Durant said that it is difficult to survive if a short guard is short, and only by improving the Rockets can you grow

For today's NBA league, it has long been different from the clear number 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 positions like 20 years ago. At present, many players' positions on the court are very vague. They can even play 5 positions in the team, such as Rockets' Amen Thompson, Durant, etc.

And there is another common phenomenon in the league in recent years, that is, there are more and more tall defenders. In recent years alone, there are guards such as Josh Gidey, Amen Thompson, and Deming, who is ranked 8th this year, who is more than 2 meters tall. The Rockets' forward player Durant has explained this phenomenon clearly on TV programs recently.

In the program, the reporter asked Durant whether he thought the type of players in the league had changed now, or that those short defenders and players with a height of less than 1.88 meters are already difficult to start the team. They may still contribute on the bench, but it is already very difficult to become the core.

Durant said that he highly agrees with this statement, and Durant said that the types of players in the league have been compressed, and only players as strong as Ju Holiday and Mitchell can get stuck on the defensive end. Perhaps it is necessary to keep giving opponents defensive pressure to their normal games like Dort, otherwise it will be very difficult to survive.

Then Durant explained that because now the league is always named offense, once you find that you can't defend people on the defensive end, they will continue to fight you on the offensive end. At this time, you must show tough defensive ability, like Mitchell and Holiday. Or just like Irving, he will directly beat his opponent on the offensive end. Otherwise, the coach has no reason to send you on the court.

Then the host also gave an example to the Cavaliers All-Star player Garland. Durant said that Garland is indeed a very skilled player, but the problem is that other players must make up for him on the defensive end. And this is where the player's defense is not solid. Once the player needs other teammates to clean up the "tail" for him during the game, he will be very easy to be targeted.

Durant then said that the league has already changed its playing style, not only to find the weakest one-on-one defense, but to divide it more carefully. If you find that your opponent is not good at assisting in defense during the game, the team will take advantage of this. Similarly, if you find that you can't defend yourself, the opponent will keep pick-and-rolling in front of you.

I have to say that Durant's evaluation of these small men reminds me of two players in the league. One is Trae Young, the core of the Hawks. As a player who averaged 25.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 1 steal in his career, every year there are no groundless rumors. A large part of the reason is the complaints about his defensive end.

Since 20-21, Trae Young has led the Hawks to never break through the first round of the playoffs. In the 21-22 season, he averaged only 15.4 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of only 31.9% and a three-point shooting percentage of 18.4%. In the 22-23 season, Trae Young averaged 29.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Even so, as long as Trae Young appears on the court, the opponent will hand the team to the players against Trae Young through various methods such as pick-and-roll, passing the ball, and then completing the attack. Throughout the playoffs, the Hawks' center not only needs to protect the frame, but also has to assist the defense for Trae Yang. The team's defense intensity naturally cannot keep up with the opponent.

And the second player is the Rockets' 2024 Tetrae Shepard. If Trae Young can offset some of the defensive end because of the offensive effect, Shepard is completely a blank piece of paper.

Nowadays, Shepard can only increase his strength. Only when he can have a strong body like Ju Holiday and VanVleet, will his opponents not target you again and again in the NBA arena. And teammates don't need to help make up for defense again and again. So as long as Shepard practices with Van Vleet in the summer, no matter how the offensive progress is, at least in defense, people who face him will not necessarily have good results. Do you think Shepard can have rotational strength next season? Welcome to like, follow, and leave a message for discussion.