Kevin Durant impressed with Bol Bol: 'He’s been more than I expected'

It isn't easy to get a stamp ofapproval from an NBA legend, but Phoenix Suns forward Bol Bol justsecured one after helpingPhoenix as they fight for positioning in a tough Western Conferenceplayoff race. Kevin Durant raved about his teammate after the Suns'important win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

"He's been more than Iexpected,” Durant said of Bol, who scored 11 points against theLakers and just had a 25-point, 14-rebound performance against theHouston Rockets. “His intangibles, his work ethic, his IQ, all thestuff that I didn't really think about when it comes to [Bol],that's the foundation of his game."

"He's been more than I expected. Hisintangibles, his work ethic, his IQ, all the stuff that I didn'treally think about when it comes to Bol, that's the foundation ofhis game."Kevin Durant on Bol Bol, who followed 25 and 14 at Houston with 11points in #Suns win vs. #Lakers. pic.twitter.com/xoFZvfmZDD

Against the Lakers, Bolshowcased several skills including putting the ball on the floorand attacking closeouts with ease. With a respectable jumper, Bolforces opposing teams to close out on him since he can hit theoccasional three-ball.

MAKE WAY FOR BOL BOL 😤7 PTS (3-3 FG) in 6 MIN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/2Zjha9f4MJ

The lanky forward, whopreviously had stints with the Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic,appears to have finally cracked head coach Frank Vogel’s rotation.Despite just playing sparingly throughout the season, he seemsready to play meaningful minutes moving forward.

An interesting signing this pastoffseason, Bol is now averaging 15.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7blocks per game on a 70.6% True Shooting percentage while playing21.5 minutes over his last three games as the Suns welcomed hislength at the forward position.

As previously mentioned, Bolplayed his best game of the season against Houston, tallying 25points and 14 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench -- serving as anintegral part of Phoenix’s closing lineup.

Tonight Bol Bol showed why he should begetting minutes, especially playing with Kevin Durant who can helpmentor him too. pic.twitter.com/zH1n9WXDkC

After scouring the league forwings in an attempt to get bigger at the forward spots prior to thetrade deadline, the Suns might have found an answer to theirseason-long problem with a player who has been on the roster allalong.

At 7-foot-3, Bol is a mismatchon offense with skills that include fluidity on dribbles as well asa soft touch around the rim. On defense, his frame allows him toalter shots despite being skinny for his size. Bol has thepotential to be a good shot blocker once he improves his feel forthe game and bulks up a bit to help with strength-and-conditioningissues.

Furthermore, Bol offerspositional versatility on both offense and defense, which Durantappreciates and finds intriguing, especially come playoff time.This allows Coach Vogel to play bigger, trotting out a big lineupof Durant, Bol and center Jusuf Nurkic to counter the Lakers' bigfrontline.

“When you look at the top teams in the league,they all have size,” Durant said. “[Bol] gives us anotherdimension.”

With Bol getting more and morecomfortable, the Suns can be more versatile on both sides of thecourt and have an intriguing eight-man playoff rotation.