Durant's shot selection wearing on veterans

This Sonics season was supposed to be based on development, especially for rookies Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. As the season progressed, the team's faithful were supposed to witness the progress of its franchise cornerstones, primarily Durant.

It appears, however, that Durant has hit the proverbial rookie wall. Growth is becoming more difficult to witness and those sparkling moments that filled the first two months are being replaced by flashes of regression.

The Sonics enter Tuesday's game with the San Antonio Spurs on a team record 14-game losing streak and Durant, despite being just 19 years old, is the team's most gifted player. And with that tag comes pressure for the second overall pick.

Many NBA observers are beginning to question whether Durant's game is developing or if his often shaky shot selection is creating bad habits that will be difficult to break in coming years.

Durant was 5-for-20 from the field in Sunday's 103-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings, and he was the lone Sonic to take more than nine shots. Durant's propensity for firing shots, the Sonics' losing streak and his declining shooting percentage is beginning to wear on some Sonics veterans, who believe the shooting wealth should be shared.

The numbers show that Durant's offensive game is stagnating as the season wears on. Although he is averaging 18.5 points during the losing streak, Durant is shooting 38 percent from the field and 19 percent from the 3-point line. He has hit more than one 3-pointer in a game just twice in the past 16 games and is 12-for-41 in the past two contests.

Some NBA insiders are questioning whether Durant should be allowed to freely shoot and whether that is fostering his learning curve. Of those rookies of yesteryear that he is compared with -- LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant -- all shot at least 41.7 percent from the field and 29 percent from the 3-point line during their rookie year.

Wade leads the group at 46.5 from the field while Bryant hit 37.5 percent of his 3-pointers in 1996-97. Durant is shooting 39.8 percent from the field and 28 percent from the 3-point line and his shooting percentage has dipped each month.

"Yeah, I'm concerned because I know he can do better," Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "Maybe fatigue is a factor, I don't know. The thing he is doing much better is attacking the basket. And that's good. We have to adjust when his shot is not there, he has to get to the free throw line and do other stuff. It's difficult for us to win (without getting to the free throw line)."

Carlesimo benched Durant during a Jan. 19 game in Dallas because of poor shot selection, stressing the importance of getting to the free throw line. But Durant's free throws per-game average has dipped in each of the past three months from 5.9 in November to 4.7 in January.

Part of that is a byproduct of not getting veteran calls from driving into the paint and the other aspect is settling for long-range jumpers when the lane could be open. Carlesimo wants Durant to pound the ball into the key to draw fouls, so he can score when his jumper is off.

Some of Durant's teammates feel as if he should distribute the ball more when his perimeter game is erratic. Durant works feverishly in practice on his jumper with assistant coach Brian Keefe but it hasn't translated to games of late and some around the organization wonder whether it's time to release the emphasis on Durant.

"The last couple of games, I've got great looks, I've just got to knock them down," said Durant, who shot 47.3 percent from the field and 40.4 from the 3-point line at the University of Texas. "I'm always in the gym working on the game, so I've got to keep working hard and hope those shots fall."

Frustration among the players has been mounting as the losing streak has progressed and Durant is beginning to take some of the responsibility because he is the focal point of the offense. His numbers are glaringly different in the team's nine wins compared with the 34 losses. (Durant missed one game with a finger injury).

He is averaging 22.3 points and shooting 46 percent from the field in victories and 18.6 and 38.2 in defeats. He has hit 16 3-pointers in those nine wins and 29 in the 34 losses. So Durant's offensive success is essential to a Seattle victory, and some believe that's too much pressure for a teenager.

"Yeah, I think so," was Wally Szczerbiak's response when asked if the shots could be better distributed. "I was just observing the stat sheet (Sunday) and no one got double-digit shots other than Kevin. And the coaching staff is asking a 19-year-old to do a lot. Let's put it that way.

"In our wins, we seem to have miraculous efforts by Kevin and that seems to be the recipe for winning. And we've got to figure out a way to win ballgames in different ways when his shot is not falling."

SONICS SHOT DISTRIBUTION

Sonics scoring leader Kevin Durant has taken 746 shots this season, 296 more than runner-up Wally Szczerbiak. But Durant is shooting less than 40 percent for the season, and 34.4 percent in the past five games. Here's a look at the Sonics leaders, ranked by field-goal attempts per 48 minutes:

Player	Min/Gm	FGA/Gm	FG%	FGA/48'
Kevin Durant	33.0	17.3	.398	25.25
Wally Szczerbiak	23.3	10.2	.460	21.05
Damien Wilkins	25.2	9.0	.397	17.20
Chris Wilcox	27.0	9.6	.519	17.16
Delonte West	20.8	7.3	.403	16.74
Jeff Green	24.6	7.8	.426	15.28
Earl Watson	27.4	8.1	.420	14.21

SONICS VS. SPURS

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, 7 p.m., KeyArena

TV/RADIO: FSN; KTTH-AM/770

SAN ANTONIO (28-15)

	Pts.	Ast.	Reb.
G Tony Parker	19.6	3.0	6.2
G Michael Finley	10.2	1.7	3.8
F Bruce Bowen	5.4	1.3	2.9
F Tim Duncan	19.3	3.0	11.1
C Fabricio Oberto	9.0	1.4	9.8

SEATTLE (9-35)

	Pts.	Ast.	Reb.
G Earl Watson	8.5	6.3	2.5
G Kevin Durant	19.3	2.1	4.2
F Jeff Green	8.7	1.3	4.6
F Chris Wilcox	12.5	0.9	6.9
C Kurt Thomas	7.2	1.3	9.4

WHAT TO KNOW: The Sonics wasted a big opportunity to snap their long losing streak Sunday against the Sacramento Kings, and now they run into a team they historically don't play well against. ... Seattle has lost six in a row to the Spurs and none of the games has been very close. San Antonio presents all types of matchup problems with a brilliant point guard (Parker) and a dominant big man (Duncan). The Spurs were roughed up in Utah on Monday night and they are not playing to form, but that means little to the struggling Sonics. ... The Sonics sent little-used swingman Mickael Gelabale to the NBDL on Monday. ... It's reunion time again for Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo and general manager Sam Presti, who came to Seattle from San Antonio. ... Former Sonic Brent Barry strained his calf muscle and will not play. ... Durant is shooting just 19 percent from the 3-point line in the past 13 games and was 5-for-20 from the field Sunday.

WHOM TO WATCH: Parker is one of the best in the league at getting into the paint and the Sonics' weakness is stopping point guard penetration, so it could be a long night if Seattle doesn't play staunch defense.

HEAD TO HEAD: This is the second of three meetings between the clubs. Duncan scored 26 points and Manu Ginobili added 22 as the Spurs cruised to a 116-101 win at KeyArena on Nov. 25. The Sonics go to San Antonio on April 11.

ROLL CALL: Sonics -- C Robert Swift (right knee tendinitis) is out. Spurs-- G Barry (strained left calf) is out.