Kevin Durant's playoff run is about to get a lot more serious. Durant only played a total of 28 minutes in the first round series sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers while tallying a total of 42 points. Durant has not been required this series as the likes of Al-Farouq Aminu, Moe Harkless, and Moe Harkless posed no threat to the Warriors. So as Durant is concerned the series against the Trail Blazers had no meaning to him.
But this is about to change with the second round against the Utah Jazz as he comes up against a fellow all-star Gordon Hayward.
Hayward is the first of many tough matchups
Similar to a computer game Hayward is the second obstacle in an increasing difficult of matchups as Durant marches towards the NBA Finals. Should the Warriors move onto the Western Conference Finals as expected Durant could be finding himself guarding Kawhi Leonard in the case that the Spurs also advance to the Conference Finals. If the Warriors end up going all the way to the NBA Finals Durant will more likely than not be going up against Lebron James, in the hunt for hid first NBA title this is quite the matchups for Durant.
Gordon Hayward is not your average player. He has established himself as the Utah Jazz's alpha dog. Hayward was the best player in the first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, no disrespect intended for Chris Paul. After having a playoff debut to forget in the 2012 NBA playoffs as Hayward shot 18.2 percent from the field the whole series as his Jazz suffered a sweep at the hands of the Spurs. Hayward has redeemed himself in the first round series he recently played. Hayward averaged 23.7 points on 46.9 percent from the field against the Clippers scoring 26 points in game 7 to upset the Clippers at home to advance to the second round.
The Warriors face tough challenges ahead
The Golden State Warriors are miles ahead of the Clippers at the defensive end so far players like Joe Ingles, Rodney Hood and Joe Jonson they will have a tougher time heating up with the likes of Patrick McCaw, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson taking charge of this excellent defense.
It will be crucial for Gordon Hayward to lead this offense against one of the best defenses in the league, if he fails to do this, it will be a long series for the Jazz.
The Spurs have a similar offensive setup to the Jazz with Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs being more better and aggressive than Hayward and the Jazz. Although Leonard is the alpha of the Spurs, and then Lebron will be most likely waiting in the NBA Finals for Durant, which will be the final hurdle for Durant. Many people believe that Durant signed with the Warriors to take the easy road to an NBA title. There is no doubt that the Warriors are the overwhelming pick to win the NBA championship, despite the fact that Durant is set for a rough road to the finals.