Don’t look now, but Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is working out again. In recent videos posted by Oklahoma City beat writer Anthony Slater Durant is seen doing high-intensity drills with point guard Russell Westbrook in which he dunks, catches-and-shoots, and drives to the rack.
More ramped up Kevin Durant offseason training, including a dunk pic.twitter.com/bl3lqyqoLI
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 20, 2015
Kevin Durant going through an intensified workout with Russell Westbrook this morning. Foot clearly progressing pic.twitter.com/pMbTTeCMVQ — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 20, 2015
Last year was the most frustrating of Durant’s career. The Thunder missed the postseason after being among the favorites in the league to win the title largely because of non-stop injuries. In his absence, several stars stepped up and appeared capable of filling the No. 2 player in the NBA slot that Durant has owned. But is he done as the second-in-command behind LeBron James?
Here are five players making a bid to take Durant’s spot.
Anthony Davis, F/C, New Orleans Pelicans
Davis made a huge leap from Year 2 to Year 3, and appeared to stake his claim as the second-best player in basketball. He averaged 24.4 points and 10.2 rebounds, blocked 2.2 shots, and was charged with one fewer foul per game this year. He upped his field goal percentage to 53 percent, and saw increases in his percentages from mid-range.
That’s a nightmare for opponents because now when Davis is setting picks, defenders will be paralyzed. If they freeze or head toward the cup, Davis has the accuracy to snipe them to death from mid-range. If they try to crowd him, Davis has the dribbling ability to blow past them. He’s becoming an unstoppable force that only has one thing left to add to his arsenal—a 3-pointer.
Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors
So Curry won the MVP last season, his team won the NBA title, and Curry cemented himself as the greatest shooter the NBA has ever seen. Curry doesn’t just hit 44 percent from beyond the arc on more than eight attempts per game, he creates the majority of those shots for himself. In addition, he handed out 7.7 assists per game and improved on the defensive end.
Curry doesn’t have the length or athleticism of Durant or Davis, but as a pure offensive weapon he’s one of the deadliest in league history.
James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets
Harden was once a sixth man on the same team as Durant, but now Harden is a leading man and the captain of the “analytics team.” Harden’s success with Houston has largely been based on his propensity for drawing fouls, and jacking up treys.
3-pointers accounted for 37.8 percent of Harden’s shots, and Harden averaged 10.2 free throw attempts per game, shooting 86.8 percent from the charity stripe. He finished second in the NBA in the scoring title race, and should become even more efficient now that Ty Lawson has been acquired to help alleviate some of the defensive attention Harden receives.
Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder
Well, this is awkward. When Westbrook returned and Durant was ruled out for the season, Westbrook was the single most devastating force of nature in the NBA. He was racking up triple-doubles at an insane rate, and he ended the year with a scoring title in hand.
The downside of his manic production was defense. His expended energy came at a great cost to OKC’s defense, which was exacerbated when power forward Serge Ibaka also went down, robbing the Thunder of their best rim protector. If Westbrook can rein in his aggression a little and unleash that basketball rage more efficiently, Durant’s status could be challenged.
DeMarcus Cousins, C, Sacramento Kings
No I’m not joking. Cousins has averaged a double-double for four straight seasons on one of the league’s worst teams, and he hasn’t even turned 25 yet. Some might dismiss his big numbers as great stats on a terrible team, but the production is not empty calories. Cousins is a bona fide star, and the only thing holding him back is defense.
Cousins has never been a high-energy defender, and that would go a long way toward Sacramento improving. On the other hand, maintaining effort on a perennially woeful team isn’t easy. Cousins could stand to work on his shot selection, become a more active defender, and limit his turnovers. That said, this is about players making a bid to surpass Durant, and Cousins has every tool known to man.
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