Kevin Durant Says It ‘Feels Like A New Era Of Basketball’ Under Billy Donovan

To be clear, nobody’s dancing on anybody’s grave here, but you’ll have to forgive Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook if they seem a little excited about Billy Donovan‘s new offensive schemes. That was the sentiment after practice Friday when they both offered glowing reviews of some of the new sets they’ll be running this season. Via Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman:

Again, in fairness to Scott Brooks, it’s not as if the Thunder have been a bad offensive team. Despite losing Durant for a large chunk of the season, they still finished fifth overall in points per game. But that doesn’t exactly tell the whole story. OKC ranked 25th in assists per game, a byproduct of relying so heavily on both Westbrook and Durant. They also ranked 21st in three-point shooting, just a hair under 34 percent as a team and tied with the Memphis Grizzlies, who have never been known for their prowess from downtown.

Even during the season prior to that – with both Durant and Westbrook healthy – they weren’t that much better in either category: they ranked right near the middle of the pack (14th) in three-point shooting and 13th in assists in 2013-2014. They still somehow managed to rank in the top five in scoring that year (again, it’s nice to have Westbrook and Durant on your team, one of whom won the scoring title last season, while the other almost won both the scoring title and the MVP the season before that).

But more sophisticated offensive sets could mean no more workhorse blues for the Thunder duo. Brooks wasn’t exactly known for his creativity in that department, partially because he didn’t need to be, and the Thunder’s offense often stagnated because of it. If the Thunder are ever going to get over the hump, they’ll need to do precisely what Donovan is intending: spread the floor, distribute the ball more effectively, and leverage more of their perimeter shooting threats like Anthony Morrow, Kyle Singler and Steve Novak.

Donovan certainly has the championship pedigree: he made four Final Four appearances and won back-to-back NCAA titles during his almost 20-year tenure with the Florida Gators. But he’s also a rookie head coach in the NBA, and as we saw with David Blatt last season, the NBA is a whole other monster entirely, despite your previous experiences. Still, he has his players’ attention (for now, at least), and that’s as good a place as any to start.