The Warriors currently rank 3rd in the league with a defensive rating of 95.7 – just .3 points better than 4th place Memphis. It doesn’t seem like much, but when you consider that they average 111 PPG and have only given up 100 or more twice this year, it’s pretty impressive for such an efficient defense.
In their last two games against Dallas and Boston (both bottom four on offense), Durant brought iso ball to Klay Thompson and Steph Curry on occasion.: “We’re going to have to mix in individual play.”
In the game against the New York Knicks, Kevin Durant scored a career-high 51 points. In Golden State, Durant is averaging 28.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The “kevin durant golden state” is a player who has been integral to their success this season.
Kyle Terada of USA TODAY Sports contributed to this report.
Kevin Durant is one of the most talented basketball players who has ever graced the court. He is almost 7 feet tall and plays a smooth style that few guards can match. He’s also one of the finest shooters in the game, which is why when he departed the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2017, the league was outraged.
KD would go on to win two championships in three seasons while playing incredible basketball. Golden State’s success stemmed from their team motion offense, in which the ball was passed from player to player. Many people feel Durant adapted brilliantly, yet he made a personal sacrifice to help his team win.
KD has already voiced his displeasure with the Warriors’ offense in 2019. The season was overshadowed by Durant’s upcoming free agency, which many believed to culminate in his departure from the club. Steve Kerr retaliated when Durant publicly chastised him for the infraction.
Durant said this in an interview with The Wall Street Journal after leaving the franchise for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
“The motion offense that Golden State uses only works up to a point.” For the first two rounds, we may depend entirely on our system. Then we’ll have to mix in individual play for the following two rounds. We need to confuse teams because they are more intelligent in that round of the playoffs.
“So now I have to go deep into my bag to come up with something on my own, off the dribble, isos, pick-and-rolls, rather than relying on the offense to score.”
Durant recognizes that the playoffs are a different beast, with opponents slowing down games to the point where team setups become less efficient. Even when the game has reached such stages, the best players have built their names as one-man attacking units that are unbeatable.
The 2016 NBA Finals are an excellent illustration of this, as the Warriors were defeated by the individual performances of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in the final games, particularly Game 7.
In a lengthy interview with The Athletic, Steve Kerr addressed these remarks and essentially agreed with Durant.
“What Kevin said didn’t bother me in the least because it’s essentially the truth,” Kerr added. “Any system, I mean, I used to play the triangle with Michael Jordan.” The offense was far more consistent during the regular season and the first few rounds of the playoffs than it was in the conference finals and the championship game. “It simply happened.”
“That’s why people like Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant are who they are,” Kerr concluded. They have the ability to overcome any defense. However, the ferocity of the game, along with the fact that officials can’t reasonably call a foul every time, means that superstars must take over in the playoffs. A Finals defense will not be diced up by any scheme. You’ll have to depend on solo play. I didn’t find (his remark) to be insulting. That is a fact in my opinion…
“I think of the 2016-17 season, Kevin’s first year, as truly our pinnacle,” Kerr remarked. “Every year, we had fantastic offenses. But that year, we had a fantastic mix of movement and flow, as well as systemic success and his 1-on-1 brilliance. That was the pinnacle of our offense’s performance.”
As Kerr said, the 2016-17 Warriors’ offense is widely regarded as one of the most refined in basketball history. They were able to strike the ideal mix between team play and solitary play when necessary. Kevin Durant had several isolation plays on LeBron James in the 2017 Finals, including late-game daggers that helped him win the MVP award.
When Durant joined the Warriors, they weren’t constructed to endure. However, they were created to rule, and they did it throughout their time together. Due to injuries to Durant and Klay Thompson, their aspirations of completing a three-peat were dashed. Despite their short tenure spanning seasons, the club will be regarded as an offensive powerhouse that accomplished what they set out to do until destiny intervened in the 2019 Finals with injuries.
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