The 20 Second Timeout: Greg Oden and Kevin Durant Discover that the NBA is No Joke, Even in Summer League
The next time somebody tells you that the best college basketball team in a given year could beat the worst team in the NBA do me a favor--slap him. If that is too violent for your taste, then force him to watch the footage of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant's summer league debuts; the top two players in the draft struggled against fringe NBA players.
Prior to the summer league, the last time we saw Greg Oden on the court he was blocking dunks and dominating the paint as Ohio State tried in vain to match Florida's depth and experience in the NCAA Championship game; in his summer league debut, a 74-66 Portland loss to Boston, Greg Oden tallied six points, two rebounds, two blocked shots, 10 (!) fouls and four turnovers in a little over 20 minutes of action. Players are permitted 10 fouls (instead of the usual six) in summer league play because the idea is to let players gain experience, not to have them foul out; you know you've had a bad day when the only category you reach double figures in is fouls. Moreover, Greg Oden was not playing against guys who even figure to play significant regular season minutes, let alone the slew of All-Stars that he will face during the regular season, particularly in the Western Conference; Boston's summer league roster does feature a "B. Wallace," but that is Brandon Wallace, not Ben Wallace.
Prior to the summer league, the last time we saw Kevin Durant he was an unguardable collegiate scoring machine who also regularly grabbed 10-plus rpg despite having a frame so slender that he cannot even bench press 185 pounds one time; in his summer league debut in a 77-66 Seattle loss to Dallas, Kevin Durant scored a game-high 18 points but shot just 5-17 from the field. In nearly 30 minutes of play he had exactly one rebound. Kevin Durant showed some flashes of his scoring ability, including a nifty up and under move on the right block early in the second quarter and a nice turnaround jumper from the left wing a few moments later, but his shooting percentage and (lack of) rebounding indicate just how much growth, both literal and figurative, he needs to become the superstar that everyone expects him to be. Like Greg Oden, he did not face top level NBA talent. As a measuring stick for the summer league, keep in mind that Sebastian Telfair is a perennial summer league All-Star and regular season journeyman (his penchant for having unlicensed firearms has left Telfair without a summer league roster spot so far).
In his second summer league game, Kevin Durant shot just 4-19 from the field as Seattle lost 87-74 to New York on Monday. He made all eight of his free throws to finish with a team-high 18 points while playing 34 of a possible 40 minutes. Those numbers mirror his production in his first game (18 points, 5-17 field goal shooting, 7-9 free throw shooting). Walt Frazier, Knicks legend and color commentator for MSG Network, made a couple interesting observations about Kevin Durant's play. One, when Kevin Durant is not putting the ball in the basket you don't even notice that he is on the court; in 64 minutes of play so far he has two rebounds, no assists, no steals and no blocked shots. Two, Kevin Durant lacks either the size or the confidence to play a true post up game; in one sequence he caught the ball with his back to the basket but immediately pivoted to face his defender. Frazier added that Kevin Durant will have to hit the weight room and add some strength, citing Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon as two examples of "stringbeans" who added bulk and strength as their careers progressed.
Two summer league games obviously do not write the whole book on Kevin Durant's game, but, for better or worse, they do comprise the first sentence or two, and there is some cause for concern--more so than in the case of Greg Oden, who improved in his second game but will likely miss the rest of the summer league to have his tonsils removed. Greg Oden has been battling a sinus infection and the tonsils problem and those things undoubtedly contributed to his slow start; still, he is already blocking shots (six in two games) and shooting a good percentage from the field (9-15, .600). He just needs to adjust to NBA officiating (19 fouls in two games) and to get used to the size and speed of NBA post players. On the other hand, Kevin Durant has yet to excel--or even perform adequately--in any phase of the game. Perhaps his poor field goal shooting can be attributed to nerves but Frazier's comment about Kevin Durant being invisible when he is not scoring is a very telling observation. It is not unreasonable to wonder if Kevin Durant is going to be a one dimensional NBA player, a possibility that I mentioned right after Portland won the Draft Lottery.
It is fine to dismiss the problems Kevin Durant had with the 185 pound bench press if he is able to perform effectively on the court but so far he has not shown a willingness or inclination to do anything other than try to score. Rebounding is about toughness, anticipation and desire; the length and athleticism that enabled Kevin Durant to be a good college rebounder is not going to get the job done on the boards in the pros, where there are many players who are long and athletic. There is no reason to panic in Seattle but I think that there are some very legitimate reasons for concern, particularly in light of the fact that the Supersonics jettisoned veteran leaders Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. Is Seattle placing a greater burden on Kevin Durant's shoulders this season than he is able to carry at this point?
I do not mean to suggest that the sky is falling in Portland and Seattle or that Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will not live up to (reasonable) expectations, but the struggles of these two highly touted players in their summer league debuts show just how tough even "satellite" NBA competition is. Right now, neither Greg Oden nor Kevin Durant is ready to lead an NBA team anywhere; both of them are still getting their bearings as individuals. Portland has enough overall talent to maybe push for the eighth playoff spot this year but Seattle is not going to make the playoffs with Kevin Durant and fellow rookie Jeff Green (who had seven points, eight fouls, three turnovers, one rebound in his first summer league game) as the two main guys. Patience must be the word of the day (and season) in the Pacific Northwest; look at the bright side: at least Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will not take the kind of physical pounding that young, would-be franchise quarterbacks like Tim Couch or David Carr took in the NFL.
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