Golden State Warriors: How can the team replace Kevin Durant’s impact?
3. Mid-range Shooting
Durant shot 55.1% from midrange last season. To replace someone scorching the net that hot from that area will be difficult.
He led the league in field goal percentage and field goals made from midrange last season amongst players averaging more than two midrange attempts per game.
To replace his mid-range shooting they’ll need someone to be adept at catch-and-shoot, mid-range jumpers as well as pull-ups off the dribble. The Warriors can replace that with two players. The ‘Splash Brothers,’ Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.
Klay Thompson
Thompson is known as one of the best catch-and-shoot players in league history with an ability to get hot extremely quickly and win games all on his own.
This is one famous example of many, showing how Klay Thompson can be responsible for wins all by himself just by catching and shooting.
He can also score efficiently from the midrange, shooting 45.3% on 5.7 attempts per game last season from the midrange. Despite not being known for that part of his game, most Warriors fans will know that if Thompson catches it at the elbow then it is an automatic bucket.
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Stephen Curry
Like Thompson, Curry isn’t known for his mid-range game however he can shoot it well from there, particularly off the dribble. He is such a threat from three that defenders always overplay him, allowing Curry to blow by his man and get into the mid-range.
From there, big men do not want to let Curry get to the rim where he is an expert at finishing, so they sag off and let him take the midrange jumper. He shot 43.4% on 2.8 attempts per game last season.
Those numbers aren’t astronomical but they are respectable and can replace some of Durant’s output from that position.