Although some may find the Utah Jazz’s 3-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder surprising, former Thunder player Kevin Durant is far from shocked.
Several fans are shocked. Members of the media can’t believe it. Some are calling it a major upset.
No matter how surprising it may seem to some, though, the Utah Jazz indeed hold a 3-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder. While the series isn’t over yet, the Jazz are sitting pretty with three chances to get a single win to take the series and move on to the second round of the NBA Playoffs for the second year in a row.
Several Jazz fans saw this coming. They understood how hot their team was entering the playoffs, believed in the coaching edge they’d have in Quin Snyder over Billy Donovan and had faith in the strength of their team over OKC’s focus on individual stars.
But Utah fans aren’t the only ones that aren’t shocked by the commanding 3-1 lead the Jazz have jumped out to. You know who also is feeling less than surprised? Oh, just an NBA All-Star by the name of Kevin Durant.
That’s right – in a recent interview with the Golden State Warriors star, he made it quite clear that Utah’s lead over his former team isn’t shocking in the least. And what led to him coming to the conclusion, you ask? Well, quite simply, because he acknowledged that the Jazz whooped the Warriors on a couple occasions in the regular season (it was three times, actually, but twice when KD was active).
In that pair of games, Utah won by 30 and 40 points, respectively – the Warriors’ two worst losses of the season.
Durant’s exact words were, “I don’t look at that as a surprise.” Then he went on to say, “I know from personal experience how good that Utah team is.” You can check out his full comments in the video below:
KD said the Jazz's powerful 3-1 lead, performance can't come as a shock: "We got our asses kicked by them twice." GSW lost by 30 + 40 in Salt Lake, two worst losses of season. pic.twitter.com/0qRtQgiQZU
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 24, 2018
It may be little more than a moral victory, but it’s actually refreshing to see Durant recognize just how good the Jazz have been this year and how dominant they were in those games against his Warriors squad.
Quite frankly, it’s been interesting to see how the Jazz have been portrayed this postseason by fans and the media alike. Many Oklahoma City fans felt like they had been blessed with an easy first-round matchup. Several fans of other teams agreed, with many on Twitter going as far as to say that the Thunder had an easy route to the next round since they got to take on the “trash Jazz”. Boy, have they been in for a surprise thus far.
Even several hypothetically knowledgeable analysts have agreed with that sentiment. Pretty much the entire TNT crew on Inside the NBA made it clear that they felt OKC would easily advance.
Heck, enough pointing fingers. Even I picked the Thunder to win the series initially. Though in fairness, I always knew the Jazz would fare better against them than most casual observers gave them credit for.
From #TheJump: If the Jazz knock out OKC, is it an upset? With the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, a lead candidate for Coach of the Year & one of the most exciting rookies of the past decade, Utah is starting to make fans ask who's really the superteam in this series. pic.twitter.com/imOdRmRYaY
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 24, 2018
However, despite all these inaccurate opinions of the Utah Jazz that have bounced around, it’s quite clear that those closest to the league, namely the players that have had to go up against Utah’s daunting D and formidable team approach, know that they aren’t a squad to be trifled with. Kevin Durant made as much clear, going as far as to say that the 3-1 lead (one that likely has surprised even some die-hard Jazz fans, to be frank) wasn’t a surprise at all.
The Oklahoma City Thunder stars are certainly finding out the hard way that as much is true as well. This Jazz team may not boast any All-Stars, but it’s definitely handling a much more star-studded squad with ease thus far.
Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that the series isn’t over yet. The 3-1 lead feels great and has the Jazz in an excellent spot with a chance to close out the series on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the Oklahoma City Thunder crowd will bring immense energy to a building where Utah has historically struggled. If the Jazz aren’t able to close out in Game 5, it could provide OKC with momentum and energy to surge back into the series.
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Thus far, it doesn’t look like such will happen. And if it did, it would be even more surprising than Utah taking a 3-1 lead in the first place.
Time will tell how the series ultimately plays out, but one thing is certain – this Utah Jazz team is a formidable squad, capable of competing with and beating even the best of the best.
And it really shouldn’t be a surprise anymore.