The Kevin Durant Thread (2016 - 17 Pt. 1)

[lolathon234]

Here is some very interesting data for you guys. After using the link at the bottom of this post, I looked at some data in regards to open shot attempts beyond 10 feet and the effect of spacing on players. Not surprisingly, here were the results.

2014: Durant was the most closely guarded of any player in the playoffs. 76.0% of his shot attempts were guarded tightly(defender 2-4 feet away) or very tightly(0-2ft). That was the greatest proportion of any player by a considerable margin. For comparison, LeBron was at 64.4% and Westbrook 72.3%. Interestingly enough, that trend only increased against the Spurs. Durant ended at 78% and Westbrook around 65%. Only 5% of Durant's shot attempts were considered wide open. That's less than half as much as the next lowest total in the Conference Finals, LeBron at 10.9%.

2016: Durant once again ranks at the very bottom. 78.6% of his shot attempts were closely guarded and only 5.7% were "wide open". He was once again the most closely guarded. Interestingly enough, Stephen Curry had BY FAR the most open/wide open attempts. Over half of his attempts were open or wide open. And that trend only increase in the conference finals vs OKC where only 38.6% of his attempts were tightly guarded meaning over 60% of his shot attempts didn't have a defender within 4 feet. And that trend continued throughout the 2015, 2016, and 2017 playoffs. This Curry gravity narrative is 100% false, he's actually greatly benefiting from the GS system and is given a HUGE portion of wide open look. To further reinforce that, we can move to 2017.

2017: Even in a new system, Durant was still EASILY the most closely guarded player in the playoffs. 76.4% of his attempts were tightly guarded, once again the highest of any relevant player. Curry checked in at 55%, so around 45% of his attempts were or wide open.

http://stats.nba.com/players/shots-closest-defender-10/#!?Season=2013-14&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=FGA_FREQUENCY&dir=1&CF=FGA*G*0.5&PORound=3&CloseDefDistRange=4-6%20Feet%20-%20Open

[KD35Brah]

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[StepBackCrack]

Personal wish : I hope he goes to the Wizards after 2 or 3 seasons with GSW. I love GSW but in general, I like change and it would be a cool thing to see him play with Wall.

[Goudelock]

Personal wish : I hope he goes to the Wizards Lakers after 2 or 3 seasons with GSW. I love GSW but in general, I like change and it would be a cool thing to see him play with WBall.

Fixed for accuracy.

[StepBackCrack]

Personal wish : I hope he goes to the Wizards Lakers after 2 or 3 seasons with GSW. I love GSW but in general, I like change and it would be a cool thing to see him play with WBall.

Fixed for accuracy.

[StepBackCrack]

[JordansBulls]

Personal wish : I hope he goes to the Wizards after 2 or 3 seasons with GSW. I love GSW but in general, I like change and it would be a cool thing to see him play with Wall.

He could or he could go to Texas where he went to School.

[StepBackCrack]

Reminder of this iconic pic.

[JordansBulls]

Reminder of this iconic pic.

Epic

[StepBackCrack]

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[lolathon234]

Not sure if it's been posted before, but Durant's performance in G5 was actually the most efficient 35+ point game in Finals history. 39 points on 86.1 TS% surpassed the old record of 41 points on 82.4 TS% by Kyrie in the Draymond suspension game in 2016.

At one point he scored 35 points in 29 minutes on 105 TS%. And he was actually at 94.5 TS% before missing his final 2 shots which would have surpassed the playoff record by Dirk in 2011 vs OKC(93.8 TS%).

Not bad for the closeout game for his first NBA title.

[GSP]

Not sure if it's been posted before, but Durant's performance in G5 was actually the most efficient 35+ point game in Finals history. 39 points on 86.1 TS% surpassed the old record of 41 points on 82.4 TS% by Kyrie in the Draymond suspension game in 2016.

At one point he scored 35 points in 29 minutes on 105 TS%. And he was actually at 94.5 TS% before missing his final 2 shots which would have surpassed the playoff record by Dirk in 2011 vs OKC(93.8 TS%).

Not bad for the closeout game for his first NBA title.

He was in company with Jordan and Shaq for most pts without a turnover in a finals game in game 1 as well as joining Timmy, Hakeem and Kareem as the only players in the finals to put up the type of numbers he did in game 2. Some legendary performances at home and it seemed he was the only consistent Warrior in the away games and anchored that run to steal game 3 as well.

[lolathon234]

He was in company with Jordan and Shaq for most pts without a turnover in a finals game in game 1 as well as joining Timmy, Hakeem and Kareem as the only players in the finals to put up the type of numbers he did in game 2. Some legendary performances at home and it seemed he was the only consistent Warrior in the away games and anchored that run to steal game 3 as well.

It's going to take a while for his reputation to recover, christ it didn't really happen for LeBron until after 2013 and this will be worse bc there wasn't a 2011 Post-Finals kumbaya for the haters and they likely win 3-4 in a row, but I think it will ultimately be viewed as a top 5 Finals ever 5 or so years from now. Incredible overall numbers going up against a top 3 GOAT including some of the best clutch play in history. He averaged 9.2/2.2/1.4 with only 0.4 TOV on 62.5/60.0/100 81.0 TS% in 8.8 MP in the 4th quarter for the series. And despite the narrative pushed on gravity, he was actually the most closely guarded player by a considerable margin. And his TS% was almost 14% higher than his teammates.

What's forgotten is that G2, G3, and G5 were all closely contested with KD's 4th quarter play being the difference. And G1 was close until the mid 3rd with Durant completely carrying the team throughout the 1st half while everyone else faltered.

[JordansBulls]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20685552/kevin-durant-releases-nike-kd-10-finals-shoes