One retired NBA great is going Lil B mode on Kevin Durant.
Speaking Thursday on NBATV, Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas gave a harsh criticism of the Brooklyn Nets star Durant amid the team’s 1-3 start.
“The thing that I’m noticing right away with Durant is that he used to get 30 [points] and that meant he dominated the game,” said Thomas. “Now his 30, it’s just 30.
“Normally, when he got 30, it was like, ‘OK, the game’s over,’ and his team won,” continued Thomas. “Now it’s a 30 where you are still asking, ‘What happened?’ He’s still got great numbers. But the dominance in terms of ‘I get 30, [and] we win,’ it’s just not there any more.”
"He used to get 30 and that meant he dominated the game. Now his 30 is just 30." @IsiahThomas speaks on the impact of Kevin Durant's plus-minus this season#CenterCourt | @madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/n0QSz9gSum
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 27, 2022
Thomas was speaking in the context of Durant having an NBA-worst plus-minus of -58 (a stunning number for a player of his caliber) this season.
Players with the lowest +/- this season 📉
Kevin Durant (-58)
James Wiseman (-54)
Jalen Green (-53)
Jordan Poole (-52)
Jabari Smith Jr. (-52) pic.twitter.com/kIaTEEmc15— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 27, 2022
Of course, there is a lot of statistical noise here, especially in a four-game sample size. Durant, who is averaging 32.2 points a game on an efficient 52.4 percent from the field, is playing a lot of minutes next to Ben Simmons (who has glaring problems of his own right now). The former MVP Durant is also having to get used to starting alongside another new teammate in Royce O’Neale plus an old one in Kyrie Irving who was barely available last season.
Granted, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize both Durant and the entire Nets organization right now. But odds are that Durant, once he gets comfortable with his new teammates, will be back making a strong impact on winning basketball once again.
