I can't get enough of this kid. I've DVR'd the Thunder's last several games. I usually just fast forward through the opponent's possessions so I can watch Durant on offense and I can watch the game in a half hour or so.
But my god. The kid is remarkable. I got into a debate with an NBA fan who was bashing Durant (I live in Seattle and the fan only knew of Durant from last year when he was significantly worse). I was telling my friend that Durant will likely start leading the league in scoring in the next couple years. My friend's stance was: "Durant will never be the scorer that LeBron James is. LeBron is 6'8 260 of pure force... Durant is just too skinny"... I had to bring up the scoring ability of skinny, unathletic, slow Larry Bird to prove my point.
But now it's stuck in my head. You need to watch Durant some time if you haven't already. His shooting is just otherworldly lately. He can hit it from anywhere... he's got unlimited range... he has step backs, fade aways, he can score off the dribble... he's ridiculous on catch-and-shoot... he can also take it inside. But his shooting is absurd lately. This month he's averaging 33.4 points on 53% shooting. 57% from three. 86% from the line.
Don't get me wrong. I'm just talking about the shooting (kinda like where people try to say Pierce is a better "scorer" than Bird)... Obviously Durant is not good defensively, he's not the passer, not as crafty or as genius as Bird.... I'm just talking about his "shooting". Two skinny 6-9 players with ridiculous range.
For the season he's averaging 26.1 points on 48% shooting... 44% from three (averages 1.4 threes a game)... 86% from the line. Those numbers just keep getting higher and higher as the season progresses. But he's 20 YEARS OLD!!! ... For comparison, Bird came into the league at 23 years of age...
20 Year Old Durant: 26.1 points, 48% shooting, 44% three (1.4 per game), 86% FT
23 Year old Bird: 21.3 points, 47% shooting, 40% three, 84% FT
24 year old Bird: 21.2 points, 48% shooting, 27% three, 86% FT
31 Year old Bird (Peak?): 29.9 points, 53% shooting, 41% three (1.3 per game), 91% FT
Career Bird: 24.3 points, 49% shooting, 37% three, 88% FT
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/birdla01.htmlI consider Bird the greatest shooter of all time, but ... Durant sure seems Bird-esque in that department.
Side Note: I absolutely 100% think Durant has the "clutchness" factor. Wait until this kid gets a team around him. Against the Hornets I watched him dominate a game to take the lead... then in the final seconds I watched him hit a turnaround, fadeaway prayor three pointer to tie it... only to see Chris Paul quickly penetrate into the Thunder's pathetic interior defense and make a game winner. He's got it... he's already got 5 game winners (which is saying something considering how infrequently the Thunder win)