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Durant pushes back on critics questioning his leadership ability

 


Kevin Durant is the kind of player that lets his play do the talking, He's not the "ra-ra" type to give fiery pregame speeches nor is he known to get in his teammates' faces for making a mistake.

So, of course on the heels of a heroic playoff performance from his former teammate, Steph Curry, the Durant haters were out challenging his leadership capabilities.


The Brooklyn Nets superstar isn't afraid to mix it up with detractors on Twitter by setting the record straight.

One of the more interesting tidbits from Durant came when he mentioned that the team's coaches and assistant coaches were the primary source of leadership in his estimation.

That shouldn't necessarily be a slight to Steve Nash, but questions are mounting about his ability to reel in an non-committal Kyrie Irving and run an offense that maximizes his roster's talent and a defense that masks the team's deficiencies.

Only time will tell if Durant or Nash will spearhead a Brooklyn title push, but the more success  Golden State and Curry have, the more critics will attack Durant and the Nets.


Curry's playoff numbers against C's are eye popping compared to Durant's



 The Brooklyn Nets remain the only NBA team to be swept out of the 2022 NBA playoffs.



Think about that.  A team led by Kevin Durant and with Kyrie Irving as his running mate failed to not only get out of the first round, but to win a single playoff game.

It's pretty astonishing, but if you watched the turmoil of the Nets' regular season, in the end, it wasn't all that shocking.

Durant struggled mightily with turnovers as he was blitzed by constant double teams directed by Ime Udoka and the Celtics. Steve Nash and his staff failed to make any adjustments and the results spoke for themselves.

Flash forward a few series wins later for Boston and an enjoyable vacation in Greece for Durant, Steph Curry is slicing and dicing up the Celtics defense that stymied this era's greatest scorer.

Admittedly, Curry is not facing constant double teams like Durant and he's feasting on drop coverage that gives him just enough airspace to launch his lethal 3-pointers. The Nets roster construction and supporting cast is vastly different from the Warriors and thus Udoka has defended them in a completely different way.

However, the league's greatest players need to be problem solvers on the court. While Durant received very little help from his teammates, his individual numbers and the team's success pales in comparison to what Curry and Golden State are doing to Boston right now in the NBA Finals.

How Steph's historic night at age 34 might inspire Durant

When the 2022-23 NBA regular season gets underway, Kevin Durant will have just turned 34 years of age. Still in his prime, but with a likelihood that some slippage in durability and explosiveness will start to rear its head in the coming seasons.
Look no further than Steph Curry's monumental performance to even the series with the Celtics by dropping 43 points in a do-or-die scenario. Even more impressive is the fact that Curry joined some elite company alongside Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only three players to score 40-plus points in the NBA Finals at 34 or older. That performance by Curry should light a fire under Durant and in some way inspire the superstar to maintain confidence he can stay on top of his game as he approaches his mid-30's. The reality is, the Brooklyn Nets title window is here and now. 

Unless unforseen transactions bring top level talent to help Durant, Kyrie Irving and newly acquired point guard Ben Simmons, the Nets need to clinch an NBA Finals berth in the next two years for this era of Nets'basketball not to be considered a failure.

 All told, Curry and Durant have a mutual respect, but just like the Michael Jordan and Larry Bird McDonald's commercials that ran in the early 90's, they also believe "anything you can do, I can do better."

Durant Revealed as Statistically Best NBA Player of All-Time

THE GAME DAY
Kevin Durant is often lauded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, but a new study by The Game Day concludes he is actually the greatest of All-Time (GOAT), statistically speaking. The study uses several metrics to reach this conclusion including total number of rebounds and assists to turnovers and personal fouls and averaged them out over the total number of years played.


Durant, followed by Nikola Jokic and Larry Bird ranked highest on the GOAT meter. Honorable mention included LeBron James ranked No. 6 and Michael Jordan No. 10. The full study can be found here.

It's unlikely this will once and for all put an end to the NBA GOAT debate, but its data-centric approach will at least be a talking point for fans.

KD scoffs at his ranking among NBA's all-time one-on-one scorers

 


Kevin Durant is no stranger to mixing it up with reporters, fans and trolls on Twitter. The Brooklyn Nets superstar has had plenty of time on his hands since his club was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by Boston.

Durant has been the recipient of plenty of bashing, but even when high praise was sent his way, the NBA legend took it as a backhanded compliment.






 Perhaps Durant is looking at this simply for what it is, praising his one-on-one ability and diminishing his role as a team leader and player. Or perhaps he thinks he's the best player scorer of all-time.

Only Durant knows the answer to these questions and the all-time great comparisons are for the fans and media to debate and players to roll their eyes at.


 

Durant has been subjected to a lot of trash talking regarding his role on the Warriors back to back NBA Finals winning clubs and whether he or Steph Cherry was the true leader and number one threat to opponents.

That debate will rage on, but it's pretty clear through three games that the Warriors could use Durant as they are in danger of going down 3-1 in the finals against Boston.

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