The Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant is the NBA's most unstoppable force
By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer
BROOKLYN — On this day two years ago, Kevin Durant collapsed onto the floor of Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena and clutched at his right calf.
You know the story from there: His Achilles ruptured, he bolted Golden State for Brooklyn, he brought Kyrie Irving with him, and he spent a season on the sideline rehabbing before suiting up for the Nets for the first time in December.
At the time of the injury, Durant was in the midst of solidifying himself as the NBA’s premier force.
LeBron James, remember, had failed to end the Lakers’ playoff drought and was watching the postseason from home. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks had just blown a 2-0 conference finals lead. Kawhi Leonard had carried the Raptors to the Finals, but he wasn’t Kevin Durant.
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No one was. Because Kevin Durant was singular, the real-life equivalent of one of those players you create in a video game when you’re bored and want to break all the records. Elite shooting, elite ballhandling and 7 feet tall — it’s a cheat code.
The injury, it seemed, would prevent Durant from reaching that peak again, like it had for so many players before him, even if Durant says now that he never had doubt.
Watching him skewer the Bucks on Monday, it would've been easy to forget all this — that there was a point not too long ago when we weren’t sure if we’d ever see Durant play again. That’s how severe the injury was and how improbable this sort of return seemed.
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Yet there he was Monday at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, in the Nets’ 125-86 Game 2 shellacking of the Bucks, the clear best player on a floor full of All-Stars, racking up 32 points in just 33 minutes on just 18 shots, just six of which misfired, giving the Nets a 2-0 series lead.
Read that stat line again. It reads like a riddle.
"It's very difficult to distinguish him now as opposed to before the surgery," Nets head coach Steve Nash said after the game. "He's not only executing at that level, but he's able to play the minutes and able to sustain such a high level of efficiency. So it's hard to say that he has any dip at this point."
Durant’s numbers back up that claim. In seven games this postseason, he’s averaging 32 points on 55% shooting. The Bucks, like the Celtics in the first round, have had no answer other than to throw multiple bodies at him, most of which Durant is able to either split or rise above. If not, he’s more than content leveraging all that attention into open looks for his teammates, who have taken advantage.
After scoring an NBA-best 117.3 points per 100 possessions in the regular season, the Nets in the playoffs have managed to boost their efficiency by more than eight points.
"We’re just seeing him continue to get better," Irving said after Game 2. "And I know that sounds crazy, but it’s just slow for him, the game is so slow. He’s able to get to his spot and raise up over anyone. And when you’re able to do that, then it creates some problems for the opposition because now they’re playing on their heels."
You could see this happening in real time in Game 2. The Bucks tried slowing Durant down with P.J. Tucker, but he picked up two quick fouls. They gave Giannis a shot; that didn’t go well, either.
Durant splashed jumpers off the bounce and the catch. He broke ankles. He canned fadeaways. He unleashed McHale-like drop-steps. He didn’t just beat the Bucks; he broke their spirit.
"We can’t stop it," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "[We have to] make it as tough as possible."
They’ll certainly try, but at a certain point, what else is there for Milwaukee to do?
This is the power of the Nets. They stretch defenses past their breaking points and make the court feel like it's a mile wide. How do you stop an unstoppable force, especially when he’s surrounded by weapons such as Irving, Joe Harris and a suddenly resurgent Blake Griffin?
You can double-team Durant, but doing so will only leave you vulnerable in other areas.
The Nets might be a superteam, but the foundation of it all is the Superman who has opponents reeling before they even step on the floor. And while this series is far from over, and all the Nets have done so far is hold their home court, it’s difficult to envision the Bucks or any other team devising a way to slow them down.
And with LeBron already watching at home and Giannis looking lost, it’s looking every day like we’re headed for a point where we look up after the season and hand Durant the crown he has always craved and that two years ago he was on the verge of earning.
Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.