Heat vs. Thunder: How the Heat's Defense Will Push Durant to the Edge
Thus far, the only thing that's stopped Kevin Durant from scoring in this postseason is his decision not to shoot the ball.
Otherwise, he's averaged just a hair under the 28 points a game he scored during the regular season while improving his shooting percentage to over 50 percent. As usual, the lanky 6'9" forward is scoring in a variety of ways that can only be described as eclectic.
Despite having one of the purest (and unguardable) jump-shots in the game, Durant puts up floaters, improbable layups and more than his fair share of dunks.
When it takes a guy two quick steps to get in the paint from just about anywhere, the defense is constantly on high alert.
The Miami Heat will be no exception.
The only difference is that Miami's MVP is also a three-time league MVP, and largely because of a defensive ability every bit as versatile as Durant's scoring.
LeBron James has the quickness to remain glued to anyone on the perimeter, the length to disrupt shots and the strength to keeps guys from getting to their preferred spots on the floor. Nothing short of such a dynamic defensive combination could give Durant a run for his money.
Durant played well in two games against Miami this season, averaging 29 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 blocks.
In other words, the mere presence of LeBron won't doom Durant to ineffectiveness. The challenge for head coach Erik Spoelstra will be to supplement James' elite skills with help-defense that forces Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden to be jump-shooters.
The Heat don't have the shot-blockers to salvage busted defense, so it will be incumbent upon guys like Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier to clog the lane. Ideally, they can draw some charges. At worst, they can make it difficult for the Thunder's quick perimeter players to get easy baskets.
Miami will also need to force Oklahoma City to return to its turnover-prone ways of the regular season, when the Thunder averaged a league-worst 16.3 turnovers per contest. In the postseason, Scott Brooks' club has averaged just 11.5 turnovers a game, a trend that needs to be reversed if the Heat have a chance.
OKC will inevitably find a way to score. Miami's challenge will be to keep the Thunder under 100 points, and that means keeping Durant and Westbrook from combining for 70 of those points.
That may sound like an ambitious task, but it's more probable than you might think. The Heat have held their opponents to 88.1 points per game in the postseason, a low mark even by playoff standards.
Sure, that's a bit easier to do against low-scoring squads like the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics, but it doesn't happen by accident.
