The Brooklyn Nets have demolished the Milwaukee Bucks through the first two games of their series, and that's with James Harden on the sidelines. You'd think it's because of their overpowering offensive prowess, but Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are singing a different tune.
The Nets are shooting an absurd 43.2% from three-point land, which has been key to them recording a mind-blowing 125.8 offensive rating through their first seven postseason contests. Those are both tops among all playoff teams by a wide margin. But everyone knew they could score. Irving and Durant were adamant that the difference was actually their play on the other side of the floor.
Irving spoke firmly about how they've been able to lock up the Bucks defensively, via Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
“It’s the level of effort, the attention to detail, our communication, just really being there for one another on the defensive end,” the Nets star said. “That makes a huge difference when guys are playing against us and instead of seeing one body they’re seeing two or three. Just trying to make our opponent think.”
His Nets teammate KD virtually echoed his exact sentiments on what they've been doing right, focusing on getting everything perfect despite not having the defensive personnel that most teams do.
“I like our attention to detail, I like how we didn’t get a lot of plays perfect but we made second and third efforts,” Kevin Durant said. “They didn’t destroy us on offensive rebounds: That showed we were boxing out. That was an emphasis.”
The fact that you have two offensive juggernauts talking up their defensive chops is a testament to the great job Nets coach Steve Nash has done to get his players' buy-in. The first-year play-caller has Brooklyn firing on all cylinders as the presumptive favorite for the title after their dominant Game 2 win.
But Durant and Co. aren't resting on their laurels one bit.
“But for the most part, we just did what we were supposed to do: Win two at home. Now we’ve got to see if this game is going to travel on the road for us, and we’ve got to stay locked-in.”
Follow Us
Subscribe