20 points and 5 turnovers on 15 shots! The shooting percentage at key moments is only 378%, is the "Grim Reaper" in vain?
Fans often say that James and Durant are the league's biggest and greatest kings. But neither star has withstood the erosion of time, especially Durant.
After the All-Star break, Durant's form plummeted, scoring 30 points in only one game. Instead, there was a lot of ironing, mistakes, and a much diminished control of the game.
After losing to the Thunder, the Suns suffered two straight losses and dropped to seventh in the West.
In the game against the Thunder, Durant scored 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 6-of-15 shooting, and had as many as 5 turnovers. In the crucial fourth quarter, Durant missed all his shots and didn't score any points.
The Suns were also reversed by the Thunder after gaining the lead, and the home court fell.
The defense was targeted, and Durant's scoring efficiency declined.
Maybe Durant's personal strength is so strong that we ignore the speed of his decline.
Looking at the statistics alone, Durant is close to 28 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists this season, averaging 1Three blocks are in the top 20 in the league. The shooting rate is over 5 percent, and the three-point shooting rate is over 4 percent. And all offensive areas on the field are not lower than the league average.
Even at the age of 35, Durant is still one of the league's leading scorers, capable of both production and efficiency. His mid-range shooting is still hard to limit and he can create a lot of damage with his ball-carrying singles.
It's just that Durant's current advantage is basically focused on scoring, especially singles near the low post. Durant is impeccable as an endpoint, and if he is a point of possession, it will be a big problem.
As the core of the team, Durant and the Thunder scored 20 points on only 15 shots. It's not that Durant doesn't want to shoot, it's that the Thunder's defense is very targeted.
The Thunder's defense against Durant was really textbook, and they used a lot of help defense throughout the game. Once Durant gets the ball in the left and right high posts, the Thunder will definitely quickly go to the bag and force Durant to get the ball.
Once Durant breaks through to the perimeter of the restricted area, the Thunder's interior players will quickly step forward to defend. Doing so allowed them to drop a lot of rebounds, and Nurkic grabbed 31 rebounds in the game, but it really limited Durant.
Mistakes keep coming.
The bag is more than just getting Durant to stop the offense. Durant has been in the league for so long and has been at the top in scoring, and his passing has not been practiced.
If you look at the statistics, Durant has averaged more than 5 assists per game in many seasons in his career. In most cases, it is the opponent who wraps Durant and causes the pass to be converted into an assist. Once the opponent is in the grip and encounters a team with strong defensive mobility, Durant has a high probability of making mistakes in passing.
Durant's five turnovers against the Thunder were terrible, and the Suns made four times as many turnovers as their opponents throughout the game. Because of the number of turnovers, the Thunder got a lot of opportunities to switch offense and scored very easily.
Especially in the fourth quarter, the Thunder took advantage of a mistake to interrupt the Suns' counterattack trend. After the All-Star break, Durant's average of turnovers per game soared to four, well above his season average.
In the last two years, opponents have liked to limit Durant by using a bag and clip. While it doesn't necessarily work best, Durant's passing problems have always been alive, especially when packed. Durant has poor vision and is slow to play the ball.
In this case, having a good passer to organize Durant would make a big difference.
It's a shame that the Suns haven't had a similar role this season, with Booker and Beal both essentially scorers. There is still a big gap between their passing ability and orthodox point guards.
Control slips at critical moments.
Finally, Durant's grip on the game is slipping. This is especially true in the fourth quarter.
Durant's nickname is the Grim Reaper, and at the critical moment, Durant showed the Grim Reaper's scythe to harvest the game, which made fans talk about it. Now that Durant is in the fourth quarter, he doesn't have the dominance of the past.
Not to mention this game, Durant has averaged less than 3 points per game at critical moments throughout the season, and is not even as good as young stars such as Haliburton and Banchero.
Durant shot just 37 percent from the field at key moments8 percent, and the three-point shooting percentage is not even 30 percent. The once stable mid-range singles Durant is no longer stable, and even some open shots Durant is not easy to grasp.
This season's Durant has nothing to do with the word Mr. Key.
In addition to the decline in personal ability, Durant's physical exertion was often too great in the fourth quarter. At this point, he had no energy left to deal with the attack. If it weren't for Beal's explosion in this game, maybe the Suns would have lost ugly.
Now Durant's hard power is no longer at the level of the league's first-line stars. His strength is declining, and this season is the Suns' last chance to compete for a championship. While the Suns' Big Three stay healthy, they still have a fight.
Hopefully, Durant can adjust his condition as soon as possible. Fans, what level of star do you think Durant is at the moment? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area of the article.