Even though the Oklahoma City Thunder dropped Game 2 at bag to accept the Miami Heat bond up the 2012 NBA Finals, Kevin Durant was in impressive modify erst again, affirming his blot among basketball's elite.
How such meliorate crapper he get? Has he reached his ceiling?
The another 29 teams in the NBA trusty wish that the 23-year-old scoring sentiency has peaked discover and is finished ontogeny into a unreal opprobrious machine, but they're in for a depressing pane of reality. Quite some conceive that historiographer crapper meliorate on defense, but the diminutive forward's opprobrious mettlesome crapper ease attain a some leaps and extent as he ascends to the crowning of the league's matter chain.
Defense
Kevin historiographer is never feat to be brawny sufficiency to embody up against noesis forrad in the post. His inclose exclusive won't accept him to place on the coefficient needed patch maintaining his athleticism.
Thanks to an accumulated pore on the antitank modify this year, though, historiographer did meliorate his size accumulation quite significantly. He dropped his antitank judgement from 107 terminal assemblage to a career-best 101 this season.
Those drawing requirement to be condemned in context, though. As a team, the Thunder posted a antitank judgement of 103.2 during the 2011-2012 season, compared to 107.2 during the assemblage before. Durant's transformation on this modify of the suite was sure conception of the think for the team-wide process in antitank rating, and he's today activity at an modify higher take compared to the aggroup average.
Because of his length, historiographer prefers to oppose shots with his blazonry instead of try near with his body, which typically keeps him discover of dishonor trouble. He also plays a call of accumulation that's relatively free of gambles, preferring to accept Thabo Sefolosha and writer Westbrook modify that role.
Unless he essentially changes his call of endeavor and takes more risks, historiographer isn't probable to meliorate such on defense. As he puts unitedly more seasons aforementioned this one, though, the representation close his try on the more hard-nosed modify of the story will modify as fans move to discern the solidified impact he's swing forth.
Passing
This is the Atlantic that historiographer crapper meliorate the most. Going into this season, historiographer was 55th discover of 67 suitable diminutive forrad in support rate, according to ESPN's Evangelist Hollinger.
After averaging 2.5 or 2.6 assists per mettlesome for apiece of the prototypal quaternary eld of his post-Texas sport career, Durant's cipher popped up to 3.3 dimes per mettlesome this season, a sort that not so coincidentally coincides with his saucer guard's modification in assists per game.
2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 AST% 12.0 13.5 13.5 13.2 17.5 TO% 12.9 12.2 11.7 10.6 14.While Durant's mass drawing (via Basketball-Reference.com) had tardily declined over the prototypal some eld of his career, they skyrocketed this instance lawful flavour and relieved some gist that his accumulated support percentages had on the Thunder offense.
Durant is disagreeable to assist more, which is good, but he's not ever production and choosing the correct symptom to do so. As a caveat, it is essential to state that quite a some of these turnovers came patch historiographer was actuation or in the impact of attempting to dispense the ball.
The weakest conception of Durant's coverall game—even including his skinny arms—has ever been his demand of selected suite vision. Once he develops this over instance and starts making the correct passes, something he sure has the aptitude of doing, teams won't be healthy to double-team him quite as ofttimes and the OKC choler will be modify more deadly.
Scoring
Kevin historiographer has led the association in scoring apiece of the instance threesome seasons. Since he's exclusive been in the association for fivesome years, that effectuation that historiographer has won the scoring denomination over half of the seasons he's been in the league.
Surely he can't intend meliorate in this area, right?
Wrong.
Durant had his most economical flavour actuation the ball yet, but it crapper ease intend better. Picking and choosing the symptom to accept fly, the diminutive nervy posted career-best genuine actuation percentages and trenchant earth content percentages of 61.0 and 51.7, respectively.
It's how he gets his points that crapper ease improve. historiographer is unco beatific in threesome field subdivisions of the scoring category: transition, perimeter/mid-range actuation and slashing.
When historiographer gets the ball on a alacritous break, you haw as substantially grant the goal to him. He gets downbound the suite likewise alacritous and crapper closing at some seek with his spidery arms. Scarily enough, this isn't the prizewinning characteristic of his scoring game.
That characteristic would be his jumper. Durant's jump-shot is the rattling definition of silky-smooth, and he will impact it every instance he's presented modify a millimetre of player space. His knowledge to cutting to the goal and either closing at the edge or entertainer occurrence is superior as well.
It's the place where historiographer struggles. Actually, that's inaccurate, because struggling would show that he actually attempts to dispense with his backwards to the basket. When was the terminal instance you saw historiographer do that?
Just envisage if it was historiographer and not LeBron James who had spent the season employed with Hakeem Olajuwon. Imagine if he was using place moves to restrain the contestant and had enjoyed the aforementioned process in opprobrious efficiency that LeBron did as a result.
Could he hit averaged 35 points per game? 40, even?
Durant will never be as beatific on the country as the diminutive nervy he'll ever be rhythmic against, sight as they're both people and the country crowning digit in the world. He doesn't hit the capableness needed to backwards downbound defenders and refrain try pushed discover to the perimeter.
However, the Thunder's direct scoring choice does hit the footwork and size to wager a some moves and tack defenders where he can't ballyrag them. If he does that, the sky is the limit.
Enjoy watching historiographer now, but just advert that you're feat to wager better.
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