LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant: Who is a best small forward in the league? NBA Feature (Part-4)
Clutch Factor
While both LeBron James and Kevin Durant receive maximum time in the crunch situation being the best players in their respective teams, Kevin Durant has shown better skills to make big plays in the crunch time.
There is no doubting the brilliance of LeBron James who is the most talented player in NBA. However, for some reason, James has failed to provide his best in the clutch situations, especially at the big platform – the NBA Finals
- which is one reason he is still without an NBA title. He had gone cold in the Finals of the 07-08 season and the result was a clean sweep at the hands of San Antonio Spurs.
History repeated itself again last season as after dominating every opposition enroute the NBA finals, James put up a choking act at the final hurdle against the Dallas Mavericks. Although James is not the only person to be blamed
for losing the NBA finals - a weak offensive strategy, an inexperienced coach and an apparent lack of chemistry being the others - however a lot of responsibility lied on his shoulders as he failed to deliver when his natural game of D penetration was clamped.
Kevin Durant fares a bit better. Although he has not made it to the biggest stage as of yet, however, he is the go-to man whenever Oklahoma City Thunder need a messiah down the stretch. Till now, he has not failed.
Faced with a potential exit in the game-7 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Zach Randolph and his Memphis Grizzlies, Durant erupted with one of his best performances of his career and made way for OKC into the Conference
Finals. Although the lack of experience did him at that stage, however, he is one man who could be counted on when the going gets tough.
Conclusion
Seeing the different aspects of the game, one thing is certain that both LeBron James and Kevin Durant are outstanding players with extra special talent. However, overall James is a better player because of his experience, aggression
and incredible agility on the court which makes him a jack of all trades and master of many. Durant has just started his NBA career and he has a long way to go to learn and overcome his mistakes. For now, LeBron James reigns supreme as the most gifted player
of his generation.
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