Kevin Durant’s postgame press conference on Sunday night may have revealed a formula for stopping James Harden.
The “kevin durant press conference today” is a postgame press conference that Kevin Durant gave after Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The event revealed the formula for stopping James Harden, and it could be used in future games.
Following the James Harden-Ben Simmons deal, basketball fans all around the globe marked the upcoming game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers on their calendars as must-see television. While the game’s on-court action was a bit of a letdown, there were plenty of narratives to be found. Harden’s terrible performance was, obviously, one of the most significant.
Although Charles Barkley and others focused on the bearded guard’s failure to deliver in a big position, another segment of the postgame program had a more fascinating statement. Kevin Durant gave some insight into how the Nets collectively slowed down their former colleague during his media availability. While the devil is always in the details, his statements have the potential to set a precedent for the rest of the NBA.
James Harden’s blistering start with the Sixers has subsided.
In sports, a change of environment might be just what a declining athlete needs to go back to their best. Even though James Harden wasn’t having much success with the Nets, his move to Philadelphia appeared to help him.
Harden seemed to be the ideal complement for Joel Embiid in his first three games with the Sixers. During those games, the guard scored 80 points and gave out 36 assists, assisting Philly to three triumphs. However, things have calmed down after he missed a game against the Heat due to hamstring issues.
He had 16 points and 14 assists in the 76ers’ game against the Chicago Bulls, which was a good performance but not up to his past standards. Then there was the big game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Harden had the ideal opportunity to communicate numerous messages on paper. The Bearded One struggled, despite the fact that he could have showed his previous team that they made a mistake by trading him and alerted the league that the Sixers were a legitimate danger. As Philly was humbled on their home floor, he ended with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Kevin Durant detailed how the Nets slowed down Harden during his postgame news conference.
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While a terrible performance in a nationally broadcast game is guaranteed to generate a lot of attention, a solitary off-night is unlikely to get much attention. Harden’s stat line, on the other hand, might be made more fascinating by Kevin Durant’s postgame remarks.
The KD was asked after the game how the Nets were able to take their former teammate out of the game offensively.
Durant noted during his media availability, “Well, he depends a lot on the free-throw line, so going to the hoop and getting to the free-throw line puts him in rhythm.” “And, you know, we didn’t [allow it to occur.]” He’s got two free shots tonight, you know. I attempted to go to the rim with 3-17 [from the floor], but I believe we were all swarming. And, you know, he made a couple open threes, but they’re difficult to stop when he’s going to the hoop, getting downhill, getting to the free-throw line, and we removed a lot of those things.”
While this isn’t novel information, it does condense some of Harden’s best qualities into a single statement. Despite the league’s best attempts, the guard is an outstanding isolation scorer who has a propensity for getting to the free throw line. If you can keep him from getting to the rim and taking free throws, you’ve taken out his two greatest arrows. There’s no perfect approach to face the Beard, but if he’s confined to hitting jump shots and distributing the ball, you’ll take your chances.
Durant continued, “3-17, [with] 11 points, that’s a terrific recipe for us to win.”
Kevin Durant might have given the formula for shutting down Harden and the Sixers, albeit it’s easier said than done.
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To be honest, attempting to stifle Harden’s drives and minimize his free-throw chances isn’t exactly ground-breaking. Hearing it described plainly in a news conference, on the other hand, seems a little different.
It’s reasonable to say the 76ers have been enjoying a bit of a honeymoon phase up until now. Harden is a fresh face in the room, and they’ve been winning games. He’s still building connections with his colleagues, so things have probably been a little more improvised as a result. Fans and rival scouting teams are still figuring out how his personality fits into a new setting. It’s reasonable to assume that Embiid is the first choice, but where does the ball go from there?
Despite the change of scenery, the Nets demonstrated that Harden’s new home follows the same script. He wants to play alone, drive the ball, and shoot free throws. Brooklyn realized this and, without fouling, compressed the lane, daring someone else to beat them. No one else could on Thursday night, despite Embiid’s 27 points.
To be clear, saying all of this is simpler than doing it. Harden, warts and all, is one of the best scorers in contemporary basketball; the Nets aren’t the first club to attempt to push him to become a shooter. However, last night’s performance suggests that Philly’s early recipe still has some weaknesses.
Embiid will be pushed out of the paint if opponents collapse the lane and he is the prime passing option. While the big guy can still score from farther out, having him on the block is preferable. Someone will have to stand up as a tertiary scorer at that time. Tobias Harris scored 16 points on Thursday, which isn’t awful, but it’s not enough to make up for Harden’s dismal performance.
Sports are a series of adjustments at the highest level. The Brooklyn Nets — and any other copycat teams in the future – made one and were able to pull James Harden out of the game. The 76ers must now respond in like. They’ve got the ability. They must now find out a way to make it work before the playoffs begin.
Basketball-Reference.com provided the statistics.
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The “when will kd return” was a question that seemed to be on everyone’s mind after Kevin Durant’s postgame press conference. In the press conference, he gave an answer that may have revealed the formula for stopping James Harden.
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