Skip Bayless vs. Kevin Durant on Twitter today(reactions on lbj KD workout)

[stallionaire]

Skip Bayless completely clowned on KD for choosing to workout with LeBron again this offseason. Video is here : http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8365656/hell-week-2-lebron-james-kevin-durant-back-training


KD responded:
http://i.imgur.com/qUBKh.png


Skip's Response:


Remember @KDTrey5: LeBron now has a ring. You don't. If you want your say on First Take, you're welcome any morning 10-12E. Just say when.
https://twitter.com/RealSkipBayless/status/245657570830864385


lol i hope KD takes the bait and makes a damn fool of himself on TV

[noosaman]

Bayless is right here.

First Dirk creampied Durant in 2011, this time it was Lebron.

The dude needs to be a man already.

[ukballer]

Skip is an alpha troll. :oldlol:

Part of me loves it, other times I could choke him.

[Figlo]

Bayless is right here.

First Dirk creampied Durant in 2011, this time it was Lebron.

The dude needs to be a man already.

Brainwashed

[Legends66NBA7]

Stop giving this moron and the rest of ESPN attention.

All they want to do is provoke and make controversial statements.

[Trentknicks]

Bayless is right here.

First Dirk creampied Durant in 2011, this time it was Lebron.

The dude needs to be a man already.
Does dirk need to be brought up in everything? What had he achieved at the same age as KD?

The fact that your going to university is a joke, let alone the fact we go to the same one.

[pauk]

Stop giving this moron and the rest of ESPN attention.

All they want to do is provoke and make controversial statements.

This.

[noosaman]

Does dirk need to be brought up in everything? What had he achieved at the same age as KD?

The fact that your going to university is a joke, let alone the fact we go to the same one.

I'm just saying. Dirk made the WCF at the same age in a much tougher season/conference.

The crazy thing is I am not in university. I am a 3rd year physician.

[noosaman]

Brainwashed

wait what? Did you not see the Finals? Durant had literally zero impact on the series. I have been watching NBA for 16 years. Durant is a one trick pony. Westbrook is the best player on that squad.

[Rnbizzle]

wait what? Did you not see the Finals? Durant had literally zero impact on the series. I have been watching NBA for 16 years. Durant is a one trick pony. Westbrook is the best player on that squad.
This dude has no idea what he's talking about.

[noosaman]

This dude has no idea what he's talking about.

I could be wrong but I distinctly recall him playing zero defense and having no impact on offense within 20 feet of the basket. I suppose the game footage and watching every game of the series is not good enough evidence for you, however.

[Mr Exlax]

wait what? Did you not see the Finals? Durant had literally zero impact on the series. I have been watching NBA for 16 years. Durant is a one trick pony. Westbrook is the best player on that squad.

This is what I've been saying for 2 years now. I'm not gonna say he had 0 impact on the series, but KD is a one trick pony. Not a knock on him because he's phenomanal at that one trick. I've kinda been on the fence about Westbrook being the best on the squad this season. I wanna say he is, but he struggles at times. KD doesn't struggle at his one thing ever. You're not alone Noosaman. I totally see your point of view. I love KD, but looking at it from a basketball aspect and not a fan aspect then yeah he's a one trick pony. He's had the quietest 40 pt games ever seen.

[Dave3]

I'm just saying. Dirk made the WCF at the same age in a much tougher season/conference.

False, Dirk only made it to the second round by the time he was 23. Durant has made it both to the WCF and NBA Finals. So yeah, Durant has definitely gotten much farther than Dirk so far based on accomplishments by age.



The crazy thing is I am not in university. I am a 3rd year physician.

No you're not. No doctor would be this dense and able to pass the steps. You're as much of a doctor as joyner is a med student or whatever he claims to be now.

[kentatm]

I'm just saying. Dirk made the WCF at the same age in a much tougher season/conference.

The crazy thing is I am not in university. I am a 3rd year physician.


didnt you claim that women can't get HIV from a straight man?

[Chrono90]

Height like Kevin Garnett. Skills like Tmac. Works hard like Kobe.

What he needs now? Meanness like Jordan. Demand the dam ball from Westbrook and get mean to your dam opponents.

[wang4three]

Skip does this to get viewings for his show. Ignoring him is the best policy.

[Dave3]

Height like Kevin Garnett. Skills like Tmac. Works hard like Kobe.

What he needs now? Meanness like Jordan. Demand the dam ball from Westbrook and get mean to your dam opponents.
Not quite as tall as Garnett, definitely not the ball handling, passing, playmaking, or overall smoothness of Tmac. Not gonna deny he's definitely a good combination of those 3 guys, but he's not close to Tmac level skill overall, though obviously a better midrange shooter, finisher (though more because of height than skill) and free throw shooter.

[swi7ch]

LOL @ KD replying to eveyrone! First that no-name rapper and now Skip! Alpha males don't reply to petty gossips...

[PyrrhusX]

OP + his boyfriend noosa joining forces to hate on KD. Nothing new.

And despite everything and anythign that is happening KD>>>>>>>Anyone on the timberwolves.

[IGOTGAME]

I don't agree with this. KD seemed intimidated by Bron in the finals and now wants to spend his workout time the same guy? Seems odd.

All I'm saying is he better not take these opportunies for granted. He may not get a better squad for a long time.

[guy]

Sorry, but Skip is right. Its shows a lack of competitiveness. Why in the world would you take part in something that motivates your biggest competitor even more? Didn't Durant say it was really hard to play with him in the Olympics? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to have his own hell week with his teammates?

I don't know. This along with that stupid pep rally the Thunder had after they lost makes me think that they really didn't take the loss that bad. Almost like a self entitlement where they think they're so young that they're going to automatically win championships eventually.

Next thing you know, it will be 2016 and Durant will be joining the Heat.

[juju151111]

I don't agree with this. KD seemed intimidated by Bron in the finals and now wants to spend his workout time the same guy? Seems odd.

All I'm saying is he better not take these opportunies for granted. He may not get a better squad for a long time.
KD didn't seem intimidated by LJ at all. KD average 30 ppg on 50+. The only thing LJ did was put KD in foul trouble at key stretches. Like Game 2 where KD went to the bench with the league and came back in the 4th going off.

[juju151111]

Sorry, but Skip is right. Its shows a lack of competitiveness. Why in the world would you take part in something that motivates your biggest competitor even more? Didn't Durant say it was really hard to play with him in the Olympics? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to have his own hell week with his teammates?

I don't know. This along with that stupid pep rally the Thunder had after they lost makes me think that they really didn't take the loss that bad. Almost like a self entitlement where they think they're so young that they're going to automatically win championships eventually.

Next thing you know, it will be 2016 and Durant will be joining the Heat.
Yea that's why KD was crying multiple times. KD the goat actor.

[Dave3]

Sorry, but Skip is right. Its shows a lack of competitiveness. Why in the world would you take part in something that motivates your biggest competitor even more? Didn't Durant say it was really hard to play with him in the Olympics? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to have his own hell week with his teammates?

I don't know. This along with that stupid pep rally the Thunder had after they lost makes me think that they really didn't take the loss that bad. Almost like a self entitlement where they think they're so young that they're going to automatically win championships eventually.

Next thing you know, it will be 2016 and Durant will be joining the Heat.
It's not like Durant is doing it to become friends with the guy or something. He's doing it so he becomes better. Who cares what people do in their off time or what their perceived competitiveness is if what they do works? Last year after working with Bron and working hard all summer he came into the season much improved whereas most of the league regressed from the lockout. If he improves as much as last year he'll be impossible to stop offensively. Obviously certain aspects like passing and turnovers need to be controlled, but if he improves as much, he's going to be giving LeBron an even bigger run for his money than last year.

Competitiveness on court doesn't have to translate into resentment or dislike off the court.

[IGOTGAME]

KD didn't seem intimidated by LJ at all. KD average 30 ppg on 50+. The only thing LJ did was put KD in foul trouble at key stretches. Like Game 2 where KD went to the bench with the league and came back in the 4th going off.
game is more than scoring. He was scared to guard Lebron. OKC lost because of KD. He was so outclassed by Lebron 1 on 1 that his team had to adjust. Guy had little impact besides being a jumpshooter, he didn't create offense for others and didnt distort the defense. He also dissapeared for long stretches.

Guy is one dimensional. He seems to take his situation for granted.

[Dave3]

game is more than scoring. He was scared to guard Lebron. OKC lost because of KD. He was so outclassed by Lebron 1 on 1 that his team had to adjust. Guy had little impact besides being a jumpshooter, he didn't create offense for others and didnt distort the defense. He also dissapeared for long stretches.

Guy is one dimensional. He seems to take his situation for granted.
He wasn't scared to guard LeBron. He guarded him a bit. He just couldn't do a good job as much as Sefalosha. Sefalosha being a better defender doesn't make Durant scared, just makes him worse at something than a teammate. No one's perfect.

He was hardly scared. Just not as good yet.

[juju151111]

game is more than scoring. He was scared to guard Lebron. OKC lost because of KD. He was so outclassed by Lebron 1 on 1 that his team had to adjust. Guy had little impact besides being a jumpshooter, he didn't create offense for others and didnt distort the defense. He also dissapeared for long stretches.

Guy is one dimensional. He seems to take his situation for granted.
I agree he couldn't really guard LJ, but how was he scared?KD was out of it because most gms they put him in foul trouble.

[Rnbizzle]

I could be wrong but I distinctly recall him playing zero defense and having no impact on offense within 20 feet of the basket. I suppose the game footage and watching every game of the series is not good enough evidence for you, however.
:roll: This ******* negging me..

[IGOTGAME]

I agree he couldn't really guard LJ, but how was he scared?KD was out of it because most gms they put him in foul trouble.
What about the long stretches whete he wouldn't shoot?

Guy has the goods to guard Lebron but he looked jittery out there. He wasn't a leader for his team. Even now, by working out with enemy his is being a bad leader. You wanna work harder than ur rival, not do the exact same drills etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if Durant joined Miami in 5 years after OKC falls off.

[juju151111]

What about the long stretches whete he wouldn't shoot?

Guy has the goods to guard Lebron but he looked jittery out there. He wasn't a leader for his team. Even now, by working out with enemy his is being a bad leader. You wanna work harder than ur rival, not do the exact same drills etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if Durant joined Miami in 5 years after OKC falls off.
U sound like that retard skip bay less

[Grinder]

KD really shouldn't have dignified Skip with a response. It's obvious Skip is trying to capitalize on KD's fame for ratings/attention.

First Take is entertaining but listening to Skip and Stephen A trying to talk Xs and Os is hilarious.

[abraxas666]

The seed has been planted in KD's mind, let hope he turns in to a better competitor, which is all he needs to be the best player in basketball.

[IGOTGAME]

The seed has been planted in KD's mind, let hope he turns in to a better competitor, which is all he needs to be the best player in basketball.
He needs to do a lot more than that.

[TheGreatDeraj]

Too much hate for Skip Bayless. He may have controversial opinions sometimes but isn't afraid to speak his mind and let his opinion be known. I think Skip is right in the sense that Lebron was comfortable playing in the NBA finals against Durant and the OKC Thunder.

When Lebron played the Mavericks in the finals there was definitely trash talking and they got under Lebron's skin. They had crazy guy Stevenson mixing things up getting in peoples faces. Tyson chandler being physical in the paint. Marion playing man physical defense against Lebron.

The mavericks took Lebron out of his comfort zone and forced him to shoot jumpers. Some of it was the zone the Mavericks played. Some was their in your face, never back down attitude. And some was the physical play of Stevenson, Marion, Chandler and the rest of the Mavericks. Even Dirk seemed tough that year.

Last year was completely different. The Thunder let him work in the paint all series long. The Thunder adapted to the Heat's style of play instead of the other way around. I thought it was a mistake that Scott Brooks didn't play Perkins enough and opted for Durant/Ibaka to protect the paint when Lebron was killing them inside. Also, I thought they should have played zone more.

Lebron was 8-46 for 17.39% on shots 10+ feet from the rim against the Thunder(According to HOOPDATA (http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscores.aspx?team=MIA)). Let that sink in. Who knows what would have happened if the Thunder were better defensively at keeping him out of the paint. Obviously, Lebron gets a lot of credit for getting good looks. I'm not going to discredit his hard work, but I feel Thunder made a lot of mistakes giving him easy looks.


Lebron certainly earned his title, and I respect him a lot more now. However, he hasn't fully convinced me he will be the player he is hyped up to be. He still needs to work on his post game(he did make improvements last season). I expect him to improve more now that he's going to play PF even more with Bosh at C. He really needs to work on his jumper though. 8-46 for 17.39% isn't going to get it done next year. Especially if, for instance, the Lakers can make it to the finals where they can protect the paint better with a Howard/Gasol/Hill Rotation and World Peace on the perimeter.

[HardwoodLegend]

Haha @ Skip looking into the camera and saying "I'm trying to HELP you, Kevin Durant"

I wish I could see the look on KD's face when he first watched that :durantunimpressed:




Too much hate for Skip Bayless. He may have controversial opinions sometimes but isn't afraid to speak his mind and let his opinion be known. I think Skip is right in the sense that Lebron was comfortable playing in the NBA finals against Durant and the OKC Thunder.

When Lebron played the Mavericks in the finals there was definitely trash talking and they got under Lebron's skin. They had crazy guy Stevenson mixing things up getting in peoples faces. Tyson chandler being physical in the paint. Marion playing man physical defense against Lebron.

The mavericks took Lebron out of his comfort zone and forced him to shoot jumpers. Some of it was the zone the Mavericks played. Some was their in your face, never back down attitude. And some was the physical play of Stevenson, Marion, Chandler and the rest of the Mavericks. Even Dirk seemed tough that year.

Last year was completely different. The Thunder let him work in the paint all series long. The Thunder adapted to the Heat's style of play instead of the other way around. I thought it was a mistake that Scott Brooks didn't play Perkins enough and opted for Durant/Ibaka to protect the paint when Lebron was killing them inside. Also, I thought they should have played zone more.

Lebron was 8-46 for 17.39% on shots 10+ feet from the rim against the Thunder(According to HOOPDATA (http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscores.aspx?team=MIA)). Let that sink in. Who knows what would have happened if the Thunder were better defensively at keeping him out of the paint. Obviously, Lebron gets a lot of credit for getting good looks. I'm not going to discredit his hard work, but I feel Thunder made a lot of mistakes giving him easy looks.


Lebron certainly earned his title, and I respect him a lot more now. However, he hasn't fully convinced me he will be the player he is hyped up to be. He still needs to work on his post game(he did make improvements last season). I expect him to improve more now that he's going to play PF even more with Bosh at C. He really needs to work on his jumper though. 8-46 for 17.39% isn't going to get it done next year. Especially if, for instance, the Lakers can make it to the finals where they can protect the paint better with a Howard/Gasol/Hill Rotation and World Peace on the perimeter.

Well said. I agree.

[Chrono90]

Not quite as tall as Garnett, definitely not the ball handling, passing, playmaking, or overall smoothness of Tmac. Not gonna deny he's definitely a good combination of those 3 guys, but he's not close to Tmac level skill overall, though obviously a better midrange shooter, finisher (though more because of height than skill) and free throw shooter.

yea you're right.

but i just wish KD was mean and tough on his teammates just like Jordan was. Jordan would have teared Harden a new asshole with the way he played and he would demand the dam ball more often from Westbrook.

[abraxas666]

He needs to do a lot more than that.


Well it all starts from there.

[Chrono90]

And just saying but want to remind you guys First Take is a talk show and if they make controversy statements, then there will be more viewers and ratings. It's their job to make controversy statements.

(Don't always buy into their traps) : )

[DuMa]

cant believe KD fell for the troll bait. his PR guy should know better and advise him otherwise

[Real Men Wear Green]

Too much hate for Skip Bayless.
No such thing...more seriously, he says off-the-wall shit to get a reaction. That and kissing Tebow ass is his whole schtick. A superstar like Durant should never acknowledge his trolling existence.

[Rondo]

What about the long stretches whete he wouldn't shoot?

Guy has the goods to guard Lebron but he looked jittery out there. He wasn't a leader for his team. Even now, by working out with enemy his is being a bad leader. You wanna work harder than ur rival, not do the exact same drills etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if Durant joined Miami in 5 years after OKC falls off.

OKC will be a much better team in 5 years than Miami will be...

[BlackVVaves]

If I was an OKC fan, I wouldn't want my team's franchise player working out with the same player that drew all those phantom fouls on him, and essentially gutted our championship run in back-door sweep fashion.

But, that's just me. I don't think it's as serious or malicious as Skip is portraying it. But, it would bother me a bit as a fan. I'd rather KD not being able to look at Bron much after that series, and spending this time isolating himself, going ham in the gym with thoughts of the Heat players celebrating as the game clock dwindled to triple zero at Game 5.

I rather that type of motivation than this. But, if he's going to get better training with Lebron, why not...I guess.

[KG215]

I could be wrong but I distinctly recall him playing zero defense and having no impact on offense within 20 feet of the basket. I suppose the game footage and watching every game of the series is not good enough evidence for you, however.

Now why don't you tell us about the renowned defense your god Dirk played in his prime.

[Rockets(T-mac)]

LMAO in that video, Skip basically crys on tv about how Durant rejected his man love last year when he was attacking westbrook.

Not to mention just a few months ago, he was the biggest Lebron hater around, but now he's praising him like he just bust a nut to film of the 2012 finals.

Skip is the best at switching his view on a situation in an instant and act like he's believed it for his whole life.

[spacebump]

Skip is an idiot. Anyone that thinks he knows what he is talking about doesn't know anything about basketball.

[chips93]

The mavericks took Lebron out of his comfort zone and forced him to shoot jumpers. Some of it was the zone the Mavericks played. Some was their in your face, never back down attitude. And some was the physical play of Stevenson, Marion, Chandler and the rest of the Mavericks. Even Dirk seemed tough that year.

it is far easier said than done, to keep bron out of the paint. its not like the mavs tried and the thunder didnt, lebron improved as a player, and the thunder arent as good a defensive team as the 2011 mavs.


Last year was completely different. The Thunder let him work in the paint all series long. The Thunder adapted to the Heat's style of play instead of the other way around. I thought it was a mistake that Scott Brooks didn't play Perkins enough and opted for Durant/Ibaka to protect the paint when Lebron was killing them inside. Also, I thought they should have played zone more.

what changed was that lebron had a much improved post game. against dallas he barely went there, against okc his post game was a staple of miami's offense.


Lebron was 8-46 for 17.39% on shots 10+ feet from the rim against the Thunder(According to HOOPDATA (http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscores.aspx?team=MIA)). Let that sink in

its hardly fair to judge lebron's progress as a jumpshooter over one series. his jumpshot has improved a lot. his shooting locations stats at hoopdata, over entire seasons illustrate his progress.

[Scoooter]

I wish I had known sooner that you could make a comfortable living trolling professional athletes.

[KG215]

it is far easier said than done, to keep bron out of the paint. its not like the mavs tried and the thunder didnt, lebron improved as a player, and the thunder arent as good a defensive team as the 2011 mavs.
True, but an effective and always moving (with the ball) zone defense should make penetrating and getting into the lane tougher than man defense; especially against a player as great as LeBron.



what changed was that lebron had a much improved post game. against dallas he barely went there, against okc his post game was a staple of miami's offense.
This. Seems like there's not a lot of people pointing out one big difference between 2011 and 2012 LeBron is the improved postgame. It's still not as good and fluid as it could and should be for a player of his size, strength, and ability level, but it was still very much improved. He caused plenty of problems against OKC on the block with his back to the basket, regardless of who was guarding him.



its hardly fair to judge lebron's progress as a jumpshooter over one series. his jumpshot has improved a lot. his shooting locations stats at hoopdata, over entire seasons illustrate his progress.
I don't think he was using the 8/46 to judge LeBron's progress as a jumpshooter. He was using to to illustrate just how poorly he shot from 10+ feet out in that series. Which he did. In game one, although he ended up putting up good numbers, he was bricking jumper after jumper after jumper. I didn't know if that was going to be a trend the rest of the series, but it was. At the very least, when you look at how horribly he shot from mid-range in game one, and saw it was continuing in game two, the adjustment to either a zone defense or a softer man defense where LeBron's man plays way back, should've been made.

Ideally, in a softer/sagging man, you'd have liked to be able to use Chalmers or Battier's man to sag-off, too, in order to help on Lebron and Wade penetration, but given how well the Miami role player were shooting, they couldn't do that. That seemed to be the plan in game five when Durant was assigned to Chalmers, but Chalmers went off. Durant wasn't particularly "guarding" Chalmers as much as that was just his assignment. He was playing roamer/helper and it backfired. Durant also did a poor job several times closing out on Chalmers who was able to drive in for a layup.