Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant is not the favourite for Most Valuable Player this season
One of the most vibrant and exciting players among the young lot of the National Basketball Association is Oklahoma City Thunder’s small forward Kevin Durant. He is just 22-years-old, but his formidable game keeps the fans on their toes.
The swingman is the best scorer to hit the NBA in a long time. He is not only rated as one of the best offensive players of the league, but is also the back bone of Thunder’s line-up. In his short-span of four years, Durant has achieved some great statistics
for his elegant playing skills.
It was because of his sterling performances during the 2010-11 NBA season that he has been able to grab the Number 2 spot amongst the league’s top offensive leaders, leaving behind the likes of Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
During the 2010-11 NBA season, Durant achieved the Number 1 position in the top offensive leaders, as he scored with an average of 27.7 points per game. He shot 0.880 percent from the free throw line and 0.350 percent from three-point range. His rebounding
average is 6.8 and provided assists with an average of 2.7 percent.
LeBron James is Number 2 on that list, as he is ahead of Durant in field goal percentage, but trails him in other statistics. In spite of this, no one can deny James effectiveness and athleticism, as he leads Durant in many other aspects of game. He played
an important role in pushing his team to the Number 2 spot in the standings. He is a far better defender than Durant, whether it’s on the ball and off it.
The best quality of James is that he utilises the weaknesses of the rival teams very well and penetrates their defensive lines whenever he wants. Last, but not the least, James is one of the best physical specimens in the league and has the talent to match
his God given gifts. These qualities made him a better candidate for the Most Valuable Player award.
In the same period, Chicago Bulls All-Star Derrick Rose made 25 points in each game, together with 0.850 percent shots from the paint, and 0.332 percent from the three-point area. His assist average 7.7 is above Durant and rebounded with an average of 4.1
percent.
Though, Rose is also lagging behind Durant in numbers, but it was Rose who has almost single-handedly taken the Bulls to several victories throughout the season. Mr. Reliable (Derrick Rose) effectiveness enabled Chicago to take the charge of the Number 1
spot in the Eastern Conference.
The numbers do count, but it’s the win that matters the most in the end. This made Rose a better candidate for achieving the MVP of the contest as his contributions led his team to 62 wins of the season, the best record by any franchise during the season.
That’s why fans showered him with chants of MVP. In comparison with Rose, Durant led his team to the fourth spot in the Western Conference.
However, when Durant is compared with Orlando Magic’s centre Dwight Howard, the things seem a lot different from the earlier two comparisons. Howard’s point scoring percentage is below 25 (22.9 percent) and he is also lagging behind him in free throws (0.596
percent) and assists per game (1.4 percent), but when it comes to rebounding Durant is half of Howard, as he averages 14.1 percent.
Though, Howard is one the finest players defensively especially when one talks about rebounding, assists and blocking, as well as a better team player than Durant, but he was no match to Durant this season.
This left Rose and James behind, who are going to be his biggest competition in the MVP contention this season and in front of their contributions towards their teams Durant seems to be struggling big time.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and has nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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