Draymond Green has some bad news for the Cleveland Cavaliers: Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are in the zone—a different kind of zone, mind you; one unlike any other Green has ever seen from them.
As Green said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals, per USA Today‘s Sam Amick:
“I see two guys who … (are) more locked in than I’ve ever seen either one of them in my life,” Green said after Game 2. “Whether it was playing against (Durant) – other than when he put 52 up on my head … ”
Durant, seated next to Green as he spoke, interrupted with a quick correction.
“Fifty-four,” he said with a smile of the Jan. 18, 2014 game against the Warriors while he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“My fault; I shortchanged him,” Green responded with a laugh. “Other than that, when you got somebody doing you like that, it’s just like a burning fire in their eye and you know you don’t stand a chance…”
This is probably the understatement of the Finals.
Through two games, Durant is averaging 35.5 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, 1.5 steals and 2.5 blocks while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor overall and 50 percent from downtown. Curry, by comparison, is averaging 30 points, eight rebounds, 10.5 assists and two steals while shooting 46.2 percent overall and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
This is absolutely nuts, and likely insurmountable for the Cavaliers. They aren’t going to win the series with these two MVPs detonating on a regular basis. And yet, they don’t have a way to stop them.
Which, in the end, underscores the significance of Durant’s addition. His life is made easier by playing beside Curry, and vice versa. If you manage to shut down one, the other will still be going off. Their shots are more open. The paths to the basket are clearer. Durant specifically looks like he has more energy on the defensive end.
If, by some miracle, you slow the two of them, well, the Golden State Warriors have two other All-NBA talents in Klay Thompson and Green.
Hence the hopeless situation in which the Cavaliers seem to find themselves now.
