After being visibly bothered by the LA Clippers defense in Games 1 and 2, aKevin Durant may look to change up his approach in Game 3.
Two games into the series and Kevin Durant has had early exits in both. The LA Clippers have given the task of guarding the superstar to Patrick Beverley leading to mixed success.
Though he scored 23 points in Game 1 and 21 points in Game 2, Durant has looked bothered by the Clips’ defensive schemes. He understands that an adjustment will need to be made on his end in order to keep the Clippers from getting yet another upset victory.
During media availability yesterday, Durant addressed the Clips’ scheme.
Kevin Durant goes extremely in depth on the Clippers style of defense, the overhelp, why he won’t get caught up in a 1-on-1 battle with Patrick Beverley pic.twitter.com/nOdmTDY4yi
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 17, 2019
For those of you who can’t listen, I’ve transcribed two of the main points he makes.
"I got a pest, Patrick Beverley, who’s underneath me. I could definitely shoot over top and score every time if it’s a one-on-one situation, but we got a guy that’s dropping and helping and another guy that’s just sitting on me, waiting for me to dribble the basketball. If I put the basketball on the floor, I can, you know, I can probably make 43% of my shots if I shoot ’em like that, but that’s not really going to do anything for us for the outcome of the game because we got a nice flow. Everyone’s touching the rock. Everyone’s shooting and scoring. I’m not going to get in the way of the game because I want to have a little back and forth with Patrick Beverley. I’m Kevin Durant. You know who I am. Y’all know who I am."
When asked about the uniqueness of this defense being played against him, Durant started off by saying he had seen it before, but then acknowledged this version was slightly different.
"In this series, it’s kind of weird. You’ve got the advantage, but the refs see, you know… We hear David and Goliath a lot growing up, so that story is pretty much prominent in people’s minds. When you put that out there on the court versus me, then the refs (are) gonna give him a little bit more. So when he run up on me like a pit bull grabbing me, holding me, I don’t mind it. That’s how he makes his money. That’s how he feeds his family. But, if I throw something back, then let us play. You get what I’m saying? So, I got four, five offensive fouls like that. I’m just trying to figure out, you know, each possession how to be more effective without getting offensive fouls."
The second quote is the key here. Durant did realize after Game 1 that he couldn’t chirp back and forth with Beverley in Game 2, but still engaged in the physicality, leading to him fouling out.
Durant seemingly recognizes now that his offensive game has to change for the series. Expect a much more patient game from him tonight and going forward. The Clippers have been sagging off any non-shooters on the court for Golden State (Draymond Green, Jordan Bell, Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala) and providing help on Durant. This has mucked up his game and helped lead to nine turnovers by just him on Monday night.
Tonight, expect him to set up and evaluate his situation. As he touched on, he is much bigger than Beverley and can shoot over him. Using this height advantage, he may also be able to find better passing lanes to set up teammates.
GSW's done this some but I suspect that they'll use Draymond as a screener and DHO guy more in this capacity for the rest of this series. The Clippers "guarding" of Draymond leads may lead to a ton of opportunities like this. pic.twitter.com/7intU8BKv1
— Justin W. (@LAClippersFilm) April 18, 2019
If the Warriors run more action like this, Durant could easily be the one in position to make the pass to a cutting Curry or Thompson. Should that work a few times early on, the help could start to hesitate, allowing Durant to make a move towards the basket unhindered.
He could also be used more as a screener tonight. LA has been switching some on pick and rolls, so it’s possible Durant as the screener could cause some issues. While Beverley has been excellent at pestering him, having Landry Shamet or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander switched on could give him enough space to really go to work.
Saying he will be patient isn’t to say he will be less aggressive. Durant just has to pick when he needs to attack and when to defer. If he’s able to “figure out, you know, each possession how to be more effective without getting offensive fouls”, the Clippers could find themselves in yet another large deficit.