There are a few ways to view Kevin Durant’s shockingly ordinary performance against the Nuggets over their recently concluded playoff series.
The first, and most accessible, is to conclude that the Phoenix Suns superstar and one-time NBA MVP is no longer the unstoppable bucket-getter he once was. A second, and more satisfying verdict for the Grading the Week staff, is that Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon is really that good.
Aaron Gordon — A+
How quickly opinions change when a player actually gets to focus on the things they are good at.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Gordon and teammate Will Barton were the primary scapegoats in a disappointing 4-1 series loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of last year’s NBA playoffs.
Thrust into a No. 2 role alongside two-time MVP Nikola Jokic with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. sidelined, Gordon often looked lost while attempting to carry a load that was never meant for him. But with Murray and Porter back, and Barton replaced by 3-and-D dawg Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gordon has been a revelation this postseason as a bulldog in the paint on one end and defensive stopper on the other.
It’s the latter where the KD assessment comes into play.
One series after Gordon limited three-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns to 37.0% shooting (10 of 27) on possessions where he was Towns’ primary defender, per NBA.com, the Nuggets forward was nearly as effective against the Slim Reaper. Over six games, Durant shot just 38.2% from the field against Gordon, including 23.1% from 3 (3 of 13). Those numbers are well below Durant’s career playoff averages (47.6/35.5), and an even steeper drop from what he did just one series earlier against the L.A. Clippers (51.8/45.8).
So maybe this is just what Gordon does now?
We’ll find out soon enough: A date with the Lakers’ LeBron James in the Western Conference Finals awaits.
KSE comments — D-
In the past three weeks, KSE franchises in Colorado have been presented with a pair of crises.
In one instance, Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin was allegedly involved in an incident at a team hotel in Seattle that led to a police response and, presumably, his departure from the team in the middle of the playoffs. In the other, a report from Brazilian newspaper O Globo implicated Rapids midfielder Max Alves in a match manipulation scandal that allegedly involved him intentionally taking a yellow card in a Rapids game last season.
Both times, management’s response was to hide behind intentionally vague statements while forcing their head coaches to face the inevitable questions.
Three weeks later, the Avs are still sticking to “personal reasons” to explain away Nichushkin’s absence, while simultaneously refusing to engage with a troubling police report that indicated a woman found in Nichushkin’s hotel room hours before a playoff game was so intoxicated emergency responders had to be called to the scene.
The Rapids, at least, issued a statement hours after the report surfaced Wednesday referencing allegations of “unlawful sports gambling” involving one of their players. Yet the statement didn’t even identify the player removed from team activities as a result — nor did head coach Robin Fraser dare utter Alves’ name when approached by reporters a day later.
In both instances, the silence is deafening.
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