Kevin Durant is one of the best players of our generation. This is why whenever KD is on the floor, the opposing team needs to be on their toes the entire time when defending him.
Despite those efforts, more often than not, they fail to contain the Brooklyn Nets superstar. But in the Nets’ most recent fixture against the Dallas Mavericks, the Mavs found a way to contain Durant.
They constantly put double-teams on the 2x NBA champions, which worked in their favor. KD was restrained to 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists in 40 minutes. Although it isn’t a bad stat line by any means, KD’s standard is even higher than that.
As a result, the Mavs finished the game victorious with a scoreline of 113-111. Following the defeat, Durant was asked about his thoughts on the Mavs’ strategy to defend him in the postgame conference.
“Of course. Yes. That shows me that the level of respect is high. You know, for them to forget about their schemes as a team and forget about what they’ve been working on most of the year for them to do that.”
He also revealed what he told Jason Kidd during the game, “I asked Jason Kidd – ‘Well s**t, you pay Dorian Finney-Smith all that money, is he a defender or you gonna rely on this [defense] for these next 4 years on him?'”
KD concluded, “It was a smart smart strategy. Got to tip my hat to him. They executed it. But late in the game they did a good job of mixing it up. Sometimes I was driving and I had a lane and I thought there was going to be more help so I rushed the shot. They did a good job. I respect it.”
Kevin Durant takes it as a sign of "high" respect the Mavericks double & triple-teamed him tonight:
"I asked Jason Kidd – 'Well s**t, you pay Dorian Finney-Smith all that money, is he a defender or you gonna rely on this [defense] for these next 4 years on him?'" 😂 pic.twitter.com/9E9FCtkFMC
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) March 17, 2022
Knowing KD, he has never been shy of giving someone an earful when it is required. He did that while trash-talking to Kidd. Additionally, Durant also got into it with a few fans as the Nets suffered the 34th loss of the season.
With the season almost over, each game counts for the Nets. They are still in a play-in spot and will hope to get out of there before the regular season is finished.
