Kevin Durant looks down on Clint Capela after barb: 'His job is not as hard'

Houston’s win over Golden State on Saturday was a shot across the bow, a ramping up of the rivalry between the Rockets and Warriors as they appear destined for a Western Conference Finals showdown.

The win by the Rockets in a game played without suspended Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green gave Houston a 2-1 series lead on the season and added to the narrative that Golden State might actually be vulnerable.

It also led to some postgame trash talk, primarily from Rockets big man Clint Capela.

Clint Capela and Kevin Durant are turning up the heat on a budding rivalry. (AP)
Clint Capela and Kevin Durant are turning up the heat on a budding rivalry. (AP)

“I think that if we’re doing what we’re supposed to do on defense — all the switches, the weak side — and keep playing our offense by keeping that mentality all game long, we have the weapons to beat them,” Capela told ESPN after the game. “We are better than them. … We’re definitely the best in the league with everybody healthy.”

Well, Kevin Durant got wind of Capela’s comments. And, in sticking to his status as player most likely to be goaded into a media beef, Durant fired back Monday.

“You hear that from guys like Capela,” Durant told The Athletic. “Usually, he’s catching the ball and laying it up from CP or James Harden. His job is not that hard. When your job is that hard, you know you can’t just come out there and say s**t like that.”

In short: Stay in your lane, role player.

It’s petty. It’s personal. It’s a lot of fun to watch.

Hopefully it’s a preview of things to come in the playoffs.