Brad Cesmat
“Getting lost in the game”
Kevin Durant used that term when he spoke to a few of us on Tuesday here in Charlotte. After his Suns debut Wednesday night against the Hornets(a serious buzz-kill for Hornets fans) “It was fun, it was fun. I missed playing; it’s the highest level of ball in the world. I missed being out on the floor, going over strategy, talking with the guys for camaraderie”.
I got lost in the Durant game two hours before the starting lineups. His pregame warmup routine was tightly scripted from around the arc to the midrange, back to the basket, and footwork. I love watching greatness work on their craft while the national anthem singer is warming up and the halftime show is still in their street clothes. For the 7pm tip here, Durant came out on the main floor at 5:15. He stuck with it for about fifteen minutes, but he was dripping sweat when I left the floor…
Monty Williams said that Durant would be on a minute restriction before the game, so watching the substation pattern was interesting. Durant left the floor at the 6:15 mark of the first quarter for Torrey Craig. When he came back into the game, Williams had him as the only starter on the floor, and the Suns increased their lead. At one point in the second quarter, the lineup shuffle had Booker replacing Durant. Was I watching an Olympic game?
There’s nothing that Durant didn’t do against the inferior opponent. Zipping passes, blocking shots, and intimidating the opposition. Gordon Hayward of Charlotte looked like he was in a sword fight with a piece of spaghetti trying to guard Durant to start the night…
On a couple of timeouts, Durant, Chris Paul, and Devin Booker had a little pow-wow outside of the team huddle, with each pointing at the floor and going through hand motions. Durant nodded. This is still a work in progress…
I will be interested to see when Durant plays center when Deandre Ayton is resting or in foul trouble. That will happen in the playoffs. I wouldn’t expect the bench to go much past seven players once we get into games that truly matter in late April and beyond…
Chris Paul was just 1-8 shooting. Durant hit 10 of 15 shots. Booker went off for 37 on 26 shots. The Suns shot just 15 free throws. I’d like to see more walks to the charity stripe…
I’m off to Chicago. If you missed ESPN’s Brian Windhorst with me on Wednesday’s show, you can check it out on the site. I’ll have a show Friday morning from Chicago with ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth (sideline reporter for Sunday’s Suns game at Dallas for ABC)…
Getting lost in the game is kinda fun…
Make it a great day!
