Kevin Durant's Historic Season Comes to an End | NBA Playoffs 2021

Kevin Durant Post-Season Performance is One For The Ages

At the end of regulation in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals between the Brooklyn Nets and The Milwaukee Bucks, Nets Forward Kevin Durant hunched over gasping for air after playing a game-high 53 mins. Following his historic performance in Game 6, Durant's prolific scoring ability was on full display. With Irving out and Harden on a bad leg, Durant carried the offensive load pouring in 48 of the starter's 111 points. Late in regulation, Durant nailed a turnaround jumper to send the nets into overtime. Despite Durant's late-game heroics, the Nets only scored 2 points in overtime, falling short of a victory.

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Kevin Durant Shakes Off The Naysayers

The storyline this postseason has been about the Nets' star Kevin Durant. The 2-time finals MVP has yet to miss a beat. After an 18-month hiatus due to an Achilles tear and missing 36 games during this season, speculations circulated the league. Many questioned if Durant would have the endurance to withstand the rigours of the postseason. With a Monstrous series vs. the bucks, Durant has solidified himself as the NBA's most prolific scorers. Several NBA stars praised KD for his stellar performances in Game 6 after posting a triple-double with 48 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists leading the nets to victory.

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What’s Next For The Brooklyn Nets?

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Heading into the 2021-2022 season, the Nets will be a title contender with Irving and harden back healthy. Notable free agents include Blake Griffin, Jeff Green and Spencer Dinwiddie. Coach D'Antoni will be parting ways with Steve Nash to land a head coach job. According to sources, Mike D'Antoni met with the Trail Blazers for a second interview. Ultimately, The Brooklyn Nets will regain their roster at a peak level if they want a clear title shot. The Nets finished their regular season with a 48-24 record, securing the #2 seed. The Nets fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semis in 7 games.

Featuring: Brooklyn Nets

Published by: TGQ Inc.

NBA Playoffs Unleashes Zoo-Like Behaviour | Fanning The Flames

Following the opening round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs, we've witnessed a great amount of disorderly conduct by NBA fans. Within one week, the NBA reported four incidents involving fans publicly shaming the players. From racial slurs and name-calling to throwing food and beverages, at what point does the NBA step in to enforce rules that hold the fans responsible for their insidious behaviour? NBA players have exercised a great amount of professionalism, but when it comes to fan misconduct there shouldn’t be a double standard. NBA players including Russell Westbrook, Trae Young, Kyrie Irving and Ja Morant have all been victims of fan disorderly conduct.

“In a civilized society, we actually know better already. And the fact that you're doing it is only because you think you can.” - Stephen A. Smith

Photo courtesy of (Fox News)

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Fanning The Flames

During Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards, Russell Westbrook went down with an apparent ankle injury in the 4th quarter. As Westbrook made his way towards the locker room a fan threw popcorn on him as he exited through the tunnel adding "insult to injury". Westbrook was hysterical as he had to be restrained by security guards to prevent any further altercation with the alleged fan. Westbrook like several other NBA players has been victimized by the media for their reactions toward jarring fans.

“ To be completely honest, the [expletive] is getting out of hand, especially for me. The amount of disrespect and the amount of fans just doing whatever they [expletive] want to do.” - Russell Westbrook

Following the popcorn incident, Westbrook made a public response at the post-game conference highlighting the importance of player protection in NBA arenas. Shortly thereafter, the Sixers released a statement apologizing to Westbrook and the Wizards organization, The identified fan was a season ticket holder who will have his membership revoked and will be banned from all events at Wells Fargo Arena.

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Bedlam At The Garden

After a tough battle in a Game, 1 duel between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks things got fiery in Madison Square Garden. Trae Young was cast as public enemy #1 after his late-game heroics. Following the Hawks Game 1 victory, 15,000 Knicks fans all heckled Young as he tried to secure a victory in Game 2. However, an electric night in the Garden was overshadowed by disrespectful actions of a Knicks fan. In the 4th Quarter, Young inbounded the ball on the sideline when a fan spits on him from the 3rd row.

Photo courtesy of (CBS SPORTS)

Shortly after Game 2, MSG reviewed the footage and confirmed that a patron deliberately spits on Young. The identified fan has been banned indefinitely from Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, the NBA needs to start enforcing rules that hold fans responsible for misconduct in arenas, there needs to be a zero-tolerance policy for any forms of abuses towards players. Several sports broadcasters have questioned how the NBA should deal with bad fan behavior and what substantiate the need for fans imprisonment.

“A ticket to the arena is not an exit to civilization. By the way, the law of civility is there to protect the people who need them.” - Max Kellerman

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Boston Celtics Fan Throws Water Bottle At Kyrie Irving

Following a 141-126 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4, a Celtic fan allegedly threw a water bottle at Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving as he exited the court at TD Garden. Fans pointed out the alleged suspect who was then identified and escorted out by the Boston Police. The Fan was arrested and taken into custody where he was charged with assault and battery. According to the Boston Police, the identified suspect is 21-year-old Cole Buckley.

“It has been that way in history in terms of entertainment, performers and sports for a long period of time and just underlying racism and just treating people like they're in a human zoo.” - Kyrie Irving

TD Garden has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violations of guest code, the media commended TD Garden’s personnel on how they resolved the situation in comparison to the other incidents. Kyrie Irving spoke with the media and insisted that the incident may be linked to systemic racial tension, Irving has verbalized a message that resonates with his fellow African-American athletes who’ve been attacked by fan misconduct.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola )AP

Several sports fans have questioned if this underlying issue is a race-based one or a sense of entitlement. The NBA needs to stand in support of the players and enforce new policies that hold fans responsible for their actions like we saw in Boston. From an entertainment standpoint, the NBA playoffs have nothing short of spectacular, however, the safety of players should be the top priority and not compromised.

Published by: TGQ Inc.

Featuring: NBA

Written by: Hussein Abdullahi