Durant finding new form in Oakland

Golden State learning how best to use star

OAKLAND • Outside of perhaps Scott Brooks, there is no coach in the NBA, assistant or head, who knows Kevin Durant as well as Rex Kalamian does.

So when Kalamian, now in his second year with the Toronto Raptors as Dwane Casey’s lead assistant, speaks about Durant, he does so with knowledge. The two were together for six years in Oklahoma City.

With Casey under the weather Tuesday and battling a flu bug, Kalamian handled media duties and was only too happy to talk about Durant, whom Toronto faced Wednesday in Oakland. Durant had plenty of Kalamian’s attention as he went over game film of the Golden State Warriors, and he’s seeing a different Durant. “The thing I see from Kevin Durant is he is attacking so much more in the open floor now. Whether he’s got the ball in his hands or off a rebound, he’s just pushing and flying up the floor,” Kalamian said. “Right when you think his game has peaked, all of a sudden he shows you another dimension.”

Durant was without question the windfall of the offseason. He was courted by various teams, but it was the chance to join one with immediate championship aspirations that won out.

And while no team would ever turn down the opportunity to add a unique talent like Durant, there’s also little doubt his arrival has brought with it challenges, too.

The Warriors were already at a championship level before his arrival and have retained the key pieces that made them such. Working in a guy who averages 19 shots a night, even a guy who makes almost 49 per cent of those attempts, is a process.

Durant was averaging a team-best 26.2 points a night along with 8.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists heading into Wednesday’s game.

Raptor DeMar DeRozan says Durant is just too good not to make it work. “To me you can’t doubt him,” DeRozan said. “When you see him, what he is capable of doing … you can’t doubt a Kevin Durant because there is only one Kevin Durant.” Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors are first in the NBA’s Western Conference, even though the team is still figuring out how to best utilize the one-time MVP.