Kevin Durant provided a midrange masterclass in the Charlotte Hornets' loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday. Brandon Miller should have taken notes, especially after his wildly inefficient night from the field.
The Rockets escaped with a 105-101 victory, thanks in large part to a decisive run in the second quarter that erased Charlotte's double-digit lead and Durant's 35-point performance. Nearly half of his production came from the midrange, as he went 8-10 from that area throughout the evening. He even hit a 17-foot dagger with Sion James staying on his hip and Miller providing some help defense, which gave his team a 103-98 margin with 21 seconds left on the game clock.
Durant remains a cheat code from midrange, and no one from the Hornets was able to stop him from getting to his sweet spots. Moreover, their best perimeter defenders, James, Josh Green, and Grant Williams, lacked the height to disrupt his jumper.
Brandon Miller's middie needs more improvement
The thing is, Miller could learn a thing or two from one of the best scorers in league history. He also has the length to shoot over smaller defenders and decent enough handles to get to his favorite spots.
However, he has largely shied away from that kind of shot despite having expressed last summer his desire for his shot diet to feature more midrange attempts. Part of it is by design, as the Hornets, under Charles Lee, have placed more emphasis on 3-pointers and shots inside the paint. On the other hand, Miller hasn't really given the coaching staff sufficient reason to have him take more shots from that area, where he is shooting less than 40 percent this season.
Still, the onus is on Miller to develop his midrange shooting. He showed potential during his rookie season, when he sank 49.4 percent of his shots from 16 feet to just inside the 3-point arc. He could have tried mixing it up a bit on Thursday, too, since he went 5-22 from the field and 1-12 from three. Instead, he shot just one midrange attempt and missed it.
Chances are, the Hornets star will never be as skillful as Durant from midrange. However, if he can at least be competent in that area, it would be easier for him to keep defenses honest, and he would have more options to make an impact in scoring even if his 3-pointers aren't falling and opponents have walled off the paint.