The Golden State Warriors have lost three straight, and it doesn’t help that now Kevin Durant is in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career.
Averaging 26.8 points per game, it wouldn’t seem like Kevin Durant has struggled over his last four games. But, if you take a closer look, he’s shooting an unusual 39% from the field and .06% from deep.
What’s wrong with the Slim Reaper?
The answer seems obvious, but it also goes much deeper than surface level.
Durant is playing without the Golden State Warriors renown leader, Stephen Curry. Curry’s absence has an impact throughout the entire team, and his performance really sets the tone for how the Dubs play.
Additionally, the Warriors are also playing without Draymond Green, the offense’s ignitor. Following his verbal altercation with Kevin Durant, the Warriors suspended him for one game. After his one-game suspension, Green came back, played one game and has since been given time off.
More from Blue Man Hoop
- 3x champion may come to regret forgoing Golden State Warriors reunion
- Golden State Warriors: History shows USA may need Stephen Curry for more than the Olympics
- 7 players Golden State Warriors might replace Klay Thompson with by the trade deadline
- Golden State Warriors villain pours on more pain to end USA’s World Cup
- Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry continues philanthropic efforts off the court
While that incident has since deflated, Green’s absence has seemingly also had an impact on Kevin Durant’s play. Really, what playing without Green and Curry does is it limits the offense and creates more difficult looks.
Shooting almost 60% of his shots from a pull-up and under 10% on a catch-and-shoot basis over the last four games, Durant’s selection has changed without the two stars on the court. On the season, those percentages look more like 55% and 14%.
His shots have been different, potentially creating a more inefficient selection.
For the season, about 40% of Durant’s shot came when NBA.com declared him “open.” That’s also decreased over his last four down to about 30%.
Durant has never played on a team without a legit superstar by his side, and while the Dubs have that option for him, over the last four games, they haven’t. That’s hurt Durant’s effectiveness and has put him in a place to take more difficult shots.
However, let’s not act like playing without those players mean Durant is any less of a superstar talent. He’s still averaging well over 25 points per game, a mark only a handful of NBA players can consistently hit.
That said, both Curry and Green are out for the foreseeable future, so Durant will have to come out of his slump in order for the Dubs to get back to winning.