Kevin Durant got into a tense verbal exchange with Houston Chronicle reporter Varun Shankar when asked about his lack of shots in a 109-93 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday. Durant hit 5-of-6 shots from the floor, scored 12 points in 33 minutes of action. The Slim Reaper has been doing his job as a legendary vet, getting everyone involved, drawing attention and facilitating with leadership. In the win over the Celtics, four other Rockets starters outpaced Durant in scoring.
What looked like the perfect recipe for success, as the team advanced to 7-1, became a controversy when Shankar asked what Durant felt was a totally irrelevant question.
“We won the game. Why are you singling me out?” said Durant in reference to the third game this season he took less than 10 shots.
“Jabari had 30 last game, he only had 14 tonight. Are you going to talk about his variety? Do you have a solo cam on me? We won the basketball game.”
Varun replied: “I don’t mean it as a criticism.”
KD clapped back, “Yes you do.”
Varun: “I really don’t, because the attention you get opens up things for other players in the offense, so what’s the balance between you using your gravity, but not letting other teams take you out the game?”
Varun’s follow-up question was a much better look, but he was still missing the point of the victory. For someone who covers the Rockets, he should see that KD taking so few shots in game in which the Rockets were able to comfortably defeat the Celtics, is a straight indication of his impact.
Signing with Houston was always about Kevin Durant proving that he can be a “bus driver.” We also know that one man doesn’t win an NBA championship. KD already came as close to carrying a bag of biscuits to the Conference Finals as we’ve ever seen when he played legendary lights out for a broken down Nets team. If anything, that toe-on-the-line loss in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks taught Durant that he needs to make sure he instills confidence in his teammates to take big shots come playoff time.
During that 2021 playoff series, Joe Harris suffered a severe shooting slump — dropping from a league-best 51 percent three-point shooter down to 24 percent over the final games of the series, missing several open looks and key three-pointers as the Nets eventually fell in Game 7.
“My presence on the court regardless is just opening it up for anybody as soon as I step on the court,” KD added, once the reporter got his line of questioning in order. “So I don’t have to get the ball. Teams double-team and shade guys to me even when I don’t have the ball. So my presence alone is impactful to the game of basketball. I don’t have to shoot or dribble just me being out there is causing a reaction from the defense. So my team is taking advantage of it.”
KD wasn’t going to be thrown off by the question. The reporter tried to steal the joy of a team win by putting a spotlight on KD, who’s already the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history with two rings and nothing to prove.
Kevin Durant Proving He Can Drive The Bus, Elevate Team
However, if what Charles Barkley said about him not being “a bus driver” in his championship runs with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green at Golden State is still in the back of his head, then what he’s doing in Houston should be commended. Running the show in the NBA isn’t always about scoring the most points. We have seen James Harden, Russell Westbrook and now Luka Doncic dominate the ball and post video game numbers, but none of them have been able to acquire a championship.
Durant’s two rings are still somewhat “tainted” by his affiliation with a Golden State dynasty that won a record 73 games prior to him arriving. Forget about the points. Look at how the team is playing, how selfless KD is. He’s not chasing Kobe Bryant’s 33,643 points and fourth place billing on the all-time scoring list. He’s chasing championships and making the players around him better. What beats that?
