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let's not..
Ok, so a lot of people have scrutinized Durant's game more now that he made it to the big stage. However I think a lot of the focus is wrong. People are trying to center too much on the mental aspect, and asking Durant to be more demanding. Too me there are still to many holes in his game, weakness, that prevent him from even getting to the stage that he can dominate.
I have seen a lot of smaller defenders hassle him quite easily. He reminds me a lot of early Dirk, in that he is simply not strong enough physically, and smaller defenders can get underneath him, and strongly disrupt his balance. By having a much higher center of gravity and little strength, Durant loses his body control required to score.
On the other hand, compared to other tall wing players who have been extremely successful like McGrady and LeBron, Durant is not quite the athlete these guys were. They could put the ball on the floor and dribble a lot better than he could. They are also stronger, better built, with much better body control, and could attack the basket better.
To me he has to look at Dirk's development and model a lot of his game to Dirk's. He's never going to be the athlete Tmac or LeBron were. He needs to get stronger to push smaller guys a bit, but also learn how to shoot when those guys get underneath him. Dirk developed the one legged fadeaway to create the necessary space, and also a semi-post game at the elbow. Durant needs to find what his sweet spots are. Right now, he can easily lead the league in the regular season in scoring. But we've seen how Artest/Allen/Marion have gotten better and better throughout a series in defending him, and how physical defenders once they know his tendencies are able to shut him down.
Before he learns how to do that, we shouldn't even speak about his mental aspect.
let's not
Durant needs to understand that he needs to attack the basket. When you have a guy who's half a foot shorter than you, you take him to the post, and shoot over the top of him. You don't even need to back him down. Just get position on the block and shoot over the top. When the double comes, swing the ball.
Or, just put the ball on the floor and attack the basket.
Above all, STOP FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE 3!!!!!
his issue is that he relies too much on drawing fouls to score points. and not drawing fouls by being aggressive in going to the hoop, but by taking advantage of holes in the rules. he needs to develop some more moves, better footwork, and some muscle.
the other issue is his love for taking bad shots. but that should eventually be fixed through time.
but as of right now, IMO he is Rashard Lewis with ball handles.
He can't right now. He is not strong enough, and his weak frame is easily displaced when a strong guy gets underneath him.
clearly not important enough to talk about much right now!
let's not
He needs to take shots closer to the basket, they'll always be of higher percentage. Jordan during the second three peat, would post guys up 5-10 times a game. Seriously, he could be so much better, and taking bad shots is mental.
He has acne
And millions of dollars.
My opinion of him has decreased after this series.
Good point, Durant is the early version of Dirk. If he can stronger and heavier while being able to develop a post game, he's gonna be scary.
Durant will be fine. He's got polished skillsets that many veterans of the league work on year in and year out and cannot master. He's going to get better, that's the scary part.
If he gets that one foot fall away like Dirk has, it's over.
His downside is that he knows he's a great shooter, so he relies on his outside shot too much. He thinks he cannot miss, so he forces these 30' bricks. When he's on, he can hit those all day, but he's good enough to get to the rim, I think he's too lazy to do it.
Durant is no Lebron. That's for sure. Lebron is infinitely smarter than Durant.
And you're no Jack Kennedy.
That one foot fall away is one thing he needs to add against smaller guys.
Smarter, true. But also stronger and more coordinated/better balance.
After getting locked up by Artest last year I thought Durant would realize he was very one dimensional and work on other ways to score. He's a great shooter but when that shot isn't going or he's constantly being denied the ball on the perimeter by great defenders he has to find another way to score. With his length and shooting touch a post game should be a no-brainer for him. This offseason he should be in the gym learning footwork and how to seal his man on the block to catch a pass. He had a size advantage on every defender he faced in the playoffs this year. If I'm a coach I'd rather have him on the low block shooting a fadeaway or jumphook than launching 28-30 footers.
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