On April 21, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs first round G2, the Nets lost 107-114 to the Celtics, and the series scored 0-2 behind. Kevin Durant played 42 minutes, shooting 4-of-17, 1-of-2 three-pointers, 18-of-20 from the free throw line, scoring 27 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, with 6 turnovers, plus-minus of -10. Kyrie Irving played 40 minutes, 4-of-13, 0-of-1 three-pointers, and only had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.
Apparently, both Duou did not perform well in this game, Durant was 0-of-10 in the second half, while Irving was 1-of-7 in the second half, and the two only had eight points in the final quarter. The Nets were five points ahead of the Celtics in the first three quarters, but in the last seven minutes of the quarter, the Green Army played a 16-1 offensive climax and won the game, and the Nets were helplessly reversed by 17 points. For his part, Durant has been sluggish in two consecutive games, shooting just 32 percent from 41 of his last two playoff games, and 12 turnovers, with a plus-minus of -23, the Nets' lowest.
Durant's two consecutive downturns have been due to the fact that the Celtics have an excellent front group, and the wheel war between Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Horford and Grant Williams has consumed Durant in turn, and they not only give Durant a tough physical confrontation when he receives the ball, but also the pinch is like a shadow, making Durant play very awkwardly throughout the game. In addition to Durant's need to crack the Green Army's highly targeted defensive strategy and get out of the slump, he also encountered two other problems.
According to statistics, Durant has averaged 41.3 minutes per game in the past 11 games (including regular season and play-offs), and 9 games have played more than 40 minutes, of which the fewest games have played 37 minutes and the most have 42 minutes. In Durant's last six games, he has played at least 41 minutes in each game. Given the intensity of the series against the Green Army, and durant's serious injury to a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Nets need to consider reducing Durant's playing time as appropriate.
In addition, the Nets not only rely too much on Durant on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end. Due to the Nets' guard line in the defensive end of the natural shortcomings of the height, they are obviously at a disadvantage in the single defense against the Green Army forward group, which requires the Nets to carry out a large number of internal contractions to protect the guard zone, and Durant is a co-protection basket player that the Nets rely on very much, which makes Durant tired of running at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and the physical fitness in the second half is obviously affected, which is also a problem that coach Steve Nash needs to help solve.
It is worth mentioning that according to NBA reporters, the Nets have fallen behind 0-2 in the series 12 times in the playoffs, but their final series record is 0-12. Considering that the Nets have lost two games in a row, and the Green Army itself is very fond of confrontation and has a forward advantage, whether Durant can lead the Nets to turn the situation around, let's wait and see!