Peter Okereke
The Houston Rockets and Kevin Durant have a tough task ahead of them with the Los Angeles Lakers coming to town and looking to take a commanding 3-0 lead over them in their first round playoff series. As such, all eyes will be on Durant and how he’ll respond after one of the worst halves of his NBA career.
LeBron James has dominated this series in his own ways, but the Lakers have gotten masterful, timely performances from Luke Kennard (27 points in Game 1) and Marcus Smart (25 points in Game 2).
Meanwhile, Kevin Durant only played in Game 2 and while he finished with a strong line in the contest, he had one of the worst halves that directly led to the second consecutive loss of the Rockets.
The two-time NBA champion finished Game 2 with 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists while shooting 7-of-12 from the field. But he also had a career-high tying nine turnovers in the game, scoring just three points with five turnovers in the entire second half.
This was as the Lakers repeatedly used a strategy of sending double-teams at him, testing his decision-making while forcing his Houston teammates to try and beat them.
But ahead of Game 3, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. was asked how the team can help Durant get more involved offensively as he sees more and more double-teaming in the half-court. However, Smith’s response about his teammate’s travails was quite a bit surprising.
Jabari Smith Jr. Drops Shocking Advice For Durant’s Double-Teaming Trap
Responding to reporters who asked him about what could be done to assist Kevin Durant in light of the double-teams he’s facing, Smith Jr. said:
“They try to stop him and the other guys gotta be aggressive, so we have to be aggressive out of it.”
“We’ve got to make the right reads out of it, make the right decisions. And it’s on him to find ways to get himself involved and get to his spots without the double team.”
But then, Jabari Smith Jr. appeared to essentially tell Durant to figure out a solution himself, leading fans to lose their minds on social media.
“Just because he’s getting double teamed, we still need him to be KD, you know? There’s still ways around it, and we got some fixes to [the trapping of Durant], and we’re gonna be better the next two games,” Smith Jr. added.
Basketball fans react to Smith Jr.’s KD advice
His statements sparked tons of reactions from fans, with many quickly recalling the Durant chats talking about Jabari Smith lately.
“Kevin Durant you were right man,” one fan said with a crying emoji and a screenshot of the Durant burner account DM’s that surfaced over the NBA All-Star break.
“KD heard Jabari call him out like this & all the sudden an ankle injury appeared outta thin air lmaoo bro said if this how you feel, then I’m leaving y’all boys out there to die 🤣,” another fan added.
Reactions varied widely, with some people of the opinion that KD can’t be blamed when his teammates are missing in action.
“Not sure why Kevin Durant is the problem when his teammates can’t ever catch the ball,” NBA reporter Brett Siegel chipped in.
“Make the open shot brother. F**k everything else,” one fan commented.
“That team’s chemistry is worse than the Lakers’ in 2004 haha,” wrote another fan.
“These guys chemistry in the gutter”, another fan added.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how Kevin Durant finds a solution to evade these double-teams. Game 3 is set for Friday night at 5PM PST, and it’ll be the Rockets’ last stand before the series is all but over.
