Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets have been eliminated from the 2022 NBA postseason. This was a season filled with drama and confusion for him. Durant left the Golden State Warriors during the 2019 offseason to win a title with Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
However, he seems to be moving away from his goal rather than moving towards it. He was eliminated in the previous postseason by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. This time he was swept out of the first round despite having a relatively healthy roster compared to last season.
Kevin Durant struggling offensively cost the Nets this series
The series between the Celtics and Nets is a revenge matchup of the first round last year. However, the Nets who won in 5 games last time ended up losing in 4. Kevin Durant deserves the majority of the blame for the lack of impact the Nets had in the series.
The Net’s offense runs through Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Therefore, when these two are not in an offensive zone, the Nets’ offense falls apart. Durant and Kyrie are not defensive-minded players. They simply rely on their talent to outscore the opponent.
However, the Celtic defense managed to stifle KD’s offense. Throughout the series, Durant scored 23 PTS 27 PTS, and 16 PTS in the first 3 games of the series. These low numbers are definitely not what a superstar should produce to carry his team through the playoffs.
To make matters worse Kevin Durant was quite inefficient, especially in the first two games of the series. He shot 37% and 23% in games 1 and 2. The 4-17 shooting night in game 2 was the worst Kevin Durant has played, ever since he entered his prime.
Having ineffective shooting nights and not being able to defend the young Celtics stars made the Brooklyn Nets fall into a 3-0 hole in this series. There has not been a single team in the NBA that has come back from a 3-0 deficit. Kevin Durant scored 39 PTS in game 4 hoping to keep the Net’s postseason alive.
However, the Brooklyn Nets were crushed at home by a younger more athletic Celtics squad who didn’t waste any time in putting away one of the most skilled offensive players of this generation