“You know who he is, it’s KD, there are no off nights, this brother is something special ” - Stephen A. Smith believes Kevin Durant can single-handedly take the Brooklyn Nets to the playoffs
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant, arguably the best player in the world at the moment, has been tasked with carrying the Brooklyn Nets. As Brooklyn nears the postseason, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving.
On ESPN's "First Take," sports media personality Stephen A. Smith said The Slim Reaper can take his team single-handedly into the postseason. Smith said:
"He's Kevin Durant. You know who he is. It's KD! There are no off nights. This brother is something special. Ain't nothing talk about that. That that's a waste of time."
Smith continued:
"I'm watching KD. Listen, if the man had not gotten hurt, the man would probably be in the talks for league MVP. They were the No. 1 seed, without Kyrie. When he went down, he came back, they were the No. 8 seed. Kevin Durant would be the leading the votes for league MVP this year if he had not gotten hurt."
With Kyrie only available for road games, the franchise is desperate for KD to perform like he did in the postseason a year ago.
How important is Kevin Durant to the Nets?
Widely considered to be the game's best player right now, Kevin Durant had an incredible season for the Nets before injuring his knee. The injury came at the worst possible time as the Nets gathered steam, especially with Kyrie Irving's return. That would have helped the team as they tried to re-establish chemistry.
Durant is averaging 29.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists while shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc and 52.6% overall. He has recorded two triple-doubles and 13 double-doubles. Although this is the least efficient he has shot from the perimeter over the last decade (except for 2018-19) is a testament to Durant's marksmanship.
Durant held the fort for Brooklyn with Irving unavailable and James Harden not fully healthy early in the season. On top of all that, Durant suffered a catastrophic Achilles injury during the 2019 NBA Finals. That sidelined him for more than a year.
Despite the loss, Kevin Durant still scored enough to reach 25,000 career points Sunday.
LeBron James is the only active player that reached the feat faster than him.
Carmelo Anthony completes the trio as the only 3 active players with 25,000 points. https://t.co/gQgaqWDL96
Durant will have to carry the majority of the scoring burden, especially with Ben Simmons' hesitancy to shoot from outside the paint. Having Irving unavailable at home also adds to his workload.
So, without Durant, the Nets have almost no shot at winning the championship this season. That makes him very important to the team's success.