3 goals for the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant for the 2023-24 season

3 goals for the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant for the 2023-24 season.

2. Continue to get to the free-throw line.

During the regular season last year, the Suns ranked a horrendous 27th in the league in free-throw attempts per game at 21.7 per night. It got better though, as the team snuck into 10th spot in made free-throws, at 79.3 percent. It is no coincidence then, that during the playoffs and with Durant in tow, the Suns finished sixth in this category, getting to the line 23.4 times per game.

Why is this so important, and why is it linked to Durant? Not only is he a career 88.6 percent shooter from the charity stripe, he has gotten to the line 7.6 times a night in nearly one thousand regular season games. That’s not only incredible consistency, it is essentially free points for whatever team he has played for.

Durant is going to want to save his body, and as we’ve just discussed, that is a smart thing to do as he looks to play as many games as possible. Booker has always driven to the basket well himself, averaging nearly seven attempts at the line per game for his career. With Beal, as you would expect, that number drops off to 4.6 attempts per game.

The point here is that even though Durant has younger superstar teammates who will be able to score in all manner of ways, he cannot move further away from the basket as he continues to age. His midrange, and indeed 3-point shot, may be among the most unstoppable moves in the league, but it is Durant’s ability to get into the paint which opens things up for him and his teammates.

Continuing to drive will also force referees to give Durant the calls that stars like him get. That will become even more crucial in the playoffs, when the game is slowed down to a grind and the Suns need him to dig them out precious buckets. This team can have the best offensive rating in the league, but Durant needs to remain as aggressive as ever getting to the basket for it to work.