Kevin Durant’s Defensive Prowess: Rising to the Challenge Nightly

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Frank Vogel: “Kevin wants this challenge every evening”

His opponents are currently scoring 5.5 percent worse with Durant as a direct defender compared to their season average, which puts the Suns star in fifth place in the league. In front of him are the best ring defenders in the league, Rudy Gobert, Evan Mobley, Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis, who work less on the three-point line than Durant. He defends players in the highest usage level – usually the best players on their team – in 22.93 percent of his possessions, the highest value of his career according to the Basketball Index.

“Sometimes you have to hide top scorers in defense to keep their load low or for other reasons. Kevin wants this challenge every evening,” Vogel revealed: “He’s deeper in the game when he’s defending a top opponent. With his length With his 7-foot-1, wingspan and ability to move his feet laterally, he can defend most opponents in the league, big or small.”

Durant will have to continue to do that in Phoenix so that the Suns can make a deep run in the playoffs. The majority of his teammates’ strengths lie in the offense, even after the addition of Royce O’Neale at the trade deadline. How much Josh Okogie can be used in the postseason is questionable due to his useless distance shooting, so Durant will probably mostly have to deal with the league’s superstars. After all, he has been preparing for this for years, all year round.

“I play against these guys in the summer. When I get the chance, I try to steal a little information here and there,” Durant revealed: “I try to use the knowledge of what tendencies the opponents have. But it’s the NBA . These players will still hit shots over you, offense can be better than any defense. But they will feel it when someone defends hard against them. That’s what I try to do, to make life difficult for them.”

2024-03-14 08:32:00
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