Richard Jefferson begged Lue to guard Durant
Warning: Story contains coarse language
The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to get the most unlikely contributions out of veteran forward Richard Jefferson.
Jefferson's latest trick is some surprisingly solid defense against Kevin Durant. That assignment had originally belonged to LeBron James, but Jefferson pleaded with Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue to give him a shot.
"Fucking begging for it," Jefferson told Jason Lloyd of The Athletic about the opportunity to check Durant. "I've been begging for it."
Lue finally gave Jefferson a shot in Game 4 and the 36-year-old didn't disappoint. Durant shot 1-of-7 against Jefferson, who was able to disrupt the four-time scoring champion's rhythm with a rugged brand of physicality that went uncalled by officials. Jefferson also crashed the glass, moved the ball strategically, and finished as a plus-13 in 22 minutes off the bench.
The added bonus of Jefferson's coverage is that it allowed James to guard a lesser offensive threat in Draymond Green, which therefore permitted James more freedom to provide help defense elsewhere. Golden State still managed 116 points against that defensive alignment, but Cleveland was able to get the win.
"I've been doing this for 16 years. I can do things. And the more you give me a little bit of an opportunity, the more you give me a little bit more of a leash, I can contribute," Jefferson said.
"The best thing Ty did is he gave me a leash."