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Honestly, I think it's because durant is the only player other than old rapey that Ron Ron respects. Maybe he knocks it up a notch for him.
Seems like Ron Ron gets in his head. Durant shot in the 30% in playoffs last year. But I think it's ron's physicality against Durant who isn't that strong. Why don't other players take this approach vs Durant?
Honestly, I think it's because durant is the only player other than old rapey that Ron Ron respects. Maybe he knocks it up a notch for him.
tbh artest owns melo too
durant has no post game. its all face up. once he adds that his height is too unstoppable.
Durant's only strength against the Lakers is when he comes off screens..Artest is too slow to recover, usually..the Thunder can't run mid-range screens all game though, the rest of their personnel isn't suited for it for an entire game..they don't have any shooters, so once LA adjusts and overplays a Durant screen, it's not like OKC's other players can punish them with open looks..
Artest's strength is obviously 1 on 1 D, where he's still excellent, and Durant isn't a great 1 on 1 player..the Lakers' size obviously affects him, since he isn't an explosive finisher at the rim like Westbrook..his finishing in the paint is usually before the rim, not at the rim, so he gets tough looks against LA..LA's size forces him to eventually settle for outside jump shots, which is something he is streaky at..
Cause Durant is as skinny as a cane pole on the river.
I heard he's tried to put on weight but has no success doing so, maybe his metabolism or body just isn't capable of beefing up. (without enhancers of course)
However if he could beef up the kid would be the best thing since the invention of antiseptics.
Poor kid can't gain weight. Durant needs to add a postup game, but being skinny doesn't help in that department.
Artest gets away with a lot of pulls, grabs and physicality when he guards Durant. What I've noticed is when Durant is guarded by Artest, he's much more focused in getting Artest in foul trouble instead of playing his normal A game.
Artest is in Durant's head. When he doesn't get the calls he thinks he deserves, he will force the issue thus explaining his high volume of shots.
His case is no different than any other high scoring players who also had troubles with certain players. Dumars had Jordan's numbers, Tayshaun Prince appears to have great success when guarding Kobe, Larry Bird has mentioned Michael Cooper covered him better than anybody else.
I think Artest earned his paycheck last year by showing up in just 8 games last year, 6 coming from that OKC series alone.
he can't bench because of his longass arms
Because the Lakers get away with a lot of non-calls
They're both Spiders - Artest is a tarantula and Durant a Brown Recluse...
Having Westbrook next to you can both be a blessing and a curse too. Durantula basically got two touches in the last 5 mins of the game.
That said, Durant needs to work more on running off screens and curls. He also needs to hit the gym and bulk up a bit.
Durant gets less touches than timmy Duncan. Westbrook is a damn ballhog and chucker. and Arden and the other OKC fools are even worse, chucking 3s and they are the worst 3pt team in the league.
Ridiculous this team and their coach. Poor KD
Durant is basically a taller version of Arenas when he was in his prime. Straight chucker, no heart having mother er.
Durant sucked against Marion last year too
He's not effective when he doesn't get freethrows
Because Durant's game is based on getting to the FT line, and yet games against the Lakers have very few FTA.
Take for example, the overall Laker opponent FTAs. In 43 games this season, the Lakers have shot 1067 FTAs, while the opponents shot only 893 FTAs, that's a difference of 174 FTAs in 43 games, or more than 4 FTA a game. While it is not all that uncommon for one team to shoot more free throws than the opponents (The Spurs, Thunder, and Nuggets for example) The funny thing is, Lakers opponents shoot an average 20.8 FTAs vs. the Lakers, but an interesting 24.6 FTAs overall against other teams. The difference is, not coincidentally, about 4 FTs. The trick is that the league has manufactured an environment where the Lakers do not shoot a ton of FTAs and fans alike can point to the obvious bias the league has for the Lakers, they do not let the Lakers shoot an astronomical number of FTs. In fact, the Lakers rank right about the middle in FTAs.
But to make sure the Lakers get their "fair" share of FTs, the league would reduce the number of FTs given to the other teams. At the end of the day, Laker fans can readily point to the fact that the Lakers are middle of the road in FTAs, and have only 4 more FTAs than the rest of the league, when in fact the Lakers should have the same amount of FTAs.
This doesn't always works out the way the league wants, and in some cases, have to award an absolutely an unreal amount of FTAs to the Lakers, particularly in the 4th quarter, and particularly in elimination games.
Back the Durant, he averages 7.8 FTA a game this year, but for whatever reason, shoots only a little over 6 FTs vs the Lakers despite being guarded primarily by the very physical Artest.
I say the league is very sly in trying to cover up their biases by manufacturer macro statistical trends that could mask their true intent.
You should publish your findings. It would appeal to the ever-growing butthurt demographic
Durant is predictable. That's all there is to it. His handles are shaky so he's an average slasher. He has no post game whatsoever. So all he can do really is shoot the jumper all game long and if it's going in? Great. If it's not going he's worthless and becomes a ghost on the floor.
One thing that really sticks out to me is Westbrook rebounds just as much as Durant which is ridiculous considering Durant's height and wingspan. He needs to stop playing soft and hit the boards a bit more. He should be averaging 8-9 rebounds easily for the minutes he plays. 6 rebs in 39 minutes of playing time just flat out sucks for someone his size.
Durant's as good as the referees allow him to be.
Artest is allowed to grab, pull, ride on Durant's hips, push, swipe, etc...
as much as he needs to -to ensure a lakers victory.
That's how Bowen made a living. But to be fair Bowen also planted his foot under jump-shooters, so he was better.
Ron Ron picking up fights in the stands is unmatched, imo
While Artest gets away with more than any player in NBA history(when you consider that today's defenders aren't supposed to be allowed to play with his playing style), the argument that Durant struggles due to that is just false..
2009-2010 Kevin Durant during the regular season: 10.2 FTA per game..
2009-2010 Kevin Durant in the playoffs vs. LA: 10.3 FTA per game..
There isn't a difference..he was still getting his free throw attempts..
As I said, and as hitman followed up with, Durant isn't a standout 1 on 1 player..he's overrated, obviously, but even ignoring that, OKC can't use his strengths against Artest, so it plays right into Artest's strategy..
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