That's a huge matchup advantage for the Spurs in that they can throw both their rotation small forwards at Durant and have some success with two different styles. If the refs let Jax body him up and route him then it'll be a long series for Durant.
ducks bringing the goods. Even if Jack is the superior defender in the long run, he can't defend Durant for 30 minutes without fouling out.
That's a huge matchup advantage for the Spurs in that they can throw both their rotation small forwards at Durant and have some success with two different styles. If the refs let Jax body him up and route him then it'll be a long series for Durant.
Not only that, he doesn't have the legs to do that anymore. A whole game of following Durant will tire Sjax out.
Its a great SF combo. Youth and experience. Offense and Defense. To think we started the season with basically just RJ at SF not knowing what Leonard could do. Awesome
Very true. It was interesting watching Jax spend extended minutes with Manu tonight. While Jax definitely has the at ude left, his weight and conditioning at the moment makes you wonder about his conditioning.
They needed someone to get up into Durant tonight. To body him around, to talk trash in his ear, to knock him off his spots, and get him out of his comfort zone. So they needed to call Jack's number... he knows how to "get nasty."
Why it has to be a versus ? We have BOTH, and they can take turns in beating Mr. Acne on the court, coach Pop knows which rotation does best, no worry.
Jackson's defense was a thing of beauty..
Its hard to explain but despite Jackson struggles against the Clippers (but not surprising given the match ups), and his poor shooting all season long (40% FG and 30% from the 3) you just kind of know hes going to deliver. It was mainly defensive tonight but he also swished a crucial 3 pointer to give us a well needed cushion.
It's great to have two different kinds of defenders to throw at Durant. Leonard with his length and the ability to stay with him, and Jackson who is being physical with him. Of course Jax would foul out quickly if he defended Durant like this from the get go, but it's a nice strategy over certain periods of time and maybe down the stretch.
It looked like Jax was most effective in guarding Durant.
I think that Leonard with his quickness would bother Westbrook or Harden a lot more than Durant.
I'm not sold in Jackson defending Durant for all the series, he's not quick enough.
But there's no doubt that today, specially in the 4th, Buckets did an amazing job against him, he could only score thanks to the refs sending him to the free throw line.
Props to Jax
I vote KL with his younger legs for the first three quarters then Unleash the Jackson! in the 4th. I really think any opposing player is afraid SJ will just pop them in the jaw if things get close; he has the right combination of talent, aggressiveness and explosive temperment.
The combo of both Jack and Kawhi is awesome. Kawhi can be on him in the beginning of both halves, then put Jack to close out the halves and games. It seemed to work.
To me Leonard looked pretty effective until Durant started to post him up. I like S-Jax on Durant because he plays physical against him and Durant simply hates it.
+1
I think the combination of the two is really going to wear on Durant as the series progresses. Which will put even more pressure on Westbrick and Hardon, which will lead to more forced turnovers/bad shots and bodes well for the spurs.
Jax played great but I felt Leonard could have done a good job as well. I guess if we have the depth we may as well put fresh guys on Durant to wear him down.
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