Kevin Durant is single-handedly going to win this series for the Nets
48 minutes, 49 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. These are Kevin Durant’s numbers from Brooklyn’s impressive comeback in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Durant also shot 16-23 from the floor, including 4-9 from three-point range.
Not only will this go down as one of the best playoff performances of all-time, especially if Brooklyn wins this series, but this type of performance from Durant only gives the Nets more fuel for their fire.
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Seeing their leader go out there and be dominant over one of the best defensive teams in the league gives the other Nets players a ton of confidence heading into Game 6 of this series, which is bad news for the Milwaukee Bucks!
We are going to remember this Game 5 performance from Durant for what he did offensively, but every time down the floor on defense, Kevin Durant was the one making plays for the Nets. From being able to block shots, to grabbing rebounds, to forcing the Bucks to move the ball when they did not want to, Durant put his foot down and did not let Milwaukee beat him in the second-half.
This is why Kevin Durant is proving why he is the best player in the world right now and this is why the Nets are going to win this series. Durant is doing exactly what the Bucks need Giannis to do, and that is taking on the challenge of guarding the opposing team’s best player and forcing his opponents to change their style of play offensively.
Throughout the second-half of Game 5, the Bucks looked completely different than they did in the first-half on offense because of how Durant was defending them. He took on the challenge of being everywhere defensively for the Nets, which forced the Bucks out of the paint and forced them to take dumb shots that they ultimately did not make.
This was a dominant performance for Kevin Durant not just on offense, but this was a career-defining performance for him on defense as well. Defense wins champions and in Game 5, Durant and the Nets simply wanted it more than Giannis and the Bucks.
Until the leashes are loosened around the necks of the Bucks players by their coaching staff and they are given freedom to just play basketball, they are not going to be a championship-caliber team like the Brooklyn Nets are. There are still potentially two games left in this series and of course, “anything can happen,” but from what we saw in Game 5 and the performance that Durant had, this series is over and the Nets are going to be going to the Eastern Conference Finals.
