It was definitely time for Kevin Durant to return to the basketball court. His back-and-forth with the great antagonizer Michael Rappaport proved that much.
KD’s the last player that needs time on his hands to start getting into it with folks on social media. It’s well documented that KD has a thin skin when it comes to any kind of criticism or pushback. Rappaport basically set KD up to get fined and have his reputation tainted a bit.
READ MORE: Michael Rappaport’s Privilege Bled All Over Kevin Durant’s Brand
On Wednesday night, KD pit the BS aside and returned to the court – a place where The “Easy Money Sniper”
isn’t being trolled and is always in control.
The Brooklyn Nets blasted the New Orleans Pelicans (139-111) at Barclays Center on Wednesday night. Score aside, the biggest story was the return of the great Kevin Wayne Durant. Durant had been sidelined for the last 23 games (two months) with a hamstring injury.
Hamstring injuries are tricky and with the plethora of resources at the Nets’ disposal, there was no need to rush back arguably the game’s best player.
KD didn’t start, which he later admitted felt strange, but he played 18 very efficient minutes scoring 17 points on 5-5 shooting, grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing 5 assists.
He showed no ill effects from the hamstring just as he’s shown none from the Achilles tear which cost him all of the 2019-20 season, his first in the BK after three years, two NBA titles and two NBA Finals MVPs in Oaktown.
The “Slim Reaper” which he’s been called at times since his 2014 NBA MVP run, shred defenders mercilessly. There’s really no defense for the 6’10, efficient, walking bucket.
He only played in the second and third quarters of the blowout win. It was light work, but he still made history, becoming just the second player in Nets history to register a 15-5-5 game on 100 percent shooting since 1984.
The other is former Nets player Caris LeVert.
No one ever has to worry about KD’s role on offense as that’s his team in Brooklyn. An unselfish player by nature, you could see he was trying to establish some chemistry with his new teammates (LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin) who’ve joined the team since his absence.
Durant’s return plays just as big a role on defense. His size and length give rookie coach Steve Nash more rotating options. Especially in a small-ball lineup featuring KD, Harden, Kyrie, Blake and LA.
KD’s elite scoring and passing also enable the team to play at a much faster pace when he’s on the floor. KD is back and the BK Nets have a mission. Hopefully, they don’t let any white noise throw them off course.
