In the Nets and Celtics Series G3 game, Durant's performance was too disappointing, he played 46 minutes in the whole game, only 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in 11 shots, from the shooting efficiency, Durant is not bad, but he has a total of 5 mistakes in this campaign, in the game he was completely limited, the Celtics' tough defense made Durant did not get too many shots, and he played very hard in the game. And because of Durant's sluggish play, this also led to the Nets in the G3 game is not very competitive, the team also lost to the Celtics again with a 6-point disadvantage at home, this round of the series Nets have fallen behind the opponent 0-3, the team is on the edge of the cliff, want to advance to the next round, it is very difficult.
Durant in this game and Tatum, he is in a complete defeat, this game Tatum handed over 39 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals, in many ways Tatum played better than Durant. And in the final quarter, when the team needed Durant's offense, he was not able to step forward, except for the last quarter when he just finished the inside basket, the remaining 11 minutes, he did not have a single shot, and his presence in the game was very low. Durant, as the league's top star, played such a performance in the playoffs, with the team trailing 2-0, which is really disappointing.
For now, this series should be the worst playoff performance Durant has played in his career, averaging only 22 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game against the Celtics in the first three series, a total of 17 turnovers in 3 games, a high of 5.7 turnovers per game, and his shooting percentage is only 36.5%, when he is in the game, the team has a plus-minus of -8.3, which is the bottom of the team.
Such a performance is completely unexpected, because we are familiar with Durant, who is a big killer in the playoffs, in key games, he will get high scores, while taking over the team's offense at key moments and then helping the team win the game. And this year's playoffs, Durant was not only completely limited by the Celtics, he also pulled his crotch in key moments, in the final moments of G1, he not only failed to shoot, but his defense also leaked. In G2 and G3, Durant's presence is even lower, he will not choose to shoot at key moments, and after encountering the bag clip, his number of mistakes is particularly large, such a performance is also very rare in Durant's career.
Judging from Durant's current performance in the playoffs, it is undeniable that Harden is too critical to Durant's play. Against the Celtics last season, Durant was still able to play a super-show and take over the offense in the game, mainly because of Harden's presence.
When Durant has Harden around him, he will face much less defensive pressure, Harden's organizational ability after the breakthrough with the ball belongs to the top of the league, and Durant in the case of Harden, he can get more opportunities to easily shoot, and will play an efficient offensive performance in the game. And now harden left the Nets, the team is only left Irving, Irving's ability to connect the whole team is certainly not as good as Harden, he can not create more shooting opportunities for Durant, his passing threat is not large, and when Irving holds the ball, Durant will always have two defensive players to interfere, so that he can not get a good shot, and this is the main reason why Durant performed in this series.
After losing G3, the Nets are already 0-3 behind, and no player in the history of the league has been able to complete a reversal without falling behind 0-3, that is, the probability of the Nets being eliminated this season is very large. In the current situation, it is not known whether Durant will miss Harden, after all, if Harden did not leave the Nets, then the team will definitely be better than it is now, and its own performance will be better, and without Harden, the team faces the fate of being swept in the first round.
For now, it's undeniable that at the trade deadline, the Nets traded Harden to the 76ers, which was a bad deal, the team's strength declined because of this trade, and the Nets have basically lost hope of winning the championship this season, and they are only one game away from being eliminated.