Why are we still talking about Kevin Durant like he’s the second coming of Lebron James, or even the second coming of Carmelo Anthony, for that matter? I mean, his situation relates in some ways better to Anthony, as a matter of fact, but you get my point. We’re ballooning this kid into this great statue of a player, and he’s played just 8 games. We’re buffing him and sculpting him into something his fragile frame cannot handle. I mean, really. He moves around like a high school player. The kid couldn’t even bench 180 pounds at pre-draft workouts. Not even once. And don’t tell me that has nothing to do with basketball. It has plenty to do with basketball. Look at Lebron, Kobe, and T-Mac. These guys are finesse, yet complete players. They take it to the rim with moves, swagger, confidence, but most importantly, physical play. They rely on their muscle, explosion, and finishing touch to dominate their opponents, and I’m here to tell you, that is something that our chosen one Kevin Durant severely lacks.
But before we dive into the story that is the unlikely savior, i.e., Kevin Durant, let’s add some more sad facts to his already growing legend. First, as mentioned before, his young Sonics team have yet to get a win after 8 games in this year’s NBA season. That fact is much attributed to his sketchy shot selection, poor shooting percentage, and crazy amount of shots. Sure, he’s averaging 20 points a game, but off of just about 20 attempts per game. And what is he doing with those attempts? He’s shooting 27 percent from the arc, and 38 percent overall. The kid has already registered 60 more shot attempts than his team’s second leading scorer, Chris Wilcox. That is absurd. Do you know what Yao Ming would do to Tracy McGrady if he were shooting that many more shots than him? He’d probably use some choice words in bad English, but I can tell you for sure, he would not let it slide. Clearly, Wilcox is no Ming, but we can be safe to assume, neither is Durant a McGrady.
And even after Durant’s obvious disregard for team play, which we cannot allow to be confused with “trying to carry the load” or “leading his team”, there are indeed other factors to Seattle’s fall to the winless depths. You can blame the coaching, for starters. What else could explain this ungodly shuffle at the point guard position? Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour, who at one time have even been friends, now probably can’t stand the sight of each other, because thanks to Seattle’s coaching, they keep stealing each other’s minutes. And when their not losing assists and shots to each other, the once forgotten man Delonte West is finishing out games while they ride the bench. And I know this team is going with the new revolution look, the young and high strung, run and gun offense (even though it’s failing miserably), but what harm could it possibly do to let a solid offensive player like Wally Szczerbiak start, or at least play significant minutes, to help aid this team in it’s quest to grow as a cohesive unit? I mean, when’s the last time you heard of a playoff team without veteran leadership?
The Sonics, in all their glory, have never endured an opening to a season like this. Maybe it’s because they’ve never allowed themselves to be set up for a monumental collapse like this. Maybe it’s because they’ve always kept veteran leadership such as your Shawn Kemp’s and your Gary Payton’s around long enough to help mature younger players into solid starters. Or maybe it’s because they swung huge trades to land stars from other teams, such as the coveted spot-up shooter Ray Allen, to keep their team competitive. But the real reason this organization has never allowed something like this happen to its team is because prior to this season, they gave a damn.
You see, the truth is, the Sonics’ want to lose. They want out of Seattle, and they want, more, they hope, Durant can blossom quickly into the moneymaker they so very, very much think he can become. Well, that just stinks. And in the name of Kevin Garnett, who knows more than anyone else what it’s like to make a huge salary and sell season tickets at home, but nothing about winning playoff series, I hope they get exactly what they’re asking for; a big fat goose egg.
2 replies on “Kevin Do Not”
Sonics move not an issue? To leave out the planned move of the Sonics to Oklahoma City might be a serious oversight. I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest they are losing on purpose, but to consider that management might consider a bad team that nobody wants anymore easier to move than a winning franchise is not a huge stretch.
I think you are failing to consider the number of current and past stars in the NBA that went through similar roads. It is true that we sometimes expect too much from young talent, but considering how much money is paid for this talent, it is perfectly normal to expect some immediate return for the investment. As for the number of shots he’s taking, this is certainly a coaching problem. The young kid doesn’t deserve your blame if the coaches are not setting up a better-spread offence. Someone out there is telling him to go for broke, team-be-damned.
The link to Kevin Garnett was good. Despite being a great and entertaining player, he never had the supporting cast in Minnesota to even make the play-offs in recent years. With the exception of the 2003-04 season, they never got past the first round when they did qualify.
Durant could suffer a similar fate unless more is done to justify this investment.
planned move yeah, I didn’t leave out the planned move by accident, and I definately wasn’t overlooking it. I briefly referred to it, assuming people who read a sports article about durant/seattle already know about that. and for the most part, that is a justified assumption.
and you’re right, putting all the blame on durant isn’t fair, but that’s not completely what I’m doing. I did address poor coaching/management decisions (ridnour, wally), which adds to my point that this team isn’t trying it’s hardest to put a winning team on the floor. Luke Ridnour can play, and he isn’t and hasn’t been given a fair shake. playing earl watson ahead of him is a joke, as well as delonte west.
and whether or not the coaches are giving durant the green light is besides the point. he just isn’t shooting well, nor taking great shots, to justifiy shooting that much. but like I said, this team isn’t doing what needs to be done to win. they have several low-post options that they could use every game that they ignore, and that hurts them.
thanks for the constructive criticism, though. in future articles I will be sure to address all the core issues. I was simply making a case for another “lebron hype” situation. the media is putting a lot of weight on this kid’s shoulders, and he isn’t even 20 yet.