'03 Kobe/'16 Kawhi vs '05 Nash/'14 Durant

Matt15 · Post #1 » by **Matt15** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:13 am

Which duo would you rather have?

JordansBulls · Post #2 » by **JordansBulls** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 4:20 am

Kobe and Kawhi, I am just not sold on Nash especially not 2005 version.

Post #3 » by **Quotatious** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 6:47 am

I would take Nash and Durant, because KD playing with a super intelligent pure PG like prime Nash would be ridiculous. Nash would give him the ball in his sweet spots, particularly in the playoffs, and he's plenty capable of taking over games when needed.

Nash's series against the Mavs in '05 playoffs was very comparable to Magic Johnson's best playoff series. He also played very well against the Spurs in WCF.

I'm shocked the poll is such a blowout in favor of Kobe and Kawhi. I mean, consider this:

Kobe in '03 won less games in RS than KD in '14 ('03 Lakers won 50 on 2.71 SRS, '14 Thunder won 59 on 6.66 SRS, against comparable competition, so OKC was a far better team), even though he had a better superstar teammate ('03 Shaq > '14 Westbrook, by far), Kobe's superstar teammate played a lot more games (Shaq played 67, Russ only 46), and then in the playoffs, both teams lost to the championship-bound Spurs in 6 games, but OKC didn't have Ibaka in two games during that series - they were an entirely different team with Ibaka than without him, during that series. Not to mention that Bryant was coached by Phil Jackson and Durant was coached by Scott Brooks...

'14 Durant was just clearly better than '03 Bryant, and KD outplayed Kawhi in '14 and '16 playoffs. Plus, Nash was great in the playoffs in '05. Taking all of that into account, I think Nash/Durant would be the better choice, quite easily.

mischievous · Post #4 » by **mischievous** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:02 pm

Quotatious wrote:I would take Nash and Durant, because KD playing with a super intelligent pure PG like prime Nash would be ridiculous. Nash would give him the ball in his sweet spots, particularly in the playoffs, and he's plenty capable of taking over games when needed.

Nash's series against the Mavs in '05 playoffs was very comparable to Magic Johnson's best playoff series. He also played very well against the Spurs in WCF.

I'm shocked the poll is such a blowout in favor of Kobe and Kawhi. I mean, consider this:

Kobe in '03 won less games in RS than KD in '14 ('03 Lakers won 50 on 2.71 SRS, '14 Thunder won 59 on 6.66 SRS, against comparable competition, so OKC was a far better team), even though he had a better superstar teammate ('03 Shaq > '14 Westbrook, by far), Kobe's superstar teammate played a lot more games (Shaq played 67, Russ only 46), and then in the playoffs, both teams lost to the championship-bound Spurs in 6 games, but OKC didn't have Ibaka in two games during that series - they were an entirely different team with Ibaka than without him, during that series. Not to mention that Bryant was coached by Phil Jackson and Durant was coached by Scott Brooks...

'14 Durant was just clearly better than '03 Bryant, and KD outplayed Kawhi in '14 and '16 playoffs. Plus, Nash was great in the playoffs in '05. Taking all of that into account, I think Nash/Durant would be the better choice, quite easily.

My first instinct was was to go with Nash/Kd as well, although I wouldn't say easily. I imagine people are probably overrating 03 Kobe if the poll is in their favor by so much, not that he wasn't great but I see Kawhi as the worst player and they seem to be a worse fit than the other duo.

Bruh Man · Post #5 » by **Bruh Man** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 6:23 pm

Kobe/Kawhi much rather have Elite 2 way players that can contribute a lot to the game without needing the ball in their hands.

inDe_eD · Post #6 » by **inDe_eD** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:34 pm

It's definitely an interesting duo vs duo. I think the ceiling for the Kawhi/Kobe team is the best defensive team, and a very good offensive team, while the KD/Nash team could potentially be terrible on Defense. This kinda feels like 93 Bulls vs. Suns, player-wise and outcome-wise

mischievous · Post #7 » by **mischievous** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:25 pm

Bruh Man wrote:Kobe/Kawhi much rather have Elite 2 way players that can contribute a lot to the game without needing the ball in their hands.

Kobe doesn't need the ball in his hands? That's new to me...

SlowPaced · Post #8 » by **SlowPaced** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:49 pm

I'd feel more confident in my chances of winning with the first duo. So 03 Kobe-16 Kawhi.

First duo offers more balance due to their defensive capabilities. Nash-KD would be the foundation of an all-time great offense, but all-time great offenses don't win championships if their defense isn't at least "very good". Nash led Suns couldn't get it done and Warriors wouldn't be as good as they are if they didn't have great defenders like Bogut, Draymond and Iguodala; even with their GOAT offense.

The gap between the defense of these duos is bigger than the gap between their offenses. Durant is a way better offensive player than Kawhi but Nash is pretty much a wash with Kobe. Whereas Kawhi is a way better defender than KD and Kobe is a way better defender than Nash.