"He turns into a strawman when he has the basketball and dribbling up the floor" - Skip Bayless lambasts Kevin Durant after a poor outing in Game 1
Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless unleashed again, this time criticizing Kevin Durant. Bayless has a history of criticizing future Hall of Famer Durant.
Durant scored 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting in the Phoenix Suns’ 125-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals. Durant took only three 3-pointers and made one of them.
Kevin Durant also added three blocks and grabbed 14 rebounds. He struggled in playmaking, finishing with one assist and seven turnovers.
Kevin Durant scores 29 points but was a -20 in the Suns Game 1 loss vs. Nuggets:
"I was shook by what I saw. There was nothing good about this game, including Kevin Durant. He turns into a strawman when he takes the ball up." — @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/sOF5EfqtEi
Bayless went after Durant as one of the main reasons the Suns lost in Game 1:
“Nothing good about this game, including Durant going 12 of 19, which is vintage, classic Kevin Durant.”
He then went after Durant’s handles:
“He turned it over seven times. It's getting worse and worse. He turns into a strawman when he has the basketball and dribbling up the floor, people just take the ball out of his hands. You are a strawman Kevin, you have to be stronger, it is like your hands are made of tissue paper."
How can Kevin Durant and the Suns adjust to win Game 2?
Bayless picked the Suns to win the title before the playoffs began. He may just be lashing out because his prediction looks shaky after the Game 1 loss.
Bayless claimed the Nuggets could take home the championship if they play the way they did in Game 1, especially Jamal Murray. The guard scored 34 points on 13-of-24 shooting with six 3s. Bayless said:
“If (Murray) keeps scoring 34 a game with six threes. They are going to win it all because it is just too much."
"The Nuggets? Surprised? Am I surprised about the Nuggets? Hell no. They're the number one seed for a reason. They got a two-time MVP, they got a deep team."
— Kevin Durant
https://t.co/wXXMwcdmux
The Suns need to make some adjustments for Game 2, as Denver dominated from start to finish. Bayless offered an idea and is asking for two things from the Suns:
“Can somebody play a semblance of defense and can you get some scoring off the bench?”
The former writer said he wanted to see more playing time from Terrence Ross and T.J. Warren to give the Suns some scoring pop off the bench.
Phoenix takes on Denver in Colorado for Game 2 on Monday.