Kevin Durant: If fans find blowout-heavy playoffs boring, 'don't watch it'

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant has a message for fans that have been complaining about the 2017 playoffs being boring: “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”

Some NBA fans have called this playoff season boring and unwatchable because there are two teams that seem to be light years ahead of the rest. Both the Warriors and the Cavaliers enter their next games (Game 4 for Golden State and Game 3 for Cleveland) with perfect postseason records. On Friday night, the Cavaliers smothered the Boston Celtics, winning by 44 points on the road. And with the exception of Game 1 against the Spurs, which saw San Antonio star Kawhi Leonard suffer an ankle sprain that has kept him out for the last two games, the Warriors have yet to be seriously pushed in the playoffs.

But Durant says that that is just how the cookie crumbles. After pouring in a game-high 33 points to spark the Warriors to a commanding 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals, Durant was asked about his response to critics who have questioned the entertainment value of a postseason that has featured 22 games decided by 15 or more points.

“If I was up 40 points […] you know, you have to give them credit for being up 40 points,” Durant said of the Cavaliers’ Friday night performance in Boston. “They went out there and dominated. That’s what you want to do every time you step on the court, so I’m sure they’re excited about it. But the fans, they always want to see a tight game; they want to see a buzzer beater every game. But, you know, it’s not like that sometimes. You have your years where you have great playoff series, [where there are] four or five Game 7s, and then you have what you see this playoffs.”

Dominance by a few teams for years and years in a row is not new to the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers won three consecutive championships in the early 2000s. The Chicago Bulls won six championships in eight years in the 1990s, and the Celtics won eight (!) rings in a row in the ‘60s, although the league was just a little different back then. When fans’ favorite teams are doing the dominating, they usually don’t seem to mind watching very much. But when fans are watching their teams get blown out, it isn’t so fun anymore.

As Durant pointed out, players are there to compete. Yes, having entertaining games is nice, but that’s isn’t the players’ main focus. At the end of the day, their job is about winning.

“As players, you want to go out there and win by as much as possible,” Durant said. “And play as great as you can. Whatever happens with the score happens. So relay that to the fans who are upset. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”