When Is Durant Going to Come Through?

[SilkkTheShocker]

Seems like a lot of posters insist that he is eventually going to start winning titles, MVPs, etc. But does it really look like its going that way? Its been 3 straight seasons where all we have heard is how voters will get tired of voting for LeBron for MVP. And LeBron still won 2 of the last 3 MVP awards. And I once again see posters saying the award is Durant's to lose again? Is he even the most important player on his team? And with the titles, I don't see it happening soon either. The Harden trade is looking like an absolute disaster and they still need a big that can score. I mean he could potentially never even be the best player in the NBA at anytime. I can see Wiggins being the guy to takeover as the best once LeBron starts to decline. Im not saying he will never be an MVP, champion, or eventual best player in the league. But I just don't get how some of you expect it.

[Kurosawa0]

If the Thunder don't win it this year, I think those questions have to be asked. Gotta give him a mulligan though because of Westbrook's fluke injury.

[poido123]

Seems like a lot of posters insist that he is eventually going to start winning titles, MVPs, etc. But does it really look like its going that way? Its been 3 straight seasons where all we have heard is how voters will get tired of voting for LeBron for MVP. And LeBron still won 2 of the last 3 MVP awards. And I once again see posters saying the award is Durant's to lose again? Is he even the most important player on his team? And with the titles, I don't see it happening soon either. The Harden trade is looking like an absolute disaster and they still need a big that can score. I mean he could potentially never even be the best player in the NBA at anytime. I can see Wiggins being the guy to takeover as the best once LeBron starts to decline. Im not saying he will never be an MVP, champion, or eventual best player in the league. But I just don't get how some of you expect it.


Jeff keeps banning you, but why are you never permabanned?

[SilkkTheShocker]

If the Thunder don't win it this year, I think those questions have to be asked. Gotta give him a mulligan though because of Westbrook's fluke injury.

Agreed. I don't hold Westbrook's injury against him. Im just really not buying into Durant taking over as the best player in the league. LeBron isn't going to be this good forever, but I honestly believe there will be someone else in line waiting to be that best player in the league before KD gets a turn. Same thing with all the future accolades he is supposedly going to win. Don't be shocked if doesn't happen. He is an amazing player. But he isn't some kind of dominant two-way player that is going to takeover the league imo.

[Haymaker]

I think the Thunder lost their chances to dominate the West when they traded Harden. They should've traded Ibaka for picks or a rookie.

[SilkkTheShocker]

I think the Thunder lost their chances to dominate the West when they traded Harden. They should've traded Ibaka for picks or a rookie.

Yea, I never got the rush to sign Ibaka over Harden. I know they need bigs, but Ibaka is pretty overrated imo. He blocks a lot of shots and will hit a midrange jumper. But the guy really isn't all that special as a one on one defender. Neither is Harden, but he made OKC very dangerous.

[Frozen1]

These new "superstars" are getting too much excuses. They say, "oh, durant is young, can't put pressure on him, he will get better, blah, blah, blah".

But the truth is that true superstars like kobe, wade and james were dominating in their young years. Kobe was in a threepeat team in the beggining of his career, wade won finals MVP in his third year and lebron in his fourth year was carrying his shitty cavs team to the finals.

[Fudge]

Heeeee back doe. :roll:

[KG215]

Agreed. I don't hold Westbrook's injury against him. Im just really not buying into Durant taking over as the best player in the league. LeBron isn't going to be this good forever, but I honestly believe there will be someone else in line waiting to be that best player in the league before KD gets a turn. Same thing with all the future accolades he is supposedly going to win. Don't be shocked if doesn't happen. He is an amazing player. But he isn't some kind of dominant two-way player that is going to takeover the league imo.
Who? Who is going to be that player? Durant's the clear-cut 2nd best player in the league right now and he's just 24 years old. If it wasn't for one of the 5-10 best players of all-time being at his peak right now, he'd have 3 MVP's and a ring all by the age of 24. I can't think of another young player that's shown anywhere close to as much potential/promise as Durant. Guys like Kyrie, George, Westbrook, Harden, and Curry may be nipping at his heels soon, but he's still in a different class than all of them right now. And the only one that's significantly younger than him is Kyrie.

[KG215]

Kobe was in a threepeat team in the beggining of his career
Give Durant someone as good as peak Shaq the first 8 years of he's winning multiple rings, too.


wade won finals MVP in his third year
Fair enough.


and lebron in his fourth year was carrying his shitty cavs team to the finals.
In an incredibly weak East.

[tazb]

If he's not at least in the Finals next year or doesn't win it all. He should start getting that pre-LeBron ring treatment (that's of course, he put's up monster numbers like LeBron did against Orlando). He's around the same age LeBron started getting the criticism and choke artist name, so it's only fair Durant does too.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Give Durant someone as good as peak Shaq the first 8 years of he's winning multiple rings, too.


Fair enough.


In an incredibly weak East.

Did you happened to ever take a look at that 07 Cavs roster? That team would have been in the Oden/Durant sweepstakes if it wasn't for LeBron. Its hard to play the weak East card when LeBron is on a team that starts Sasha Pavlovic, Drew Gooden, and a rookie 2nd round PG in an NBA Finals game.

[KG215]

Did you happened to ever take a look at that 07 Cavs roster? That team would have been in the Oden/Durant sweepstakes if it wasn't for LeBron. Its hard to play the weak East card when LeBron is on a team that starts Sasha Pavlovic, Drew Gooden, and a rookie 2nd round PG in an NBA Finals game.
I'm thinking the last two versions of Durant could've at least got that team to the ECF in the '07 East. I know LeBron was 22, but 22-24 year old LeBron was better than 22-24 year old Durant. I still don't understand the point of this thread. He made the Finals last year at 23, as his teams best player, with an equally young supporting cast and lost to the best player in the league at his peak. Won 60 games and looked poised to return to the Finals this year, but he lost Westbrook in the first round.

So, what's the point of this thread right now? Why not wait until next summer to start it if Durant doesn't make the Finals or loses in the Finals?

[SilkkTheShocker]

I'm thinking the last two versions of Durant could've at least got that team to the ECF in the '07 East. I know LeBron was 22, but 22-24 year old LeBron was better than 22-24 year old Durant. I still don't understand the point of this thread. He made the Finals last year at 23, as his teams best player, with an equally young supporting cast and lost to the best player in the league at his peak. Won 60 games and looked poised to return to the Finals this year, but he lost Westbrook in the first round.

So, what's the point of this thread right now? Why not wait until next summer to start it if Durant doesn't make the Finals or loses in the Finals?

Im not denying Durant will play in more Finals. Its the part about how we should expect him takeover the league and win MVPs.

[talkingconch]

Seems like a lot of posters insist that he is eventually going to start winning titles, MVPs, etc. But does it really look like its going that way? Its been 3 straight seasons where all we have heard is how voters will get tired of voting for LeBron for MVP. And LeBron still won 2 of the last 3 MVP awards. And I once again see posters saying the award is Durant's to lose again? Is he even the most important player on his team? And with the titles, I don't see it happening soon either. The Harden trade is looking like an absolute disaster and they still need a big that can score. I mean he could potentially never even be the best player in the NBA at anytime. I can see Wiggins being the guy to takeover as the best once LeBron starts to decline. Im not saying he will never be an MVP, champion, or eventual best player in the league. But I just don't get how some of you expect it.
its hard to do that when your rival (portrayed by the media) goes off and forms a super team

[KG215]

Im not denying Durant will play in more Finals. Its the part about how we should expect him takeover the league and win MVPs.
Who else is it going to be? He's pretty comfortably the 2nd best player in the league right now. While I do think there's still a somewhat noticeable gap between him and LeBron, I still don't think it's as big of a gap as LeBron fanboys and the media make it out to be. But, admittedly, I'm a Durant stan.

He just had a 28-8-5, 50/40/90 season. That's absurd, but due to LeBron's greatness, Miami's 27-game win streak, Durant slumping a little bit the first few weeks after the All-Star break, and Carmelo's insanely hot April, Durant got lost in the shuffle for some reason. He averaged 32-10-6-1-1 on 46% FG and 58% TS in the playoffs after Westbrook went down. He had games of 41-14-4-2-1; 38-8-6-1 on 12/16 shooting; 36-7-7-1-1; and started off the second round against the second best defense in the league with games of 35-15-6-1-2 on 50% shooting and 36-11-9-1-1 on 52% shooting.

He averaged 29-7-4-2-1 on 52% FG and 63% TS in the playoffs last year as the best player on a team that made the Finals. He hit a handful of game-winners along the way, had the memorable 16 straight points in the 4th quarter in game 4 of the WCF, and had a great series overall as he led the Thunder to a win over a red-hot Spurs team while averaging 30-8-5-2-2 on 53% FG and 66% TS. He was 23.

I'm not sure what more you want to see from him to think he won't eventually take LeBron's throne as the best player in the league. I don't see any current player that is going to be better than Durant any time soon, so that leaves someone like Wiggins or Jabari Parker living up to the hype. But they'll probably just be entering their prime as Durant is peaking.

[chazzy]

We should criticize Durant for not being better than Lebron?

[russwest0]

LeBron dickriders have no shame. Blasting Durant for not winning a title at a stage in his career when LeBron (and most greats) had yet to win a title nor had yet to have a playoff run even close to as good as KD's was in 2012.

If people think this Miami team is going to continue to dominate they are delusional. Wade, Miller, Battier are all getting worse. Bosh isn't getting any better at what they actually need out of him.

The Spurs played pretty poorly and still took the Heat to 7 games. Give Gregg Popovich OKC's roster with a healthy Westbrook and the Heat get decimated in the Finals this year.

The rest of the league is going to be healthy next year and the Heat will not repeat. They had a rough time getting past the Pacers without Danny Granger... Derrick Rose and the Bulls will give them trouble as well.

[KG215]

We should criticize Durant for not being better than Lebron?
Make sense. 23-24 year old, early stages of his prime Durant should be put on full-blast for not being better than 27-28 year old, peak LeBron.

[kNicKz]

KD already has 3 scoring titles and a finals appearance....at 24....and he went to college


NBA Rookie of the Year (2008)
3

[KG215]

[QUOTE=kNicKz]KD already has 3 scoring titles and a finals appearance....at 24....and he went to college


NBA Rookie of the Year (2008)
3

[kNicKz]

He was only 19 his rookie year, so it's not like the college thing gave him a late start or anything. He went to college for one year because he had to.

But the OP's notion that he just doesn't see why Durant will eventually be the best player in the league or win an MVP and/or championship or two or three seems kind of dumb. Not sure how much more he wants or expects from at this point in his career.

Durant will get an MVP and probably a chip before he retires and will be in his prime when Lebron begins to decline. Then Durant stans will battle with stans of the aging Lebron. This scenario sound somewhat familiar?

[KG215]

Durant will get an MVP and probably a chip before he retires and will be in his prime when Lebron begins to decline. Then Durant stans will battle with stans of the aging Lebron. This scenario sound somewhat familiar?
Yeah, but Durant doesn't even really have any stans right now, and with registration being so limited these days, he's gonna have a hard time building a dedicated army like LeBron and Kobe.

[dbk123]

when lebron is 32 and durant is 28, we will see durant taking over. but for now, its lebrons league

[jrong]

He's 24. The Thunder need to solve their Westbrook problem-- either restrain him or trade him-- after what KD showed in the playoffs, OKC shouldn't have anything resembling a 1a/1b distribution. It needs to be a clear-cut #1,2 arrangement.

But, again, he's 24. It will be his league one day. LeBron will have more problems winning titles as Wade ages or if he splits from Wade after next year.

[DaSeba5]

He's only 24.

[poido123]

He's only 24.

that's a good point. alltime greats dont hit their peak usually until they hit around 27, 28.

Only difference here is, I dont see alot of room for improvement from Durant. Unless he drastically changes his body size or something I can't see him getting much better than he is.

I don't think Westbrook is a particularly good fit for him either in OKC. He needs a pass first point guard, and a second scoring option that isnt a point guard.

[russwest0]

Yeah, but Durant doesn't even really have any stans right now, and with registration being so limited these days, he's gonna have a hard time building a dedicated army like LeBron and Kobe.

This is why it will be hard for KD to win an MVP soon. He didn't come into the league with the coverage that LBJ got and he landed in one of the leagues smallest markets. Hell, ESPN was driving a Carmelo for MVP train the first half of this year even though OKC was on a huge win streak with a better record than NY and with KD playing much better than Melo...

Oh, and like last year, when ESPN booted Pacers/Thunder in favor of Heat/Bobcats... And it was the Heats backups who were playing the game..

The fact that LeBron came 2nd in the DPOY voting this year should be a clear indication that these awards are a joke because the media is voting on them and they don't even watch the damn games, they just watch highlights and look at the box score.

Anyone who watches the Heat knows that LeBron is only a great defender when put under a microscope and is otherwise typically lackluster on defense.

[KG215]

Only difference here is, I dont see alot of room for improvement from Durant. Unless he drastically changes his body size or something I can't see him getting much better than he is.

:confusedshrug:

There's plenty of room for improvement. The main thing that changes for all-time greats as they go from their early and mid-20's to their later 20's is how they mentally approach the game. How they feel out games, and understand how to deal with the different phases of games, especially in the playoffs.

I'm not sure he'll ever add much more body mass (seems like he's been this skinny forever so it's probably not going to drastically change) he can still get stronger.

This was the first year he really added passing/playmaking to his game, and made it a viable weapon; but he was still a little too turnover prone, so he can get better in that regard and I think he will as he grows more comfortable when he goes into facilitator mode.

He can continue to develop a post-game which, I understand, will be tough until he gets stronger, but it's something he can improve upon.

He can improve his defense and be a more consistent defender. While I think his overall defensive impact has become underrated, he can still obviously improve in that area; mainly in his consistency.

[jrong]

that's a good point. alltime greats dont hit their peak usually until they hit around 27, 28.

Only difference here is, I dont see alot of room for improvement from Durant. Unless he drastically changes his body size or something I can't see him getting much better than he is.

I don't think Westbrook is a particularly good fit for him either in OKC. He needs a pass first point guard, and a second scoring option that isnt a point guard.

If I were OKC, I'm moving heaven and earth to get Chris Paul. But, only Chris Paul among pass-first PGs. The reason is that he CAN score if he has to, but he doesn't need to.

And god, CP would make OKC's bigs look... good.

[russwest0]

CP3 would not make OKC's current bigs look any better than what Westbrook does.

Porkins ****s up so many easy baskets that KD and Russ give to him and Ibaka's improvement on the offensive end was nice but as soon as Westbrook went down he became hot garbage

[RRR3]

are we going to start holding Durant to standards no one could possibly meet now too? :facepalm

[Element]

Haha you guys talking about numbers to prop up KD are funny

Memphis did not double team the dude once. They COMPLETELY took his teammates out of their game and basically gave him the treatment LeBron was given by the Magic in 09. Look up his teammates efficiency numbers before/after Westbrook. Everyone knows KD won't score 40ppg for a series/be a creator for his team, so they let him have whatever he wanted.

This postseason basically showed that while KD is an amazing and efficient scorer, his scoring is just "there" it doesn't have the kind of impact that opens up the game for everyone, which is why OKC only works when both KD and Russ are dominating. He can't be the primary ball handler on a team because he's too turnover prone and the assists he gets are low-quality ones, where he just passes and a teammate is forced to take whatever kind of shot he gave him; he needs to work on getting them open looks and improving ball movement as the primary ball handler. With Westy in the game he can do his off-ball thing/occassional iso while Russ is creating the looks, and he is part of a 1a/1b offense.

He ain't no prime Kobe, Wade, LeBron or T-Mac...yet. Right now he's most effective as a primarily off-ball point machine who rebounds well, and draws a lot of dubious foul shots. Not a guy who can do everything for his team
effectively, without making his teammates worse (though LeBron does this sometimes to non-shooters on his teams).

[SilkkTheShocker]

Chazzy and some other posters need to learn how to read. I just think it's hilarious how people assume he will win MVPs and championships.

[Locked_Up_Tonight]

And it is also dumb to say he is only 24. First off, he turns 25 in September. And next year will be his 7th year in the league.

[dh144498]

Jeff keeps banning you, but why are you never permabanned?

this.

[SilkkTheShocker]

And it is also dumb to say he is only 24. First off, he turns 25 in September. And next year will be his 7th year in the league.

This. I just don't get why we should assume he is going to win MVPs and titles.

[pegasus]

He is as good as anyone in the league. His coach and bigs are absolute trash, and WB, albeit extremely talented, is a knucklehead.

I can see him win one ring in the next few years if all elite teams remained the same for the most part, but that's it.

It sucks for him because he is good enough to win multiple championships if he had a reasonable team built around him. I'm not even talking about a super-stacked team like the one in Miami. Just a solid second option, couple of decent bigs, a few good role players that know how to shoot and play defense, and a coach who knows how to run the team. He does not have that in OKC and doesn't look like he'll get it anytime soon unless some drastic changes are made.

[imdaman99]

the team built around him is no good outside of westbrook. cmon, these 2 are gonna be the only 2 guys on the team capable of creating their own shots? wtf, there is no knock down shooters either, kevin martin? really? he has the slowest release, and lets be real, he aint any good. sefolosha is a nice defender, but he is not all world defender like we think he is. he cant do to lebron that jimmy butler can, basically implying that ibaka is no noah. and perkins, dont let me get started. this is not a well constructed team. they can beat almost anyone, but unfortunately not the heat. not with the knucklehead of a coach scott brooks. after this past season, i am done with him. he doesnt do any coaching, he counts on durant and westbrook to dominate the opposition, which they are capable of doing most nights.

oh wow durant doesnt have an mvp, how many exactly did shaq have? kobe? 1? ok than, maybe durant will win one.

[SilkkTheShocker]

LeBron dickriders have no shame. Blasting Durant for not winning a title at a stage in his career when LeBron (and most greats) had yet to win a title nor had yet to have a playoff run even close to as good as KD's was in 2012.

If people think this Miami team is going to continue to dominate they are delusional. Wade, Miller, Battier are all getting worse. Bosh isn't getting any better at what they actually need out of him.

The Spurs played pretty poorly and still took the Heat to 7 games. Give Gregg Popovich OKC's roster with a healthy Westbrook and the Heat get decimated in the Finals this year.

The rest of the league is going to be healthy next year and the Heat will not repeat. They had a rough time getting past the Pacers without Danny Granger... Derrick Rose and the Bulls will give them trouble as well.


Never did I say the Heat were going to be forever dominant. But they did just beat the team that had the best chance of beating them in the league. MVP (:oldlol: ) Rose and the Bulls couldn't even take Miami to 6 games. Indy is legit, but they need George to improve and to re-sign West. OKC doesn't have Harden anymore. And don't be surprised if Jay-Z steers KD to a big market now that he is an agent. There is a very good chance OKC already blew their window to get a title.

[Solefade]

He is as good as anyone in the league. His coach and bigs are absolute trash, and WB, albeit extremely talented, is a knucklehead.

I can see him win one ring in the next few years if all elite teams remained the same for the most part, but that's it.

It sucks for him because he is good enough to win multiple championships if he had a reasonable team built around him. I'm not even talking about a super-stacked team like the one in Miami. Just a solid second option, couple of decent bigs, a few good role players that know how to shoot and play defense, and a coach who knows how to run the team. He does not have that in OKC and doesn't look like he'll get it anytime soon unless some drastic changes are made.

The Thunder were arguably more stacked than the Heat last year AND they were more healthy..? :confusedshrug:

[tmacattack33]

He is as good as anyone in the league. His coach and bigs are absolute trash, and WB, albeit extremely talented, is a knucklehead.

I can see him win one ring in the next few years if all elite teams remained the same for the most part, but that's it.

It sucks for him because he is good enough to win multiple championships if he had a reasonable team built around him. I'm not even talking about a super-stacked team like the one in Miami. Just a solid second option, couple of decent bigs, a few good role players that know how to shoot and play defense, and a coach who knows how to run the team. He does not have that in OKC and doesn't look like he'll get it anytime soon unless some drastic changes are made.

This post is hilarious (and sorry if you are joking, I can't tell, because usually a joke post is about two sentences long...yours was 3 paragraphs long).

Everything you just describes OKC.

Solid second option? Westbrook is a great second option. Maybe the best second option in the league depending on how you view Wade and his injury.

A few good role players that know how to shoot and play defense? ...like Sefalosha you mean?

A couple decent bigs? ...like Ibaka ? And Perkins (hey, he's better than Joel Anthony and Miami won the championship with Joel)


Wtf?

[Jacks3]

Haha you guys talking about numbers to prop up KD are funny

Memphis did not double team the dude once. They COMPLETELY took his teammates out of their game and basically gave him the treatment LeBron was given by the Magic in 09. Look up his teammates efficiency numbers before/after Westbrook. Everyone knows KD won't score 40ppg for a series/be a creator for his team, so they let him have whatever he wanted.

This postseason basically showed that while KD is an amazing and efficient scorer, his scoring is just "there" it doesn't have the kind of impact that opens up the game for everyone, which is why OKC only works when both KD and Russ are dominating. He can't be the primary ball handler on a team because he's too turnover prone and the assists he gets are low-quality ones, where he just passes and a teammate is forced to take whatever kind of shot he gave him; he needs to work on getting them open looks and improving ball movement as the primary ball handler. With Westy in the game he can do his off-ball thing/occassional iso while Russ is creating the looks, and he is part of a 1a/1b offense.

He ain't no prime Kobe, Wade, LeBron or T-Mac...yet. Right now he's most effective as a primarily off-ball point machine who rebounds well, and draws a lot of dubious foul shots. Not a guy who can do everything for his team
effectively, without making his teammates worse (though LeBron does this sometimes to non-shooters on his teams).
truth.

of all the superstar perimeter players in history, durant is by far the worst play-maker/passer/creator. its not even close.

[KG215]

The Thunder were arguably more stacked than the Heat last year AND they were more healthy..? :confusedshrug:
No, they weren't. Miami proved in the Finals they had more and they had better depth than the Thunder.

[imdaman99]

No, they weren't. Miami proved in the Finals they had more and they had better depth than the Thunder.
that guy says the stupidest things. i swear, lebron fanboys :facepalm

lets hear the amount of role players that stepped up for the thunder in the finals last year : sef for game 1?

now for the heat :
battier
chalmers
mike miller
james jones with a huge 3
not to mention bosh, who lebron turned into a role player. he outplayed ibaka and perkins

[KG215]

Memphis did not double team the dude once. They COMPLETELY took his teammates out of their game and basically gave him the treatment LeBron was given by the Magic in 09. Look up his teammates efficiency numbers before/after Westbrook. Everyone knows KD won't score 40ppg for a series/be a creator for his team, so they let him have whatever he wanted.
Holy f**k this is just full of :facepalm worthy shit. You clearly didn't watch the series if you don't think he wasn't double-teamed once.


This postseason basically showed that while KD is an amazing and efficient scorer, his scoring is just "there" it doesn't have the kind of impact that opens up the game for everyone
Wrong. Against both Houston and Memphis he was facing constant double and triple teams, even off the ball they were shading extra defenders his way. It opened up his teammates and he averaged 6+ APG without Westbrook.


and the assists he gets are low-quality ones, where he just passes and a teammate is forced to take whatever kind of shot he gave him;
Seriously, did you even watch a little bit of one OKC game? The f**k does this even mean? "Low quality assists"....I can't even really think of one time he rushed a pass at the end of the shotclock to a covered teammate to force an open shot. Most of the playoffs, without Westbrook, he was feeding off the defense and kicking out to wide-open shooters, or hitting a big around the basket. Not saying every assist was like that, because every player in the league (even LeBron) picks-up an assist or two per game that I guess could quality as a "garbage" assist.


Haha you guys talking about numbers to prop up KD are funny
And you acting like you have any kind of clue what you're talking about was even funnier. Good one.

[Fudge]

This post is hilarious (and sorry if you are joking, I can't tell, because usually a joke post is about two sentences long...yours was 3 paragraphs long).

Everything you just describes OKC.

Solid second option? Westbrook is a great second option. Maybe the best second option in the league depending on how you view Wade and his injury.

A few good role players that know how to shoot and play defense? ...like Sefalosha you mean?

A couple decent bigs? ...like Ibaka ? And Perkins (hey, he's better than Joel Anthony and Miami won the championship with Joel)


Wtf?
Not really.

Good second option? Check.

A few good role players that know how to shoot and play D? Thabo. Anybody else? Nobody else really, cept maybe Ibaka. Reggie doesn't have a reliable jump shot yet. Lamb doesn't get any PT, and he can't play D.

Decent bigs? Ibaka and Collison. That's it. That enough for 2 bigs to fill out our line up. Please don't say Perk and Thabeet, please don't.

And Pegasus was right on with Brooks. They're not winning anything with him being HC.

So how does that describe OKC again? :confusedshrug:

[Solefade]

No, they weren't. Miami proved in the Finals they had more and they had better depth than the Thunder.

Uh no, the Heat players showed up and performed well, that doesn't make them more stacked on paper.

You have James Harden coming off the bench (who totally choked), Ibaka arguably better than Bosh as some would say, Westbrook > Wade because of injuries and you have Nick Collison/Sefolosha/Perkins.

You can argue this but if you are 100% certain that the Heat are more stacked, you're trippin'.

[KG215]

This. I just don't get why we should assume he is going to win MVPs and titles.
Because 25 is still young you dumbf**k. Who else in the league has shown any hint to being as good as Durant right now. Which other young player in the league has shown the potential to be at Durant's level in 2 or 3 years when he's at his peak and LeBron is nearing his mid-30's? Do I need to remind you the numbers he's put up in the last two playoff series and the big games/moments he's had at just 23 and 24 years old? Or is are you just going to ignore that, and keep going with this bullshit?

He may never win an MVP or title but, knowing what we know now, it seems more ignorant to think he won't than it does to think he will.

[All Net]

Miami and Lebron is the only thing stopping him.

He's still very young.. Plenty of time.

[KG215]

Uh no, the Heat players showed up and performed well, that doesn't make them more stacked on paper.

You have James Harden coming off the bench (who totally choked), Ibaka arguably better than Bosh as some would say, Westbrook > Wade because of injuries and you have Nick Collison/Sefolosha/Perkins.

You can argue this but if you are 100% certain that the Heat are more stacked, you're trippin'.
No one in their right mind thought Ibaka was better than Bosh last year. The Heat's three best players, as a whole, were better than OKC's. Wade played very well in the Finals, too; and Miami's role players badly outplayed OKC's. The Heat have had better quality depth than OKC the last two years.

[Solefade]

Holy f**k this is just full of :facepalm worthy shit. You clearly didn't watch the series if you don't think he wasn't double-teamed once.


Wrong. Against both Houston and Memphis he was facing constant double and triple teams, even off the ball they were shading extra defenders his way. It opened up his teammates and he averaged 6+ APG without Westbrook.

which is why OKC only works when both KD and Russ are dominating. He can't be the primary ball handler on a team because he's too turnover prone
Seriously, did you even watch a little bit of one OKC game? The f**k does this even mean? "Low quality assists"....I can't even really think of one time he rushed a pass at the end of the shotclock to a covered teammate to force an open shot. Most of the playoffs, without Westbrook, he was feeding off the defense and kicking out to wide-open shooters, or hitting a big around the basket. Not saying every assist was like that, because every player in the league (even LeBron) picks-up an assist or two per game that I guess could quality as a "garbage" assist.


[QUOTE=Element]Haha you guys talking about numbers to prop up KD are funny[QUOTE]
And you acting like you have any kind of clue what you're talking about was even funnier. Good one.


Just wanted to add that both MEM/HOU didn't do HARD double teams on Durant and most of the time it was pretty much 1v1, however when he drove they did collapse on him pretty hard.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Not really.

Good second option? Check.

A few good role players that know how to shoot and play D? Thabo. Anybody else? Nobody else really, cept maybe Ibaka. Reggie doesn't have a reliable jump shot yet. Lamb doesn't get any PT, and he can't play D.

Decent bigs? Ibaka and Collison. That's it. That enough for 2 bigs to fill out our line up. Please don't say Perk and Thabeet, please don't.

And Pegasus was right on with Brooks. They're not winning anything with him being HC.

So how does that describe OKC again? :confusedshrug:

Westbrick is a lot better than good. And im far from a fan of his.

[KG215]

A couple decent bigs? ...like Ibaka ? And Perkins (hey, he's better than Joel Anthony and Miami won the championship with Joel)
Wtf?
It's actually debatable if Perkins is better at this point than Joel Anthony. That's how bad he is. Problem is, Anthony barely played in the playoffs this year, and didn't even play in every game last year. He completely fell out of the rotation by the Finals. So even if Perkins is a little bit better, he gets 25 minutes or so every damn game.

[Fudge]

Westbrick is a lot better than good. And im far from a fan of his.
Yup, I'm completely satisfied with him being our 2nd option. That was really the only thing wrong that Pegasus put down.

But what tmacattack posted was nothing close to OKC.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Because 25 is still young you dumbf**k. Who else in the league has shown any hint to being as good as Durant right now. Which other young player in the league has shown the potential to be at Durant's level in 2 or 3 years when he's at his peak and LeBron is nearing his mid-30's? Do I need to remind you the numbers he's put up in the last two playoff series and the big games/moments he's had at just 23 and 24 years old? Or is are you just going to ignore that, and keep going with this bullshit?

He may never win an MVP or title but, knowing what we know now, it seems more ignorant to think he won't than it does to think he will.

I just don't think he is some dominant two-way player that will takeover the league. I feel like he is going to get passed over. Like I said, Wiggins could be the new face of the league by the time LeBron declines.

[KG215]

Just wanted to add that both MEM/HOU didn't do HARD double teams on Durant and most of the time it was pretty much 1v1, however when he drove they did collapse on him pretty hard.
:confusedshrug:

They absolutely did "do" hard double-teams on him at various times. Memphis mainly employed the strategy in the 4th quarter, and Houston randomly did it throughout the games. Hell, there were even a few games, at the end of the quarter or half, Houston double-teamed Durant full f***ing court to keep the ball out of his hands.

[KG215]

I just don't think he is some dominant two-way player that will takeover the league. I feel like he is going to get passed over. Like I said, Wiggins could be the new face of the league by the time LeBron declines.
We have no idea what Wiggins will be like in the NBA, he hasn't even played a college game yet. But let's say he does live up to the hype. By the time he's entering the early stages of his prime (20-22 years old) Durant will be at his peak. And let's say, best-case-scenario, Wiggins ends up being as good as LeBron was from 19-22/23 years old. Durant, right now, is better than every version of LeBron pre-2009. And if Durant's peaking at around 27-30 years old like LeBron and the vast majority of all-time greats in NBA history, Wiggins will have be pretty damn special at 20-25 years old to be better than him.

[pegasus]

Yup, I'm completely satisfied with him being our 2nd option. That was really the only thing wrong that Pegasus put down.

But what tmacattack posted was nothing close to OKC.

I didn't say WB is not a good second option. If he could accept that role, he would be great. What I was saying is, if Durant had all the other pieces that I mentioned, he wouldn't even need his team's second option to be a super-star.

[KG215]

I didn't say WB is not a good second option. If he could accept that role, he would be great. What I was saying is, if Durant had all the other pieces that I mentioned, he wouldn't even need his team's second option to be a super-star.
He averaged 32-10-6-2-1 without Westbrook in the playoffs. Those look like superstar type numbers to me. I know they lost, but they were having to adjust without Westbrook, on the fly, in the playoffs. It's not like they got even replacement level player or anything in his place, and they didn't get much time to adjust playing without him. Using the playoffs as any kind of indictment on the caliber of player Durant is, under those circumstances, is foolish.

[PickernRoller]

OKC/KD fans having some fun with us.

Bottomline, dude is just a volume shooter that got stuck in the 2nd round after MVP Westbrook went down. The King will be watching him closely from the throne as he struggles to climb up.

[pegasus]

He averaged 32-10-6-2-1 without Westbrook in the playoffs. Those look like superstar type numbers to me. I know they lost, but they were having to adjust without Westbrook, on the fly, in the playoffs. It's not like they got even replacement level player or anything in his place, and they didn't get much time to adjust playing without him. Using the playoffs as any kind of indictment on the caliber of player Durant is, under those circumstances, is foolish.

Huh?

[KG215]

Huh?
I think I misread/misunderstood your post. But I don't think Durant needs his second teammate to be even superstar caliber. I guess it depends on your definition of superstar. I think he just needs a second option more consistent and that can do more than be a really good spot-up shooter like Martin. Given how close games 2-5 were against Memphis, there's a decent chance they win that series if OKC's #2 and #3 players (neither of which are superstars) are more consistent.

Biggest problem was that, between the two of them, Ibaka and Martin only had about 4 or 5 combined good games; and maybe only one of those happened at the same time. Ibaka just lost all confidence in his jumper (even though he was still getting a lot of open looks) and Martin was feast or famine. Reggie Jackson, in just his second season and getting the first playoff experience of his career, was OKC's second most consistent player. Not to mention Perkins was even worse than usual, so Durant and the rest of the team was having to overcome his major f**kups and deficiencies. While I'm not a big PER fan, Perkins had a negative PER in the playoffs for f**k's sake. You have to take sucking to a whole new level to pull that off.