#KDDay: A tough season for Kevin Durant has ended in the glory of the NBA Finals

. During the month of December, Durant reached 104.4, his second fastest time of the season. he was 100.4 (though playing in six games less). Durant averaged 2.5 blocks and 2.5 flights per game in December, while shooting 7.1 rebounds per game, while the Warriors held their opponents at 102.7 points per game.

After a December 27 match against Utah Jazz, Draymond Green said the following about Durant's defense at this time of the season.

"I do not think it's really a race right now.The way he played on the defensive side of the ball, it was spectacular.It's a thing now, which is awesome because that it always seemed impossible to be a thing, but it is attracting more and more attention and, obviously, it helps tremendously our defense in the way it plays on this side of the ball. So, if I had to vote, if I had a vote, I would vote for him now. "

The best example of this was Durant's performance in the Christmas match against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this game, which the Warriors won, Durant scored 25 points, but that was his defense, especially on LeBron James in the bottom right, which was even more impressive. Durant had five blocks and two interceptions in this Christmas victory

During December was a demonstration of why exactly he wanted to come to the Warriors, or one of the reasons at least. During this month, Durant was more than an elite marker and an offensive weapon to deploy at times. One need not look further than his triple-double against the Charlotte Hornets, the first game of the team without Curry after spraining the ankle in the previous match of the day. 39 team against the pelicans of New Orleans. Durant had 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the Warriors' win, his fifteenth career career with 10 assists or more.

There was also Durant's performance in five blocks in a win over the Detroit Pistons. -double (36 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists) and winning shot in a Los Angeles Lakers win at Kobe Bryant at Staples Center

Impressive offensive success, but not in wins

Durant also had a lot of awesome moments in the 2017-18 season of the variety that we usually see from him – offensively. Durant scored his 20,000th point in a Jan. 10 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, a game in which he scored 40 points but was beaten by Lou Williams's 50 points for the Clippers. Durant (19659026) Durant was the second youngest player to reach this point (behind James) and the 44th overall.

Before crossing course, Durant argues with Anthony Slater of The Athletic to have reached 20,000 points and to be recognized as one of the best markers in the world. History of the NBA

. You want us to remember something. You want people to recognize your skills. I put in the world of work and basketball fans, they can appreciate the effort that I put in and the level of knowledge that I have acquired over the years.

[…]

But this standard that they have for me is something that I appreciate. I worked, I worked, I worked to become a global marker. The goal of the game is to put the ball in the basket. I'll take it.

Durant also posted his best scoring night since joining the Warriors, losing 50 points in a Valentine's Day defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers. It was the fifth time in Durant's career that he scored 50 points or more in a match. Durant scored 40 or more points four times in the 2017-18 regular season, but each time the Warriors ended up losing the game.

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It prefigured the problems that would arise when the Warriors would face the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. When the ball stops with Durant and the entire attack of the Warriors comes from Durant, the Warriors tend to stagnate and (often) lose.

As it became clear that the Rockets had first place in the Western Conference and the Warriors firmly locked in the second seed, the last stretch of the regular season was a little slog, both for Durant and the Warriors. Durant's performances have tightened over the seasons, even though there was a good performance like the March 8 game against the San Antonio Spurs, while the impressive last five minutes of Durant gave the victory. to the Warriors 110-107. The playoffs of the conference

Durant, as well as the Warriors as a whole, were disappointed during the last quarter of the regular season, which caused some to wonder if they were going to win the title. There was chatter; there were concerns expressed. These worries about Durant and the warriors evaporated once the playoffs began.

Durant played well in the first two playoffs of the Warriors against the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans. While the team was still missing at Curry for this round of opening rounds, Durant earned an average of 28.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists in sending out five games of the Spurs by the team. Curry was back with the team for all Pelicans series except one, but it was still Durant who led the Warriors to score with 27.8 points per game while reducing rebounds by 7, 4. Durant's best game of this series was easily the fourth game, in which he had 38 points and 9 rebounds while driving the Warriors to get a 3-1 lead and responding after a rough defeat in the third game.

While Durant played well in the first two series, his Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets was a matter of growing lows. After good performances in the victory of the Warriors match 1 as well as in their defeat in match 2, Durant's performances were somewhat reduced in the following matches. The Rockets 'defense forced the ball to Durant in isolated situations, disrupting the Warriors' attack and leading to a poor Durant shooting selection. Durant lost less than 40% in games 4 and 5 as well as in game 6 when the Warriors came back strong in the series.

Durant played better in the match 7 field win, including 11 points in the fourth quarter to punch the Warriors' ticket to a fourth NBA finals. But there was always a bad taste in the mouths of Warriors fans after the Durant series against the Rockets. That's something Durant acknowledged, saying the following after the seventh match:

I thought that [the Rockets] did a great job when I got it in the post. When I drive, they start to get guys and help a little. I did not see it for some parts. I ran the crowd. As I forced, I went too fast on my records and on my movements.

But if he was fighting the Rockets in the Western Conference finals, Durant would have a chance to wipe out all those fights with another excellent performance in the NBA Finals against Lebron James and the Cavaliers from Cleveland.

Durant records his best time for the finals

The finals of the Durant NBA have not had a good start, since many of the same struggles he's experienced in the Western Conference Finals came with him. Durant scored 26 points but did it very inefficiently, going 8/22 on the field. Durant also struggled to rebound, often ending up in the box, including by JR Smith on what would become pivotal to Game 1.

Durant was playing better in the second game, completing the nine Long Distance Curry Records with 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists on his own. But in the third game, Durant achieved one of the greatest performances of his career and finished the final of this year as the Warriors won a 3-0 win over the Cavaliers.

With Curry and Klay Thompson (They combine for only 21 points) and having to deal with a Quicken ready and hostile Arena in Cleveland, Durant has given one of the great performances in the history of the NBA Finals. Durant scored 43 points in the third game, which was the first time this season scored 40 points or more and the Warriors won.

Durant was 15/23 on the field and 6/9 on three points, which made the feat all the more impressive that he was able to do without having to take a number unusual strokes. .

And, oh yes, he also had 13 rebounds and 7 assists.

After the match, Curry was cheeky in his praise for his former MVP teammate.

For two years, I played alongside Kevin Durant […] he is an incredible talent, an incredible player. He does amazing things every night. We feed on each other. So tonight it was not my night offensively. It was his night, but as I said, this moment is great, and you cheer on the way, and we appreciate what we do each other. We could talk about him all night. He was amazing.

It was Durant's second consecutive big match at the NBA Finals. In 2017, he hit the three-pointer to put the Warriors up 3-0 en route to a five-game win in the final.

In 2018, Durant hit a similar shot in this year's final to seal victory on the road.

This was a shot that was pretty much the same area where he hit the 2017 winner, but as James pointed out in his postgame comments, "No, it was not. not the same shot.The one that he did tonight was about four or five feet behind the one he made last year […] same wing, different location. "

Curry played a much better game 4, creating a little surrounding plot that would be the MVP Finals. But it was Durant's transcendent game in a raging and hostile arena with fans trying to put their team back in the series that placed him on top and gave him his second MVP Finals to go with his second consecutive NBA championship. But rather than focusing on his individual accomplishment, after the Warriors finished the Cavaliers in Game 4 Durant was focusing more on what his team was doing.

It feels good to go win a championship with these guys. did it. As Draymond said earlier, it is the season, it was just a season of ups and downs, so many guys were injured. We went through so many things. When Pat McCaw fell, it impressed us tremendously as a team, and we went through that. I have the impression that we have had a lot of these episodes all year long. To finish with a championship, especially in a sweep, he feels so good.

Between his personal achievements and playing such an important role in the back-to-back championship seasons, Durant has cemented his place in the history of Warriors. The Warriors helped Durant become the best player he could be and, in turn, Durant helped these Warriors become the best version of this team that they could be.

Durant is part of that, part of that culture. He did not just come here because of this, now he plays a role in design and development.

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Just before the start of the free agency, Durant applied for and received a two-year contract from the Warriors, one who had an opt-out after the 2018-1919 season (when the Warriors, then acquiring Durant's full bird rights, could offer him the longest possible deal).

The agreement saved the Warriors more than $ 5 million in salary that could be used to attract new players but will also lead to abundant speculation about what Durant will do in the summer of 2019 Many see this as a sinister sign, the possibility of Durant's non-membership or his desire to advance warriors sooner than later.

But as written by Marcus Thompson of The Athletic this might indicate something more.

So, is this a takeover Durant? If so, it only underscores Durant's commitment to the warriors. It means that he wants this franchise.

[…]

Durant is invested. And he sacrifices himself. And plotting. And, yes, keeping all its leverage. He is a modern superstar.

What happens in the future between Durant and the Warriors remains to be seen. The only thing we know, is that the 2017-18 season of Durant was filled with good and bad, great moments and deep struggles. But in the final, when the pressure was strongest and things mattered the most, Durant made a performance for the ages that played a role in the rehearsal of the Warriors as champions of the NBA