Stan Van Gundy high on Kevin Durant

What will Kevin Durant be like when he grows into his body?

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy predicts Durant, who faces Van Gundy and the Magic tonight at Amway Arena, will be a nightmare.

"The key to being great in this league is you have a defined game of what you do well and continue to do it better and better,” Van Gundy said. "Will he become a better post-up player? Yeah. But if he’s spending all his time trying to become a low-post guy, honestly, I think he’s spending his time the wrong way.”

Van Gundy agrees Durant must improve weaknesses to reach All-Star status. But Van Gundy’s witnessed a similar transformation with his center, Dwight Howard, a beast inside who critics said needed to expand his shooting range.

Now in his fifth year in the NBA, Howard’s steady improvement earned him a spot on Team USA. He is an MVP candidate. But Howard’s forte is, and always will be, a dominant inside presence. Get Howard 15-feet away from the goal too often, and Van Gundy says you’re not playing to his strengths.

Same goes for Durant, who needs to improve his inside game, defense and rebounding. But Van Gundy is such a huge Durant fan that he’s puzzled why critics are quick to pick apart the 20-year-old small forward.

"He’s unique,” Van Gundy said. "I don’t think we’ve ever had anybody in the league that size playing the perimeter. He’s as big as most people’s 4’s (power forwards) and 5’s (centers) but plays on the perimeter. And he is so talented with the ball.

"With his size he can get a good shot almost every time, and there’s not a whole lot you can do. You try the best you can to take away easy baskets. You try to get back in transition and try not to foul him too much and send him to the line. Then you hope he doesn’t make seven or eight jump shots in a row.”

Van Gundy said Atlanta’s Joe Johnson is the closest to Durant’s physical attributes, but Johnson is two inches shorter.

"And Joe Johnson doesn’t have the wing span Durant has, someone who height-wise is a legitimate-sized NBA center,” Van Gundy said. "Not bulk-wise but his wing span. (Durant) will continue to get stronger. But his body is never going to look like LeBron James.”

When Scott Brooks took over as interim coach, his first move was to move Durant to small forward, in large part to help him defensively.

During Brooks’ six-game tenure, Durant has averaged 24.7 points. Under P.J. Carlesimo, Durant was averaging 21.1 after scoring 20.3 to earn Rookie of the Year honors.

"That’s what I don’t understand,” Van Gundy said. "This is a guy who already is averaging more than 20 points, has all kinds of skills and size and everybody tries to keep finding things he can’t do. His size on the perimeter is unheard of. There’s no telling how good he could be.”

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