Kevin Durant: Developing into a Silent Assassin
Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder were jolted out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night when, in reality, the series should still be going on. All but one of the games in the series were close down the stretch and came down to execution.
Say what you will about Russell Westbrook trying to be a hero, but—at times—Durant didn’t seem to want the ball. He was very passive and often appeared nonchalant in clutch moments. He is still a very young player, but as the leader of your team you are expected to raise your intensity level when it matters most.
So how can Durant learn how to perform late in games? Simple, learn from examples by studying a few great closers of recent memory.
Dirk Nowitzki
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What better player to start with than the person who stole your first NBA finals appearance?
Durant and the Thunder were up by 15 points Monday with about five minutes to go and knew this series was going back to Dallas tied 2-2. Dallas hadn’t had a lead all game, was getting pounded on the boards and had no business winning such a game.
The problem is, Dirk Nowitzki didn’t get this memo. Every time the Thunder seemingly threw the knock-out punch, Nowitzki answered back by finding the open man or making a clutch bucket. Dallas went on a 17-2 run in the final five minutes, with Nowitzki scoring 12 of those points, to send the game into overtime. From that point on, there was no doubt Dallas was going to win the game.
Nowitzki finished the game with 40 points and the Mavericks ended the series Wednesday night to advance to their second finals appearance in franchise history. Durant had front row seats to watch how to close games and should learn from it.
Kobe Bryant
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Kobe Bryant aka The Black Mamba. He is widely known as the best closer in the game because he refuses to let his team lose.
Kobe and the Lakers have won five championships since 2000 and he has been a crucial, if not the main reason, why that is. It was debatable whose team it really was when Shaq and Kobe were both on the team, but ever since Shaq’s departure Kobe has won two more rings.
He doesn’t get rattled when you play him close, foul him hard or taunt him. He simply makes you pay with his game. He has made so many unbelievable shots in the most hotly contested moments because he doesn’t feel pressure. He embraces it.
The greatest players shine in the biggest moments and Kobe is the best closer in the game since Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
Kevin Durant
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The last player Kevin Durant can study to learn how to close games is himself. When he watches the games from this past series, he will be thinking he could have done a lot of things better down the stretch to win games.
Outside of Shawn Marion, the Mavericks didn’t have anyone else who matched up well with Durant defensively. Jason Kidd even did a solid job guarding him. A 6'4" point guard trying to defend him should be something he laughs at as he drains shots over him.
By no means is Durant a strong player who can get good position on anyone guarding him, but there are ways around that. Too many times he caught the ball outside of the three-point line and had to try to dribble penetrate to get off a good shot. That is not his strong suit.
He has to fight through screens harder and post-up defenders to catch the ball where he feels comfortable. His length and dribbling ability make him a matchup nightmare by default. If he can bulk up this offseason, focus on where he catches the ball, and come back next season on a mission he will be nearly unstoppable.
