Durant May Be Unstoppable this Season
Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant has become one of the unstoppable forces in the NBA this season. The OKC forward is averaging 31.4 points per game.
Durant shoots 51% overall from the field and 40.5% from beyond the three-point arc. Not to mention the 88% he shoots from the free throw line.
Durant could soon be in the 50/40/90 club again for his second straight season. That would make him the first player in the history of the NBA to accomplish the feat while being the league scoring leader and averaging over 30 points a game.
No wonder he is considered unstoppable. That might sound impossible, but is there anything or anyone that can actually neutralize the superstar from the Thunder?
Durant has played in 55 games this season. He has been held to under 20 points in just four of those 55 games. Of the 51 games, he scored 20 points or more, only 7 times did he not score 25 or more.
Durant has shot 50% or better in 28 of his 55 games this season. He also has a high field goal percentage from beyond the arc and finds a way to get to the foul line.
When Durant is slowed down, case in point four games with less than 20 points out of 55, one reason is not enough playing time. This is not due to Durant being in foul trouble, but due to his team being so strong they dominate their opponent.
In one of his four games Durant had less than 20 points this season, he scored 19 in just 26 minutes versus Utah but the Thunder routed the Jazz and he sat out the entire fourth quarter.
When Durant’s run of 12 straight games of 30 points or more was broken, the same thing happened. The Thunder routed the Brooklyn Nets and Durant was benched while nearing the 30-point plateau.
Another way teams have tried to stop Durant is constantly double-teaming him. Minnesota did that with success in one game early in the season.
He was covered by two players each time he received the ball. That was one of his four games he scored less than 20 points. However, teams cannot do that for entire games as the Thunder have other players that will burn them as well.
Most teams prefer to use a prevention method. Preventing Durant from touching the ball, since he is next to impossible to stop once he is in possession of the ball, is the best route to take said one NBA general manager.
Even LeBron James has said it is next to impossible to stop Durant when the Thunder player is holding the ball. James should know, the two have faced off a number of times and James is one of the best in the league in one on one defense.
The simple truth is Durant is about the only way you can stop Durant. That is right, if he has an off shooting night, is tired, or his mind is not in the particular game, then he might not play as well as he normally does.
