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Durrant & AK

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idiot

Well-Known Member
Now that it's absolutely clear that Durrant is as much of the future of the NBA as anyone else, I'd like to hear from those who watch a lot more of him than I'm able to:

Does having AK on our team give us any advantage at all compared to other teams relative to Durrant? Or is Durrant just so good that it doesn't matter? Does a long, agile type have more chance to slow him down than other types, or is your best bet someone like Artest? In other words, should we be hoping Evans develops into at least something of a player so he can eventually spend 15 minutes a game spelling AK and chasing around Durrant?
 
Durant has shown he can be slowed down a little bit if you bully him. Everything else he's just too skilled.

AK is not what I would call a bullying defensive player.
 
I would say AK is one of the most capable defenders out there against Durant. He matches up better than just about any player in the league. He does need a center/PF behind him who can challenge Durant if he gets by AK. There has been some games where AK has done a great job on him and a few where his defense wasnt much to talk about. We do have big problems against Durant if AK is out.
 
Need someone super long and tough/rough on KD. Play up on him hard and have everyone know he's either going to pass or try to blow by. If you play RIGHT IN HIS FACE, it tends to work better than trying to defend BOTH the shot and the drive. By playing up on him, the post will know to be in position to defend the drive/drive-dish and the guards can really challenge the passing lanes.
 
Kevin Durrant is that good. Kid is a stud and he is only getting better. When he first came in the league AK gave him a little trouble but the last few times KD has made the adjustments and torched AK and the Jazz. It is true that bullying him slows him down but in a few years the kid will be pretty much unstoppable. The only hope will be if he has an off night shooting.
 
cowhide said:
Kevin Durrant is that good. Kid is a stud and he is only getting better. When he first came in the league AK gave him a little trouble but the last few times KD has made the adjustments and torched AK and the Jazz. It is true that bullying him slows him down but in a few years the kid will be pretty much unstoppable. The only hope will be if he has an off night shooting.
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Yeah, but will he be able to guard Flash on the other end?
The key to stopping (or at least slowing down) a great scorer is to make him work on the other end. Problem with AK (or Brewer when he was here) is that you don;t/didn't have to guard them closely. Kobe. KD, etc. can rest on the defensive end against us. Unless/until we get a SF who can play both ends of the court, we will never have a chance.
 
...the best way for Klinko to guard Durant would be to deny him the ball....hope he has to come out to the 3 point line to get it with about 5 seconds on the 24 second clock....and then hope he only hits about 50% of those forced shots! If Durant doesn't get hurt this season....he's your next MVP!
 
We dont have anyone remotely resembling Artest to try to "bully" Durrant on the perimeter. AK's tuxedo defense wont scare anybody. And AK isnt quick enough to recover and block shots these days either.
What we need is a taller version of Raja Bell, playing in his prime, at SF. Wes Mathews had one game where he defended Durant well towards the end of a game just by trying to deny position. Sloan will probably try the same a little with Bell this year if he doesnt see what he likes from AK
 
Miles looks a little bulkier from some offseason pics I saw. If he really has a good season, here is another interesting lineup we can consider: Deron, Bell, Miles, AK and Jefferson. Even if AK cant defend Gasol for long stretches this lineup might be useful when Odom is subbed in. This should be a fairly quick and mobile unit with AK playing closer to the basket at 4 and being a somewhat shotblocking presence. For floor spacing on offense, you have 3 guys in that lineup who can make outside shots.
 
Let's not kid ourselves too much - AK will not, at this point in his career, be able to stop Durant. Bear in mind that Durant is only 21 years old and is poised to have a season where he averages not only a 50/40/90 but will dump over 30 ppg while doing it. It is entirely feasible this happens. Even the great Kobe never did this.

To be fair to Kirilenko, I'm sure he'll be able to block Durant or maybe steal the ball from him. But at the end of the night, I doubt many people will be saying that AK "shut Durant down" especially if Durant's line includes beaucoup points at some ridiculous FG percentage.

Before I get the inevitable lashing from everyone here, I want to end by saying that I dearly hope Kirilenko proves me wrong. But unless he has a real career renaissance this season, I highly doubt he will be shutting down Kevin Durant.
 
chemdude1232 said:
Let's not kid ourselves too much - AK will not, at this point in his career, be able to stop Durant. Bear in mind that Durant is only 21 years old and is poised to have a season where he averages not only a 50/40/90 but will dump over 30 ppg while doing it. It is entirely feasible this happens.
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Except that he has never shot 50% FG in a regular season (much less so in his sole playoff cameo), and he's shot 40% treys and 90% FTs only once each--and in different years.

(I love hyperbole. So much so that I want to marry it.)

As has been stated, to defend Durant (or Kobe or Odom or Gasol, for that matter), you body up on them a little bit and/or get in their faces a little bit, and they'll wilt like a millionaire flower. I'm surprised that Sloan (or most other coaches) haven't taken this strategy much. Even though Harpring's not around, such pesky defense by committee isn't that hard to implement.

I'm not calling for serial hacking; just box 'em out hard on the RBs, deny them the lanes when they have the ball, and selectively let them know that you are there when you can't alter their shots clean. Maybe Bell can set the tone for such intensity, although the height difference might not make him a good candidate to defend Durant directly.

Kirilenko is probably not the best player to go physical; perhaps the purportedly bigger CJ is (lol). But at least Kiri can get in opponents' heads--including Durant's--if he is able to stay in position to make them worried about him when they shoot. Fortunately Kobe and Odom ("Old-em"?) are getting older, but Durant is still in his prime.

Not 50/40/90 prime, but very dangerous. And OKC got better in the off-season, too.
 
ElRoach0 said:
I think Bell will match up nicely...

3's can guard 4's at times. Look how well Bruce Bowen used to do on Dirk Nowitzki
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Huh? Durrant plays the 3 in the NBA most times. That is why he is so tough to guard. He has 4 height yet has the quickness of a wing and can shoot the ball. AK has had some very good games against Durrant, but admittedly Durrant is "figuring" him out. The problem with Bell is that he is giving up like 5-6 inches. Ak only gives up about an inch.
 
No one will be able to shut down Durant. His confidence is sky hight now and his shooting combined with his length and speed makes him a nightmare. He will be slowed down by a good team defense or certain players, but I doubt he will have any single-digit games barring any injuries. The best defense on him probably is to attack him when he's playing defense to wear him down. So you might see that LeBron will have the best head-to-head numbers against Durant since not only he plays good defense, he will go at Durant on the other end too.
 
InGameStrategy said:
Except that he has never shot 50% FG in a regular season (much less so in his sole playoff cameo), and he's shot 40% treys and 90% FTs only once each--and in different years.

(I love hyperbole. So much so that I want to marry it.)

As has been stated, to defend Durant (or Kobe or Odom or Gasol, for that matter), you body up on them a little bit and/or get in their faces a little bit, and they'll wilt like a millionaire flower. I'm surprised that Sloan (or most other coaches) haven't taken this strategy much. Even though Harpring's not around, such pesky defense by committee isn't that hard to implement.

I'm not calling for serial hacking; just box 'em out hard on the RBs, deny them the lanes when they have the ball, and selectively let them know that you are there when you can't alter their shots clean. Maybe Bell can set the tone for such intensity, although the height difference might not make him a good candidate to defend Durant directly.

Kirilenko is probably not the best player to go physical; perhaps the purportedly bigger CJ is (lol). But at least Kiri can get in opponents' heads--including Durant's--if he is able to stay in position to make them worried about him when they shoot. Fortunately Kobe and Odom ("Old-em"?) are getting older, but Durant is still in his prime.

Not 50/40/90 prime, but very dangerous. And OKC got better in the off-season, too.
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Ah. It's so simple now. Just body them up. Yes. That's why no one has ever scored 40+ points in a single game against the likes of Artest, Bowen, Ben Wallace, and others who body guys up. Mmmhmm.

And the 50/40/90 thing is feasible. Sorry. He's only getting better. Hyperbole be damned.
 
NCJazz said:
Huh? Durrant plays the 3 in the NBA most times. That is why he is so tough to guard. He has 4 height yet has the quickness of a wing and can shoot the ball. AK has had some very good games against Durrant, but admittedly Durrant is "figuring" him out. The problem with Bell is that he is giving up like 5-6 inches. Ak only gives up about an inch.
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I dunno wtf you're talkin bout...
 
Durant is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of biased NBA officiating. 75% of his shots are jumpers, 16.2% of his attempted shots result in a drawn foul (Kobe can only wish he were officiated like that...). It will be interesting to see how Durant and the Thunder are officiated this season, and how they fare when they finally experience a few injuries. In my mind, Durant's supporting cast is ridiculously overrated (notably Westbrook and Green), and, if luck evens out this season (injuries, officiating, etc.), the Thunder won't be any better this season than last, and will have to fight until the end of the season just to make the playoffs.
 
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