The Suns were no match for Anthony Edwards in Game 1 of their first-round series and Draymond Green thinks that Kevin Durant needs to be the man to step up.
Phoenix weren’t able to control Edwards on offense, evident in his 33 points, nine rebounds, six assist and two steal haul.
He and KD went at it in the third quarter, where Ant chirped at Durant and outscored him 18-10.
Green says that it will be up to KD to stop Edwards for the remaining games.
“What the Phoenix Suns are going to have to do, is there going to have to play KD on Anthony Edwards the entire series,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “That has to be his matchup. And what Phoenix has to do is they have to rely on Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen you’re gonna have to hit some shots. They are going to have to rely on those guys to carry the load offensively. To ask Kevin to go try to lock up Anthony Edwards and then go carry the load on the offensive end, he is in year 18, it ain’t happening every night.”
Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson shared similar thoughts to Green, urging someone on the Suns to go to Ant’s level as Game 2 looms.
“We’re not going to win it on the offensive end,” said Jackson on The Mark Jackson Show.”The problem is they haven’t taken pride all season long on the defensive end. I need somebody to match the intensity and take the challenge of saying, ‘Anthony Edwards, you are an elite player. We see you playing with a chip on your shoulders. We see you got it going on. We see you got something to prove.”
Jackson continued, “I need somebody to find a way by any means necessary to stop the bleeding. Walking around, running around with a swag and a bounce, is unbelievable, but he deserved it. But in the Phoenix Suns’ locker room, somebody’s got to take pride and say. ‘I’m going to stop the bleeding; I’m going to make him work for everything he gets”.
Does 35-year-old Durant has the gusto to go toe-to-toe with 22-year-old Edwards? We’re about to find out.