NBA News Update: Rudy Gobert fires back at Kevin Durant, Kendrick Perkins lambasts Pascal Siakam after Toronto Raptors defeat
The latest NBA News Update discusses the possibility that Rudy Gobert and Kevin Durant may have gotten involved in a verbal spat after the Utah Jazz center seemed to respond to the Brooklyn Nets star's indirect jab at the two-time defensive player of the year.
Kevin Durant, talking to JJ Redick on his podcast 'The Old Man and the Three', discussed the recently-released 2019-20 NBA All-Defensive teams and indirectly took a dig at Rudy Gobert.
Kendrick Perkins, meanwhile, took to Twitter to lay into Pascal Siakam after the All-Star failed to turn up in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Boston Celtics, which saw his Toronto Raptors side crash out of the playoffs. He also discussed his alleged bad blood with Toronto Raptors fan and world-famous rapper, Drake.
Finally, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lauded the Toronto Raptors team for their valiant efforts in making it to the NBA Eastern Conference finals, which ultimately fell short.
NBA News Update: Rudy Gobert responds to Kevin Durant jibe?
Rudy Gobert is undoubtedly one of the best rim protectors in the league and has won two consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards for his excellent effort when it comes to defending.
However, the French big man is far for perfect as he struggled to defend the pick-and-roll in the Utah Jazz's humiliating first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. Jamal Murray had field days as Gobert failed to contain the explosive guard, and Kevin Durant took a sly dig at him:
"There's a huge discrepancy between what players think and what the media thinks. I see a lot of Defensive Player of The Year's who teams have targetted in the playoffs. And had to play them off the court coz they couldn't guard a pick and roll."
Durant made it clear that he doesn't rate Rudy Gobert as highly as many others do, despite not taking his name directly. Gobert may have responded to Durant just as stealthily, going by his latest tweet.
He took Durant's criticism lightly and converted it into praise for his exceptionally high standards in defense.
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NBA News Update: Kendrick Perkins discusses bad blood with Drake, disses Pascal Siakam's performance
After yet another terrible offensive display from Pascal Siakam in a game where the Toronto Raptors simply needed him to fire, Kendrick Perkins tweeted to apologise for initially rating the Cameroonian as highly as Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum.
Siakam scored above his regular-season average in just one of 7 games in this Eastern Conference semi-final series, and his lack of production was one of the main reasons behind Toronto's exit from this year's NBA playoffs.
Also, Kendrick Perkins claimed that there was 'no bad blood' between him and world-famous rapper Drake when ESPN host Rachel Nichols asked him about their altercation in the NBA Eastern Conference finals back in 2018.
Perkins felt there was no reason for things to be ugly between the two as he was certain Drake listens to him on TV just as much as he listens to Drake's music.
NBA News Update: Justin Trudeau lauds the Toronto Raptors team despite defeat
This NBA News Update also sees Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking the Toronto Raptors' agonising defeat against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 with a light heart as he tweeted to congratulate the team on their brilliant showing throughout the 2019-20 NBA season.
Trudeau, just like every other Raptors fan, is looking forward to the next season already.
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