Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have to be among the most skilled duos in basketball right now. Durant has earned widespread acclaim as one of the greatest scorers of his generation for the effortless manner in which he can dominate and take over games. Irving, meanwhile, is one of the shiftiest dribbles and finishers that the game has ever seen.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has been drawing up schemes to defend these 2 players for years now and has conceded that they are on a different level as basketball players.
Erik Spoelstra on KD and Kyrie:
“There’s great players in this league, and then there’s great players that are a different level where you can’t really do anything to scheme against them." pic.twitter.com/oK4YSIHFpK
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 8, 2023
“I have heard each of them talk about the art of basketball and I think that describes them well. They just continue to elevate their craft. Their craft for the game. There’s great players in this league, and then there’s great players that are a different level where you can’t really do anything to scheme against them. You just have to do what you do extremely well, you can’t make mistakes, you have to make it tough and play really well. The way they can get to where they wanna go to and then see how they shoot is so uncommon because they see all these different schemes, everybody is challenging them everybody is trying to get into their airspace but they’re extremely accurate.”
There is no blueprint for stopping KD or Kyrie, as their careers have proven that the best you can do is hope to force them into a rough shooting night. What can stop them occasionally is unavailability, and the same will affect Durant now after he injured his knee in the Nets’ win against the Heat.
Can The Nets Sustain Winning Without Kevin Durant?
Kevin Durant is having an incredibly special season, proving to the world that he belongs in the MVP conversation. However, his injury means he will be ruled out for the foreseeable future, with a long absence also possible. The Nets have won 18 out of their last 20 games and keeping this win rate up is going to be impossible.
Hopefully, Kyrie Irving continues his strong form from over the last 20 games and leads the Nets to a strong stint that helps them maintain a good seed heading into the playoffs. KD will be missed but Kyrie will ensure it hurts as little as possible.
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