The Oklahoma City Thunder made a pretty miraculous comeback during the waning seconds in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, but it was the Miami Heat who held on for the series-tying victory. The talk of the town is going to surround Kevin Durant and whether or not the officials should have called LeBron James for a foul late in the game, but there's much more to examine when it comes to the Thursday night play of the NBA's leading scorer.
NBA Finals: Was Kevin Durant As Brilliant As Box Score Indicated?
Durant ended the game with a pretty efficient line in the box score with 32 points while shooting 12-of-22 from the floor -- including a pretty solid four of 10 from beyond the arc -- but that wasn’t enough to get him a free pass from our friends at Welcome to Loud City. J.A. Sherman, one of SB Nation’s excellent Thunder bloggers, actually noted Durant’s game as one of the three keys ... and not in a good way.
Kevin Durant shot 4-10 from 3-point range. When morning arrives and you peruse the box score you might be inclined to think that despite the big miss at the end, Durant played pretty well. From my perspective, I thought he played pretty poor offensive ball throughout, and as we’ve seen over the course of the last 2 seasons, the easiest tell-tale sign is to look at his number of 3-point attempts.
Any time Durant attempts a double-digit number of 3-point shots, it is a clear indication that he is not playing to his strengths. Even though 4-10 is technically a high shooting percentage, when Durant is taking almost half of his shots from beyond the arc it means that he is not getting to the rim, he is not making the defense work, and he is not drawing fouls. Durant only attempted 6 free throws on the night (compared to LeBron’s 12-12 effort at the stripe).
Consider the preceding paragraphs were written from the perspective of a Thunder fan. And then, once you’re over that, think about how much sense it makes.
Whether or not the officials should have allowed Durant to shoot potentially game-tying free-throws is largely up for debate, but the fact of the matter is Durant should have been looking to get to the free-throw line a lot earlier than that late in the game.
For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For Thunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City or check out SB Nation Kansas City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation’s dedicated NBA hub.
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