Durant: 0-10 FG in the 2nd Half

[picc]

Still nothing short of amazing to see adult males who have been watching basketball for decades this reactive to two games.

[SunsLyf3]

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

Not at all. 1 more ring and finals MVP, which is very likely in the next year or 2, and he would be right there(accolades wise cause talent wise he already is). LBJ career is near it's end while KD easily has another 5-6 years.

[og15]

I always laugh when people say this guy is on the same level as Kawhi and Bron in the postseason.

On the unstoppable Warriors maybe but on regular teams he's a tier below those 2

I love Kawhi, but Kawhi was 1/11 with 2 pts in the 2nd half of game 7 vs the Nuggets in 2020, and in game 6 he was a better but still poor 3/10 with 11 pts. He's not immune to poor performances. As a younger less experienced player, Kawhi in the 2015 Spurs vs Clippers series struggled late in the series. Part of what helped the Clippers win the series was Kawhi's poor shooting in the last 3 games (14.7 FGA, 29.5% FG, 20% 3PT)

[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.

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.

Saying KD is washed is stupid.

He was incredible all regular season. I'm going to treat it the way it is. 2 bad games.

He will be back Game 3 in Brooklyn, New York.

[toodles23]

You can tell there are a lot of people here who either didn't watch basketball before 2017 or completely forgot what Durant looked like when he wasn't playing on the most stacked team in NBA history. He looks a lot different when he doesn't get to play the entire game shooting over hopelessly overmatched single coverage as the defense's second priority. He had some major stinkers like these last two games on numerous occasions in his OKC days, it's not because he's washed up.

He has some major weaknesses in his game, particularly a very suspect handle, iffy decision making, court vision and passing ability, and contrary to his reputation as being supremely skilled, a somewhat limited scoring repertoire. He doesn't have much of a stepback game, doesn't have a lot of moves or great footwork in the post, isn't great at coming off screens for open looks or leveraging the threat of his shooting off ball, only really has one dribble move (a crossover that he's always had trouble using against the best defenders because his dribble is so high and slow), and doesn't have the physicality and handles to just bull his way to the rim when nothing else is working. None of this gets into his weaknesses defensively either, where he has a tendancy to completely disengage for long stretches.

His game is predicated on getting to his spots and elevating over the top of defenders, and when he's playing against teams that don't have the scheme and personnel to deal with that, he looks completely unstoppable, but against the right defense he can look totally mortal.

These weaknesses are why I've never considered him to be a serious candidate for the best player in the league and why he doesn't stack up to the true alltime great perimeter offensive engines like MJ, Magic, Lebron, Bird, and to a lesser extent Kobe and Curry (though Curry is obviously a very different kind of player than the others here).

As for major playoff stinkers from his OKC days, there's no shortage to choose from:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201305150OKC.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201305130MEM.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201404260MEM.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201404290OKC.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201405210SAS.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201105130MEM.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201004300OKC.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201004270LAL.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201004180LAL.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201604180OKC.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201604300SAS.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201605280OKC.html
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201605100SAS.html

[joeschmo]

I would bet some money that KD has/will read this thread.

[ChaseDown]

Well T-Mac said he & Kyrie are the most skillful duo ever so this was just a game that doesn’t exist. Never happened. KD too skillful for any of this to really happen. 0-0 until Ben plays then Ky & I finna ezmoneysnipe

[C0bR]

This is what KD has always been in the playoffs outside of getting to take open shots for GSW for a few years.

Some good rounds but far more Wilt-esque efficiency dropoffs.

[primecougar]

Yeah. Kawhi really put the clamps on LeBron in 2013 when the Heat won led by LeBron or in 2014 where LeBron had one of his best postseasons in his career.

the year the spurs won, kawahi clamped lebron. there's videos on YouTube showing that lbj scored some 60-70% of his points once the spurs were 15 or more. getting garbage points once the game is over isn't impressive

ya'll act like a 10 point lead in the 2nd half is garbage time, lmao.

It was actually 15+ and if thats so little why didnt the heat ever come back one time.

[Slacktard]

Read on Twitter

44% of Durants points in the playoffs this year are on free throws

[NZB2323]

I’m no Durant hater, but I think it’s crazy that some people have him ranked ahead of Hakeem. Compare the teammates they had when they won championships.

[Larry_Russell]

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

Not at all. 1 more ring and finals MVP, which is very likely in the next year or 2, and he would be right there(accolades wise cause talent wise he already is). LBJ career is near it's end while KD easily has another 5-6 years.

Easily 5-6 years? after having the injuries he has?

[Cavsfansince84]

I would bet some money that KD has/will read this thread.

read it? He's already replied at least 3-4 times in it.

[mademan]

the year the spurs won, kawahi clamped lebron. there's videos on YouTube showing that lbj scored some 60-70% of his points once the spurs were 15 or more. getting garbage points once the game is over isn't impressive

ya'll act like a 10 point lead in the 2nd half is garbage time, lmao.

It was actually 15+ and if thats so little why didnt the heat ever come back one time.

whether they did or didnt is irrelevant. 10 or even 15 in the 2nd half is absolutely within reach. Would you have Lebron just pack it up and go home at that point? Some ridiculous posts here. Garbage time is the final min of a game you have no chance in where the opposing team empties the bench because they have no chance of losing. Youre really stretching the meaning of garbage time here

[Pelly24]

Seeing KD get locked down this bad is jarring af and I'm not really sure I see a way around it. Nash like...hasn't done anything to help make things easier.

Kyrie was great game 1 against some pretty tough defense, but downright dreadful last game. He'll have to ball out for the Nets to have a chance. What's crazy is, the role players and the Nets defense --- two things people doubted all year --- have really been pretty solid. IF KD and Kyrie could get an efficient 25 ppg and keep turnovers love, they would have won both of these games.

But as is, i see this ending in 5 now. This is an indictment on this team and they should let kyrie go if he doesn't play well the restg of the series. He's the reason they're in this spot, and his attitude, untimely injuries and overall attitude haven't been worth it.

[KamikazeK]

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.

Nah.. It's just a completely different team. Boston is way better this year than last year. Last year they started Romeo Langford, and Jaylen Brown wasn't even playing.

You can't compare the two teams.

[soxfan2003]

I’m no Durant hater, but I think it’s crazy that some people have him ranked ahead of Hakeem. Compare the teammates they had when they won championships.

Hakeem was certainly better than KD. KD better on offense despite Hakeem's ability to score against double teams but Hakeem was also a great defender. And it wasn't like it took Hakeem a long time to make an impact in the NBA. He made the NBA finals in 1986.

[soxfan2003]

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.

Nah.. It's just a completely different team. Boston is way better this year than last year. Last year they started Romeo Langford, and Jaylen Brown wasn't even playing.

You can't compare the two teams.

Celtics finally moved on from small ball. I have been ranting against small ball for decades but especially the last 5 years. If the Celtics still had Kemba Walker instead of Horford and were playing him 30 minutes per game, series either tied 1-1 or Nets up 2-0.

[Ugalde]

I’m no Durant hater, but I think it’s crazy that some people have him ranked ahead of Hakeem. Compare the teammates they had when they won championships.

what? who the heck has kd above hakeem? is that a joke? no one could be that dumb

[BrianFitz]

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

Not at all. 1 more ring and finals MVP, which is very likely in the next year or 2, and he would be right there(accolades wise cause talent wise he already is). LBJ career is near it's end while KD easily has another 5-6 years.

And, again, against much tougher competition.