“Why would you put your boy out there like that?” - Shannon Sharpe says Kevin Durant’s comments on the Nets’ playoff hopes is a bad look, says he finds those comments hard to believe
Kevin Durant has come under scrutiny after former teammate Mike James said Durant knew the Brooklyn Nets were going to lose to the Boston Celtics.
On Fox Sports' "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe was in disbelief that Durant said this. Sharpe said he refused to believe an NBA player would concede defeat like this but did make a note of how he essentially downed tools.
"I don't want to believe it, because it's just hard for me to believe that an NBA player would say. ... I don't want to believe that he said that," Sharpe said. "But if he did say that, it's a horrible look. Whatever you want to say about KD, how great he is – and he is great – KD likes the easiest path of resistance. I don't think that's the right attitude to have.
"It's just hard for me to believe that a player of KD's caliber – or any athlete for that situation –would say, 'We're not going to win.' It's just hard for me to believe. And even if he did say that, then damn, Mike, why would you put your boy out there like that? That's your boy. Why would you want to put him in a negative light?
"Things that are said in private, private discussions, should remain privagte. Everything's not meant for public consumption."
Mike James appeared on "The Player's Choice" podcast and spoke about how he hoped that KD would come to one of his games in the EuroLeague postseason. According to James, KD initially told him there was no way he was going to attend one of James' games but a week later said he was going to be there.
Durant's change of perspective could have been after Boston defended its home court and then took Game 3 en route to sweeping Brooklyn in the first round.
.@ShannonSharpe on KD's former teammate saying Durant knew the Nets would lose to the Celtics:
"I don't want to believe that KD said this. It's hard for me think an NBA player of that caliber would say this, and if he did, then it's a horrible look." https://t.co/YPdQ8OorX5
Kevin Durant's series to forget against the Boston Celtics
The Brooklyn Nets came into the season with championship aspirations as Kevin Durant led the way for the franchise in the regular season alongside Kyrie Irving. They were pitted against the Boston Celtics in the opening round of the postseason when things started to go wrong.
The Celtics needed a buzzer-beater from Jayson Tatum to win 115-114 in Game 1 as Kevin Durant finished with more shots (24) than points (23). Durant followed that up by making just four shots in a 114-107 loss in Game 2 (4 of 17, 27 points). He shot 20 free throws, making 18.
Kevin Durant in the 2nd half of Game 2:
0-10 FG
4 turnovers
It's the most FGA without a single make in any half of his entire career (regular & postseason).
Things went from bad to worse in Games 3 and 4 as the Nets hoped to defend their home court. Boston won 109-103 in Game 3. The Slim Reaper continued to have a miserable time as he recorded just 16 points on 11 shots despite playing over 45 minutes.
This was due to the incredible defense deployed by the Celtics, with their players double-teaming KD at every turn and Jayson Tatum playing incredible defense. Much of the same ensued in Game 4, although Durant scored 39 points in the final game of the series, albeit on 31 shots as he went 3 off 11 from beyond the arc.