Kneel Before The Slim Reaper

Kevin Durant was built to score the basketball and he’s only 25 years old. What will he be producing when he enters his prime?

“Now I am become Death. The destroyer of hoop dreams.”  - The Slim Reaper (via Oppenheimer)

We always knew Kevin Durant was good. Last season he joined the 50-40-90 Club (50% Field Goals 40% 3pt and 90% Free Throw)- an elite group containing only five other players to put up such huge numbers over the course of an 82 games season. This impressive feat however was quickly forgotten by pundits and fans alike as Russell Westbrook’s knee buckled, ending Oklahoma’s championship aspirations while LeBron led the Heat to glory.

We’ve known Kevin Durant was a special talent ever since he entered the league in 2007 and marvelled at the effortless way in which he scored the ball. But it wasn’t until now, in January 2014, that the basketball public finally began to understand just how damn special Durant is and how scary he has become.

When Thunder management quietly announced in December that Russell Westbrook would be having further surgery on his troublesome knee and would not return until after the All Star break, it was widely assumed that Oklahoma would fall away from the race to secure the number one seed in the West. Without Westbrook’s dynamism, the argument went, the Thunder offence would grind to halt and too much burden would fall on Durant’s shoulders.

The argument was only half right. The burden has indeed fallen on Durant but rather than crack under the pressure, Durant has elevated his game to a level that few have ever seen and in the process ensured that Oklahoma have not missed a beat. Durant’s barrage began with two 48 point games against Minnesota and Utah respectively, but since Minnesota are unpredictable at best and Utah against all odds defeated Oklahoma, no one really took any notice and simply shrugged it off as Durant getting his points.

It wasn’t until a week later when Durant exploded for a career high 54 points against fellow Western contender Golden State, that people sat up and began paying attention.

Epic back to back performances against Portland and San Antonio soon followed. In both games Durant ruthlessly stared down his defender deep into the last quarter and drained cold blooded threes. Even as Nicolas Batum, and Tony Parker the following night, stretched desperately to contest the shot, everyone knew as soon as the ball left Durant’s hands that it was going in- again and again and again.

Not content with destroying Western contenders, Durant has dished out some pain to the Atlanta Hawks by nailing a contested game winner with three defenders trying in vain to cover him.

Yet it isn’t just that Kevin Durant has been putting up ridiculous numbers in the points column; the NBA is littered with fond memories of scorers getting onto a hot streak. What makes this stretch different is the efficiency with which Durant is playing. Not only is he averaging 36.5 points a game for the month of January but he’s doing it whilst maintaining a ridiculous field goal percentage of 53%. Normally hot streaks of this kind are accompanied by strong doses of ball hogging and shot chucking but such a high field goal percentage indicates a shooter letting the game come to him and choosing the right shot rather than the first shot.

What makes Durant so dangerous isn’t simply his height and shooting touch; it’s the variety of ways in which he can score. Watch those clips and you’ll begin to see the arsenal that Durant has at his disposal- Drives to the hoop, isolation plays, stepback jumpers, catch and shoot opportunities, post ups, finishing through contact. Not only can he seemingly score at will but he relishes the big moment. Even as a bewildered Portland defence sent a double team, Durant, effortlessly hit a clutch three pointer with a hand in his face. Ditto for San Antonio, Golden State and Atlanta. Put simply, Kevin Durant was built to score the basketball and he’s only 25 years old. What will he be producing when he enters his prime?

Another big test for Durant looms as he faces LeBron James and the Miami Heat this week. In the past James’ strength and defensive prowess have contained Durant’s scoring capacity so it will be interesting to see what Durant conjure in what could be a finals preview.

As the NBA season enters its second half, Durant has stolen a march on his competition for the MVP trophy and the Thunder are now certain to be in the reckoning for the top seed in the West. Of course, Oklahoma’s ultimate success in the playoffs still very much hinges on the state of Russell Westbrook’s knee but assuming Westbrook returns to action, the Thunder look to be very good shape. With Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb providing scoring punch off the bench, the continued growth of Serge Ibaka, the hopeful return of Westbrook and Durant in the form of his life, Oklahoma seem set for a deep playoff run.

For now talk of playoffs and championships can be put on the backburner. One of the greatest offensive players in the game’s history is scoring at a stratospheric rate and mesmerising fans and opponents alike. For now let’s just sit back and enjoy what the Slim Reaper is delivering.

Long may he reign.