Kevin Durant has been dominant. These playoffs he has looked like what he is, the best player on the planet right now.
Ever since the Warriors blew a 31-point lead to the Clippers Durant has put the team on his back, averaging 38.3 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting overall, 41.2 percent from three, 5.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, plus he has played fantastic defense on the other end of the court.
Most of all, Durant is having fun, he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.“This is where this s*** is fun, this is when it’s serious and I’m just embracing it,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I’m just having so much fun right now. This time of year is what I’m geared for. I’m just hooping at a high level and enjoying the competitiveness of the playoffs. You go through such a long season to get to this point, and now it’s time to produce...
“In the playoffs, we have individual assignments, and it’s up to us collectively to execute. And me, I’m just doing what’s asked of me, whether that’s scoring, making plays for others or defending. I get so much joy playing this game, and I’m doing it to the best of my ability.”
During the regular season, Durant chafes at the grind of it all, and particularly on the focus — by fans, and via extension with the media — on where he will play next season. We all know Durant has thought about it and that groundwork for the option (or options) he prefers has been laid out, but Durant wants the focus to be on the court.
In the playoffs, it is more. For the players, the focus needs to be on the game because of the matchups, adjustments, and deep dives teams do on each other — the game becomes more mental. Durant is in his element.
And that element may well end with another parade through Oakland.
After that... Durant doesn’t want to talk about it.
