He recently said that Durant getting to the line too much, saying that the refs are calling too many fouls on him. This is most likely Jackson trying to get into the head of the 21-year-old who has never been in a playoff series before in the NBA.
While it might be a good strategy to throw Durant off his game, I think that it is in poor taste to provoke somebody this young and inexperienced.
Instead of taking shots back at the NBA legend, Durant responded in a very calm and casual fashion.
According to The Oklahoman, Durant said "That's a part of my game, getting to the free-throw line and being aggressive. If you say that I get superstar calls or I get babied by the refs, that's just taking away from how I play. That's disrespectful to me."
What Phil might not
know is that he made 756 free throws this past season shooting 90%. That is an unbelievable statistic and, for my money, the most underrated stat of the season. The fact that he is trying to take away from that amazing accomplishment is not the right thing to do for somebody who hasn't been in the league this long. Durant is on his way to his first playoff appearance and has had a breakout season, emerged as a legitimate superstar. Unfortunately for him, his first round opponent are the last year's champions, full of veteran players who have been to the playoffs multiple times.
The Thunder and Lakers will meet in the first round of the playoffs as the 8th and 1st seeds, respectively. Some think that the Thunder will be able to give the Lakers a run for its money because of their health issues. Others think the Thunder are too young and don't stand a chance in this match up.
Regardless of the outcome, it will surely be entertaining and interesting to see if the young Thunder can hold their own against a team full of veterans and arguably the greatest coach in the history of the game.
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