In the realm of basketball, the enigmatic moves of the superstars make them the player to watch out for. To the fans, it becomes a source of joy, but to the opposition team; it brings misery and concern. A Philadelphia 76ers guard had to go through the latter as he had the task of guarding 6?10 Kevin Durant once.
The NBA star revealed insights into his approach to guarding the 2-time champion. His long-winded answer enriched the listeners with key details about the preparations for the games.
How did the 76ers guard defend against Kevin Durant?
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In the latest episode of Actually Me?from GQ Sports, Patrick Beverley shared his experience of guarding Durant. During his Los Angeles Clippers days back in 2019, the team faced the star-studded Golden State Warriors.
“We talked about the playoff series,”?Beverley mentioned as he took up the challenge and, “told coach, man gimme KD.”
The 35-year-old rehearsed the potential matchup situations with his?“homie like 5’9.” His friend?“stand on couch”?to match “kinda KD height” as Patrick attempted to find solutions for their game.
“I can’t give him power cause he gonna shoot right over me,” he highlighted as part of his approach to guarding Kevin.
“The key to that game was being aggressive as s**t,” the 6’2 guard added as he turned the scenario into his advantage. He understood that the “refs wasn’t gonna call a ton of fouls” as the league wanted it to be a “buildup from each series.”
Beverley benefited from that aspect as he kept on fouling the forward throughout the initial matches of the series. He wanted to use his “strength” and his “lower body on his lower body”?to limit the abilities of the 13-time All-Star.
It worked to a certain extent but what happened next became a part of NBA’s history.
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Was the plan a success?
Patrick was able to hamper Durant’s natural game a bit in the first two matches. The Warriors star failed to meet his expected standards as the series tired 1-1. Beverley’s continuous taunts alongside his antics paid off – before all hell broke loose.
The 2014 MVP dominated the floor for the next four matches as his team won the series 4-2. Kevin became the top scorer in all of those games. In the last match, he scored 50 points to become the joint second player on the list of highest-ever points in Game 6 history.
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Thus, Patrick eventually failed to make the unexpected happen. But he certainly had no shame in that. Afterall, he was guarding Kevin Durant.