The Rockets choked a 15-point lead against the Clippers tonight to lose 102-105 down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant spoke to the media after the game and reflected on the upcoming All-Star break and his opinions on the competitive nature of the coveted weekend.
“You should ask the Europeans, the world team, if they are going to compete. I mean, we look at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic now. Let’s go back and look at what they do in the All-Star game. Is that competition?” questioned Durant while putting the spotlight on Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
“So, we haven’t questioned what they’ve been doing, but we’re going to question oldheads and the Americans. But these two dudes out there, Luka and Jokic, they don’t care about the game at all,” said the Rockets’ superstar while shifting blame.
“These dudes are lying on the floor. They shoot from half court. But you’ve got to worry about the old heads playing hard. I can read between the lines, bro. I’m just saying that I can read between the lines,” Durant said as he pointed to the media’s hypocrisy with the narrative around Americans.
“And it’s not just about you. It’s just the overall topic that everybody has been talking about. You just happened to ask me that question,” concluded Durant. He reassured the reporter that he was addressing the competitiveness of the All-Star break and wasn’t unhappy with his question.
The reporter followed up to ask him about Victor Wembanyama from Team World, representing their stance, and saying he would ensure his team competes. But Durant was not convinced.
“We’ll see. I mean, we’ll see. Yeah. Of course, Vic said that last year, too. And they said it was the worst All-Star game that people watched, you know? So, we’re going to see, you know, what I’m saying? And who knows what’s going to happen? This format might change the game, but who knows? We’ll see,” concluded Durant on the All-Star game.
The league’s upper management and the old players in the NBA are facing a lot of scrutiny for making the All-Star game competitive. Durant simply highlighted the uncertain nature of a game where a roster that has never played together is asked to perform and compete at the highest level without any practice together.
Durant finished tonight with 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and one block while shooting 7-15 from the floor (46.7 FG%) and 3-9 from the floor (33.3 FG%) as the Rockets came up short going into the All-Star weekend.
They fell to 33-20 for the season, going into the All-Star break fourth in the West. Upon their return to action, they will face the Hornets on Thursday, February 19.
