5 Moves Kevin Durant Needs to Refine in His Arsenal

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the most exciting young players in the NBA. At age 23, he has plenty of time for improvement. That time is compounded by the current lockout.

No player is complete, and Durant is no exception. He, like all NBA players, should be capitalizing on this time off to improve his game.

Here are five moves he should be working on.

Spin Move

A good spin move is the bane of any defender’s existence. One minute you’ve got your man in front of you, locked down. The next, he’s spun around you and is gone for an easy dunk.

Considering his quickness and size, Kevin Durant would benefit greatly from perfecting the spin move as part of his arsenal. Few defenders would have the combination of size and foot speed to be able to contain him.

Behind the Back

This particular move is taken for granted in basketball today as a serious move. Few players use the behind-the-back crossover to get open anymore. It is either because they don’t believe in its effectiveness or they cannot do it well enough to avoid a turnover.

This move would be hard for Durant, simply because of his size and how long it takes the ball to get to the floor from his hand. But if he could do it, it would allow him to trick defenders by hiding the ball from them for that split second.

Jump Hook

Durant does a variation of the jump hook during the few times he does post up. However, it isn’t a true jump hook because he doesn’t release the ball high enough.

Expanding his post play is something Durant needs to do. It is difficult because he is often double-teamed, but a higher release on his jump hook (combined with good passing) will combat those double teams. He won’t be able to rely on his quickness to get the ball off against the league’s better post defenders.

Crossover

While Durant has improved his crossover since he entered the NBA, there is still room for more improvement. A quick crossover would allow Durant to get by defenders more easily.

Durant’s size makes this move difficult since it gives defenders a longer opportunity to force a turnover. However, if he could perfect this move, his size, combined with the speed of the move, would make him unstoppable.

Backdoor Cut

I know what dedicated Thunder fans are thinking. “Durant does this all the time! Hasn’t this idiot seen Russell Westbrook throw numerous alley-oop passes to a backdoor-cutting Durant?”

You’re right; this is something he’s good at. So what’s my problem?

He needs to do it more. In Westbrook, Durant has a guy who is talented enough to put the ball exactly where it needs to be. Durant needs to take advantage of this more often so he can score easier points and force defenders to give him the cushion on the outside that he needs for his jump shot.

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