Marcus Smart on Guarding Kevin Durant: ‘We Can’t Have Him Be Comfortable’
Being this year’s Defensive Player of the Year, when Marcus Smart talks about defense, you listen. Smart chipped in on how Boston’s choking defense on Kevin Durant has affected Durant’s thinking. When asked about Durant’s comment stating he’s ‘thinking too much,’ Smart figuratively pounded Boston’s chest.
“I would like to think it’s us getting in his head and causing him to be second-guessing; we’re playing one of the greatest players in the world, and to do this, we can’t have him be comfortable.”
On the season, Durant is averaging 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in 37.2 minutes of play per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the field. In the first round versus Smart’s Celtics? Those numbers drop to 22.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 43.1 minutes of play per game while shooting 36.5 percent from the field.
Smart added that he wouldn’t say that ‘they’re [Durant and Kyrie Irving] broken’ as ‘they’re human’ and nobody knows what Brooklyn’s star duo is ‘dealing with outside of basketball.’ Irving has dropped from 27.4 points per game and 41.8 percent shooting from deep to 21.7 points per game, and 33.3 percent shooting from deep against the Celtics.
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