Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets disappointed many people this year after finishing the 2021/22 NBA season the worst way, getting swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round, unable to beat the younger team that dominated them from start to the end.
KD and Kyrie Irving weren’t enough to get past Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, who pulled off a master plan to stop them, especially Durant. In the end, he couldn’t make a big impact on the results, leaving his team helpless against a well-rounded and coached Celtics squad that looked and was unstoppable.
Following the series, a lot of people had something to say about KD’s performance and how poor he played against a team he dominated last season. He fired back at those criticizing him, but things haven’t ended for the 2x NBA champion.
Skip Bayless, one of Durant’s biggest fans on the media, blasted the veteran for his performances against the Celtics, comparing him to other legends that wouldn’t have ‘folded’ against any rival. During his The Skip Bayless Show, the Fox Sports talent had this to say (20:10):
“As you know, the Celtics roughed up Kevin Durant and he crumbled and he folded. He was overwhelmed, ultimately overmatched. Mr. Burner accounts just got burnt.”
“His thin skin gave away, and it showed very little heart and little to no guts when push came to shove literally against that onslaught. The Celtics exposed Kevin Durant, dare I say soft, as intimidatable, as Kevin Ducan’t.”
Moreover, Skip mentioned three of the fiercest competitors in NBA history and compared Durant to them, claiming that Michael Jordan, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson wouldn’t have been overwhelmed by the task at hand.
“Game 4 was actually an indictment of Games 1, 2, and 3 when he was just completely overwhelmed by the onslaught. No great player, no alpha player would be overwhelmed. The (Michael) Jordans, the (Larry) Birds, the Magics (Johnson). Just give me the damn ball and get out of the way, I don’t care if two come after me. Two come after every great player, almost every possession. You just beat the double-team.”
KD had a big meltdown against the Celtics, comparable to the one LeBron James had in 2011 against the Dallas Mavericks. The Slim Reaper failed to bring his A-Game, which resulted in his team losing a big opportunity to get revenge after their painful loss last season.
Bayless suggests that Jordan, Bird, and Johnson would have had a different reaction to those strategies and would find a way to break their rivals. Well, that didn’t happen for KD, who is on vacation now, trying to reorganize and see what’s next for the Nets, who will be under a lot of pressure next campaign.
