3 things the Suns can do to keep Kevin Durant healthy next season

The Phoenix Suns will enter next season as one of the title favorites, although their best player in Kevin Durant will be 35-years-old. The addition of Bradley Beal and the continued growth of Devin Booker do take some of the pressure off Durant offensively, but Father Time is undefeated.

The Suns have watched their championship hopes go up in smoke in the last few years, with injury most certainly playing a part. It is one of the reasons they shipped out Chris Paul to add Beal, because he was never healthy when they really need him to be, and was 38-years-old.

Keeping Durant healthy is critical to the success this franchise wants to have, and there are a few ways they can go about this.

Implementing this won’t be easy though as like Paul, Durant wants to play basketball as often as he can. Even if he has dabbled in some 20 minute practices in the past. He truly loves the game, it is just unfortunate that his body doesn’t seem to want to keep up at the same rate as Durant’s enthusiasm to be on the court does.

The Suns also don’t have the luxury of turning to Durant only in times of emergency. They gutted their roster to make it top-heavy, and so the superstar will still have to pull his weight. This also includes on the defensive end, where the organization are going to need a big season from the player as well. Keeping Durant healthy won’t be easy, but it is now as important as ever.

3. No back-to-back games

It sounds easy, but this will be anything but. Seeding has never been more important in anticipation for the playoffs, and the Suns will not be able to coast through the regular season. It is highly unlikely they finish below the sixth seed, but the idea of even flirting with the play-in tournament is not what owner Mat Ishbia had in mind when he assembled this team.

Getting home court advantage for as long as possible throughout the postseason will be important, and it would be ideal to keep that benefit away from the Denver Nuggets for as long as possible too. One team who have an advantage at home like few others because of the altitude.

It would be fantastic if the Suns could sit Durant for every back-to-back contest. The L.A. Clippers have regrettably had to do this with Kawhi Leonard all too often, but the Suns can make this work. It would then allow Durant to play big minutes and go hard every game, knowing he’ll never have to suit up the following night.

As unhappy as he may be about this fact, it would also give Booker a chance to assume more of the scorer’s role that he has enjoyed up to this point, and less of the “Point-Booker” duties that are going to be bestowed upon him. Beal could also break loose during these games, becoming more of a focal point offensively. This helps Durant stay healthy, but everybody wins.

2. Play a maximum of 60 games

This number takes care of itself if Durant avoids back-to-back games, but even if he is needed on some occasions on the second night, this is still a goal to aim for to keep him healthy. Without looking, can you guess the last time Durant even played 60 games in a regular season?

That would be 2018-19, his last with the Golden State Warriors. On that occasion he played 78 regular season games, then was superb as always in the playoffs until tearing his achilles in the NBA Finals. Durant’s body hasn’t quite held up since and while that is perfectly acceptable, he needs to be ready for a long playoff run next season.

Limiting him to 60 games on the organization’s terms would be great, although it is entirely possible that injuries to Durant force their hand here anyway. Working with that number in mind, and playing Durant less minutes would also be a help here.

The 33.6 minutes he has played in his tiny sample size as a Sun is less than at any of the previous stops in his illustrious career. With Booker and Beal running the show, on a lot of nights the team are going to blow opponents away offensively, and there won’t be a need for Durant. So perhaps brining that number closer to 30 minutes per game in the regular season would be an idea.

Once the playoffs begin, Durant could then be used to the fullest. We’ve seen the Milwaukee Bucks do this with Giannis Antetokounmpo before, and had real success. If the team were winning big, he’d often sit entire quarters and save his body. In 2017-18, Giannis averaged 36.7 minutes per game. By last season, that number was 32.1. It is about being smart with how Durant is used.

1. No time spent at center

Durant is going to start and finish games next to center Deandre Ayton, and that is great news for his body. Ayton being a decade younger than his teammate, and more than capable of holding his own in the paint if he wants to.

Where there could be a problem though, is if new head coach Frank Vogel wants to mix things up and have Durant spend some time at the five. With the addition of Drew Eubanks this offseason, that is not going to happen too often. Certainly not during the regular season, although those hoping for Bol Bol to help in this regard will be wide of the mark.

But any time Durant is spending as the tallest player on the court is not good for him. This will mean he is expected to grab some boards and mix it up with physical players in the paint, or else watch as the Suns get hammered inside. Durant has never been a fantastic rebounder for his size (7.1 per game for his career), but given his offensive talent and how he played, that was no issue.

It would also mean trying to get to the rim to draw fouls, which is important for Durant to do in order to open up the court for his teammates. But it is not something the Suns will want him to do terribly often, as it increases his chances of getting injured.

Last year with the Suns, Durant got to the free-throw line six times per contest. During his heyday with the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was a ridiculous 10.2 times. Durant is an incredible free-throw shooter (career 88.6 percent), and these points will still be welcomed by the team. But having him as the de facto center in the regular season is a terrible idea when trying to preserve his body.