"Individually, he can't be stopped by any 1-on-1 player," James said. "There's nobody that can guard him 1-on-1." James, in a reversal from his pleas in previous seasons, also says he'd like to play more minutes.
"I'm not playing as many minutes as I would like but Spo is in control of that," James said Tuesday of coach Erik Spoelstra as the Heat prepared to face the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN). "I don't like playing less, I don't feel like I need to play less."
James has seen his numbers dip as Durant has soared recently with 11 straight 30-point games.
James is playing 36.9 minutes through 43 games this season, the fewest of his career, as Spoelstra attempts to save some wear and tear. But he said Tuesday he's hoping to play more as the Miami Heat enter the meat of their schedule.
He's averaging the fewest points (26) since his rookie season, the fewest rebounds (6.9) in seven years, the fewest steals (1.3) and blocks (0.3) of his career, and fewer assists than last season. He's also taking a career-low 16.4 shots a game while shooting a career-best 58 percent.
But while James is often very aware of his numbers, he may not realize that Spoelstra has been playing him more. After averaging 37 minutes during 14 games in December, Spoelstra has been playing James about 39 minutes a game in January. Some of that is because Dwyane Wade has missed five games this month. Still James, who has complained about Spoelstra playing him too many minutes in the past, wants more.
"I can understand we've been playing a lot of basketball so Spo is monitoring that as well," James said. "Don't ever put it out there that LeBron wants to play less."
James' comments could also be tied to his interest in the Most Valuable Player race.
This roll Durant is on -- averaging 38.5 points in his last 11 games, shooting 64 percent over his last six and guiding the Thunder to the best record in the Western Conference at 36-10 even without Russell Westbrook for 21 games so far -- has James marveling. If the season was ending right now, voters would likely tab Durant as the one who should be hoisting the league's MVP trophy over James, who has gotten it in four of the past five seasons.
James insists that he's not fixated on the MVP race, especially since the season is barely half over.
Maybe not, but it's entertaining to watch the two superstars square off.
It's Heat vs. Thunder, not James vs. Durant, 1-on-1. But James will be guarding Durant at times on Wednesday night when Miami plays host to Oklahoma City in a matchup of the teams who met in the 2012 NBA Finals.
It's an unenviable task, especially when considering that Durant is on career-best paces this season and that he's scored at least 30 points in his last 11 games.
Perhaps fortunately for James, it's never been a mano-a-mano scoring matchup, or else the won-loss records might be a bit different.
In 16 meetings of their teams to date, Durant has outscored James nine times. But James' teams are 13-3 in those games, including Miami's 4-1 series victory in the 2012 Finals. As long as that trend continues Wednesday, James likely won't care -- not much, anyway -- about the individual numbers at game's end.
"I like going against the best," James said. "And he's definitely right up there. ... He's a great guy to compete against, man. I wish I could play against him every night because he brings that competitive nature out of you."
And Durant isn't thinking about how what he does now might pay off with some hardware come May, either.
"I'm just going out there and having fun, man," Durant said. "I'm just trying to play. I'm not coming in saying, 'I've got to do this.' I'm not one of those guys that predetermines anything. I just go off how the game is played and the defense teams are throwing at me and just play and be aggressive that way. I'm just enjoying it and having fun with it and taking it a day at a time."
James has been on scoring runs like the one Durant is on now, as have most of the other elite scorers in the league, so he knows that there's times when good offense is better than good defense.
But it's more than scoring that's making Durant stand out this season. He's on pace to be the first player since Wade in 2008-09 to average at least 30 points and five assists per game, and the first since Michael Jordan in 1991-92 to do so while shooting at least 50 percent from the floor.
"Video game numbers," Spoelstra said.
James said he will rely on help when guarding Durant on Wednesday, though the concept of team defense isn't exactly foreign to the Heat. Only five opposing players have scored more than 30 points in a game against Miami so far this season, none getting more than Stephen Curry's 36 for Golden State on Jan. 2.
But make no mistake, this will be a test.
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