Durant gasped for air. The second quarter had only just begun, and he was already winded.
Because at that moment, he felt the immense pressure brought by the Grizzlies. That pressure had thrown even his breathing out of rhythm.
Nikola Jokic—that chubby white guy—was indeed far better than Durant had imagined. At the very least, he was much better than he had been in last season's Western Conference Finals.
Not every center could have made that kind of defensive play just now.
True, Jokic's rim protection rate was not the best among centers, but he had his own strengths.
Overall, Jokic was not a bad defender. He could even be called an above-average one.
But Durant was unwilling to be contained like this by a chubby white second-round pick.
And it was not just Durant. No one else on the Warriors was willing to accept that outcome either.
Especially Draymond Green.
At this year's Olympic Games, he had just been taught a lesson by Jokic. Now that they were on an NBA court, Green had no desire to see that tragedy repeat itself.
So on this possession, Green directly took the ball beyond the three-point line and isolated against Jokic.
But Jokic had been prepared. He gave Green two steps of space specifically to prevent the drive.
Besides, Green was not an outstanding isolation scorer. If the Warriors' offense had fallen to the point where they needed Green to create one-on-one, Link would have raised both hands in approval.
In the end, Green's drive to the rim was shut down by Jokic, who had retreated two steps. Green had plenty of strength and explosiveness, but once he got body-to-body with Jokic, his height disadvantage became apparent.
What was more, whenever Jokic faced Green, he was fired up from head to