The Celtics, armed with Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, have clearly made things difficult for Kevin Durant on the offensive end through the first two games of the Nets' first-round series.
Durant, after shooting 0-for-10 from the floor in the second half of Wednesday night's game two loss, is shooting just 13-for-41 from the field in the series while committing 12 turnovers. Every time Durant gets the ball, or even makes an effort to get the ball, Boston is immediately swarming in an effort to neutralize the best player on the floor.
"They're playing two, three guys on me sometimes when I'm off the ball," Durant said after game two. "They're mucking up actions when I run off stuff. I see [Al] Horford leaving his man to come over to hit me sometimes. Two or three guys hit me wherever I go. That's just the nature of the beast in the playoffs.
"I see a few of their guys around me every time I get the ball or when I'm setting up, so I gotta be more patient, but also play fast sometimes too, and off the ball, move a little faster or screen a little harder for my guys to get free."
Durant has been held to historically low numbers so far through these first two games, and it's clear that the Nets have no hope of surviving the first round unless Durant can get it going on the offensive end. Boston's increased physicality showed in Durant's 20 trips to the free throw line in game two, but Durant needs to find some efficiency from the floor if Brooklyn is to fight its way back into the series.
"Just come back and play. Just get ready for work tomorrow and keep grinding," Durant said. "I'm gonna turn the ball over, I'm gonna shoot the ball a lot in the playoffs and play a lot of minutes. I'm gonna be expected be aggressive a lot throughout this series."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
