Kevin Durant is having another fantastic statistical season for the Phoenix Suns.
Likely headed toward his 15th NBA All-Star game and once again averaging 28-plus points on 50-plus percent shooting, Durant was an MVP candidate early in the season and has carried the Suns for portions of the year so far. But right now, Durant is part of the problem when it comes to the team’s inability to stick with a team concept on offense.
Yes, this stretch has come without both Devin Booker and Grayson Allen. That context matters, but it doesn’t explain why Durant has five or more turnovers four times in the past month. Those turnovers are coming because Durant is initiating offense more than is healthy for the overall team offense.
Simply put, Durant is trying to do too much. After averaging around 9 drives per game in October and November, Durant is up to nearly 13 drives per game in December. That has corresponded with a small uptick in free-throw attempts, but also more free throws of late and a worse team offense overall.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer was hired to bring two things to the offense: More three-point shooting and faster pace resulting from a more basic and replicable structure. In two losses over the weekend in which the Suns averaged 97 points per game, they put up 35 threes apiece. If the Suns shot 35 threes per game, that would rank 25th in the NBA. The Suns are down to 21st in offensive seconds per possession.
At the same time that these areas have lagged, Durant has taken over more of the offense. When it comes to threes, Durant put up four and five, respectively, in the losses. But despite his highest usage rate since 2014, Durant is not leveraging all that scoring into being a more threatening passer. He has his lowest assist rate since 2012 and is not generating the same types of open threes as a playmaker that free agent point guard acquisition Tyus Jones is.
Now to his credit, the Suns do tend to score more in transition when Durant is on the court. He is a killer in the open floor.
The main trends to watch here are Durant’s increased drives, decrease in assists, and recent uptick in turnovers. Those numbers simply aren’t what tenable for an offensive engine on a top NBA team.
On today’s episode, we discuss the Suns’ offense and one more reminder why it needs to run more through Jones. Then, we look at the Jusuf Nurkic suspension and another big NBA trade.
