be wrong. And I think Durant is the best all around jump shooter.

But Durant's greatest strength is also a weakness. His lankiness/height makes it so he is not a dynamic dribbler, so double teams can bother him more than Kobe. He can't create and move the ball out of double teams with the same agility and wiggle as Kobe. Kobe can also get to the basket better than Durant.

What I see is the problem for the Nets is that Kyrie, should be doing Kobe-like things but he is not. He should be breaking down the defense and getting Durant more one on one looks or open looks. But the offense is basically a your turn/my turn between Kyrie and KD...its not effective with the energy, length, and physicality that the Celtics are putting on the Nets. They need a point guard to get Kyrie and KD better shots...CP3 would be nice to have.....

[phanman]

I guess you have to be watching the games to understand this but it's not like KD has been out there sucking for no reason. He's got 2-3 guys contesting his shots and a swarm of plus defenders waiting to strip the ball from him whenever he dribbles.

The Celts overall defense still has room for improvement in this series but this is some of the best defense on a superstar scorer that I can remember.

I get the strong impression that Tatum's experience with KD in the Olympics is a big part of his remarkable success guarding him. They went at each other in practice all summer and clearly Tatum came away knowing something we didn't know until now. He has been owning the matchup and I'm so impressed.

That plus the more I watch the lineups you guys have on the floor, there is length & strength all over the floor to bother him. Theis, Tatum and Horford are all 6'8-6'9 and although Brown/Grant are only 6'6 they are built like ox's so he doesn't have the ability to just bully them to get any closer to the rim.

You guys do an amazing job of playing straight up for like 75% of the possession and as soon as he gets into his shooting/scoring motion the second defender is usually always there to help with the contest. With all the extra defensive attention, he's been rushing a lot of his jumpers which as caused many of them to be just off. Honestly that 4th quarter display where the team just completely shut down the entire team for like 9-10 minutes was the most amazing defensive execution i've seen all season.

That plus the offensive game plan from Nash isn't doing him any favors. He has to work so damn hard to get generate any open looks and as I mentioned in a previous post, getting some a small mismatch on whomever is guarding Kyrie with the switch isn't working for them. Yet the coaching staff insists on running the same play over and over again.

[r0drig0lac]

Durant without another superstar...

[Cavsfansince84]

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.

You let the world know when KD has 4 mvps or 4 fmvps or 37k points.

[Fencer reregistered]

I guess you have to be watching the games to understand this but it's not like KD has been out there sucking for no reason. He's got 2-3 guys contesting his shots and a swarm of plus defenders waiting to strip the ball from him whenever he dribbles.

The Celts overall defense still has room for improvement in this series but this is some of the best defense on a superstar scorer that I can remember.

I get the strong impression that Tatum's experience with KD in the Olympics is a big part of his remarkable success guarding him. They went at each other in practice all summer and clearly Tatum came away knowing something we didn't know until now. He has been owning the matchup and I'm so impressed.

That plus the more I watch the lineups you guys have on the floor, there is length & strength all over the floor to bother him. Theis, Tatum and Horford are all 6'8-6'9 and although Brown/Grant are only 6'6 they are built like ox's so he doesn't have the ability to just bully them to get any closer to the rim.

You guys do an amazing job of playing straight up for like 75% of the possession and as soon as he gets into his shooting/scoring motion the second defender is usually always there to help with the contest. With all the extra defensive attention, he's been rushing a lot of his jumpers which as caused many of them to be just off. Honestly that 4th quarter display where the team just completely shut down the entire team for like 9-10 minutes was the most amazing defensive execution i've seen all season.

That plus the offensive game plan from Nash isn't doing him any favors. He has to work so damn hard to get generate any open looks and as I mentioned in a previous post, getting some a small mismatch on whomever is guarding Kyrie with the switch isn't working for them. Yet the coaching staff insists on running the same play over and over again.

He probably should pass more out of late double teams. But of course that requires smart positioning by his teammates, practice for him, etc.

[DwayneSchintzus]

The thing that struck me watching last night, is that Durant has shifted into a different phase of his career- unless he has an undisclosed injury of course.

A couple of years ago it would have been unheard of for him to have such a bad game, i don't care what the defense was. Not just the shooting but the turnovers as well.

The boston defense has been PHENOMENAL so give credit to them but the defense didn't use to matter to Durant. He has slipped.

[scrabbarista]

I guess you have to be watching the games to understand this but it's not like KD has been out there sucking for no reason. He's got 2-3 guys contesting his shots and a swarm of plus defenders waiting to strip the ball from him whenever he dribbles.

The Celts overall defense still has room for improvement in this series but this is some of the best defense on a superstar scorer that I can remember.

I get the strong impression that Tatum's experience with KD in the Olympics is a big part of his remarkable success guarding him. They went at each other in practice all summer and clearly Tatum came away knowing something we didn't know until now. He has been owning the matchup and I'm so impressed.

Yes, I've seen Tatum know what move KD is going to make before KD himself knows at least once or twice in this series. I could be wrong, but the Celtics as a whole seem to understand that Durant likes to go from his left hand/foot to his right/into his shot to get into a rhythm; they're pouncing as soon as he even hints at that motion to the left, and he's getting stuck with nowhere to go. I could be wrong, but I've seen it more than once, and the C's were so quick about it - and KD seemed so flustered by it - that I immediately assumed it was straight out of the film room from the first time I saw Tatum do it.

Also, ditto to most of the KD is overrated comments. He's great, just not on the level a lot of media chooses to claim. He's top twenty all-time, maaaybe top fifteen. If you have him top twelve or you think he's ever for one second been the best in the world, then you're missing something.

[Woodsanity]

Still better than Fraudbiid 0-12 last year against the Hawks.

[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.

You let the world know when KD has 4 mvps or 4 fmvps or 37k points.

Poor KD. He's such a scrub with his 2 FMVP, Regular season MVP and 4x scoring champ while playing vs much tougher competition in the Western Conference.

[DroseReturnChi]

Durant without another superstar...

ahahaha. so kyrie is the guy to blame not himself? i knew kyrie would be getting blame for kd's own underperformance. its not kyrie forced kd to play poor.

[DroseReturnChi]

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.

just admit it and say your star is washed. if kd a one dimensional scorer cant score over multiple defenders like he used to do in entire career, its over for him and nets. he is not multi dimensional like jokic to provide defense or playmaking. i have said even lebron got washed few yrs ago and this moment kd choking 2 games is a sign he is washed.

the horrible thing most all time greats or superstars dont decline this fast it kinda proves kd is not a great player he would have had retired ringless and be a low tier HOF if he stayed in OKC. I was expecting prime at least until 38 given that he is not high usage like lebron.

[AmIWrongDude]

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.

You let the world know when KD has 4 mvps or 4 fmvps or 37k points.

Poor KD. He's such a scrub with his 2 FMVP, Regular season MVP and 4x scoring champ while playing vs much tougher competition in the Western Conference.

Gonna take a lot of mental gymnastics to make him seem close to LeBron

[SF_Warriors]

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.

You let the world know when KD has 4 mvps or 4 fmvps or 37k points.

Poor KD. He's such a scrub with his 2 FMVP, Regular season MVP and 4x scoring champ while playing vs much tougher competition in the Western Conference.

So KD has less fmvps, less mvps, and less championships...whats your point exactly?