Kevin Durant is 36-years-old and is about to enter his 17th season in the NBA. Much like his good friend LeBron James he shows no signs of slowing down – despite having several serious injuries – and as such the Phoenix Suns are fringe contenders as long as he is on the roster.
Last season he carried the organization for stretches – even with fellow superstar and franchise cornerstone Devin Booker right there with him – and it is sure to be the case again this time out. Luckily for both, they may just have a rejuvenated Bradley Beal there to help them try and win a playoff series or two.
What Durant just did against the Detroit Pistons though, defies logic.
We know it’s only preseason – although already some winners and losers are emerging on this roster – but there’s no doubt Durant and most of his Suns’ teammates have come out of the gates strong. Nobody cares that they’re 2-0 (remind us again how the Suns finished in preseason play last year, because we genuinely don’t know), but it’s the manner in which they’re playing.
There’s pace, purpose and movement on both ends of the court, and Durant has been central to this. A four-time scoring champion – while also holding the joint-second spot in single season scoring in Suns’ history at 27.1 points per game last season alongside Booker – Durant may have outdone himself with how he scored 21 points against the Detroit Pistons.
Yep you read that right, one dribble to score 21 points. That’s obviously incredible, but to achieve this in 18 minutes of action is something else. While not the NBA Finals in terms of intensity, this already looks like head coach Mike Budenholzer’s offensive sets are going to get the best out of not only Durant, but his trio of stars.
This could also have a great knock-on effect once the regular season starts – as although Durant can and will handle the ball and create his own shot plenty – what a luxury it is to have essentially one of the best spot-up shooters of all-time popping up all over the court for your team. Like a longer, healthier Klay Thompson.
This is also a great way to ensure Durant conserves energy, while the prospect of him doing this while playing the five will give opponents nightmares. You literally can’t stop this – but if you send a big out to try and shut him down – Booker and Beal will easily exploit this space. Throw a smaller guy on him to put him off, and a mismatch is going to appear for one of Durant’s teammates to attack.
Perhaps this is the final evolution of Durant – possibly the greatest scorer in the history of this league – who opts for efficiency over everything else. Let Tyus Jones handle the ball and the tandem of Booker and Beal create, and he can just feast on everything else that comes his way. There’s clearly so much more to his game offensively than that still, but it is such a wonderful development.
We haven’t had to comprehend what Durant ageing in the league will look like – another thing he has in common with LeBron – but they’re not immortal. Both will have to change their games and their roles in time – and with a single, effortless dribble and fluid motion from him off the ball all game long – we may be witnessing the start of that for Kevin Durant. It looks amazing.
