Kevin Durant's Silent Breakthrough

We touted the dismissal of P.J. Carlesimo as coach of the Thunder as a potential boon for the career of Kevin Durant, for two reasons: interim Scott Brooks immediately moved KD to small forward from two-guard, and the Thunder figured to slow the pace, lowering the opportunity for mistakes. Brooks has had 13 games in charge of the Thunder, just as many as Carlesimo had this season. So how's the re-invention going? Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus investigates.

Durant has improved virtually across the board. ... The two most efficient ways to score are on threes and at the free-throw line, and Durant has improved his sum of the two categories from 14.3 percent of his possessions under Carlesimo to 28.0 percent under Brooks. Quite simply, Durant is playing a different game. ... Durant has gone from a low-efficiency, volume shooter to the kind of lethal, highly-efficient scorer he was in his lone season at Texas. And he's done it while slashing his turnovers as well.

Pelton has all the numbers, and I encourage you to check them out. It's certainly a promising sign. From the cheap seats, Brooks' 1-12 record makes it seem like there's been no improvement. But quietly, Durant's becoming the player we'd dreamt of. And it's all because Brooks has put some other shooters on the floor with him.