Kevin MartinFan wrote:Does anyone have any idea why PJ put him at the two in the first place? And even if they want him to play that position shouldnt they not force him to guard other players at that same position? He is will continue to get killed on that end of the floor if they go on with that that strategy.
It's possible that they're worried about his body and don't want him going up against the more physical SF position too early; they have fewer injury concerns this way.
AbdicatedReign wrote:I can't argue with that. Though I will maintain that there is a point where the line between athleticism and skill becomes hard to delineate, because a player builds their primary skills from the foundation of their athletic gifts.
That's a decent point but Kobe still needs to hit the jumper and Iverson's crossover is a combination of speed and cheating more often than not, so it's primarily athleticism and abuse of the rules in combination with vicious manipulation of refs giving him star calls. Less with the palming and carrying the last 4 or 5 years, though, but when he was a younger guy? Damn, I got sick of that crap. It was like watching the Entertainer's Classic, not even remotely legal.
Likewise, Durant's handling ability, is part skill and part quickness. His release is part skill part length and quickness. I believe that his skill, combined in proper ways with the gifts that he does have, will be enough to separate him physically from most matchups.
Eh, height has its advantages in certain matchups but it is only so valuable. Basketball is a vertical game but until Durant gets big enough to consistently post up with good results (even if it's against smaller 3s and 2s instead of 4s), then his height is only valuable in getting him jumpers.
The thing that has made him so effective THIS month is that he's taking fewer long jumpers, driving more and he's hitting his pull-up J a lot more than he was before. He's looked very good lately, though his percentages are going to eventually even out. The style of ball he's been playing lately has been very encouraging for the basic projection of him as a 22-24 ppg scorer on his career.
is that Durant possesses enough physical tools to not have his skill neutralized by superior athleticism.
I disagree; I think the first difference is that Durant has a handle that Rashard never did; Lewis is indeed athletically average but he can post, he's just a faerie and doesn't do it often enough. His problem is that he never had a really great command on the ball and wasn't wonderful at using the triple-threat and a host of fakes to work his man. He had a very linear and limited offensive repertoire and still does.
So, even if Durant's athleticism isn't "freakish" on it's own, in comparison to the type of player that term usually applies to (the LeBrons of the world), it is "freakish" in the sense that it allows him to execute his advanced skill level without sufficient pressure from his defender to suppress him below the threshold of elite status.
No, that's not an accurate usage of the term. "Above average" does not equate to "freakish," that's just bunk.
He's certainly got more athleticism than for which he was credited after the Combine results came through but he's by no means freakish. He's very skilled, that's the difference.
Because he did comparatively little of it at Texas, few people knew about his handles; they simply were not consistently on display because he posted a lot against smaller guys and his length was sufficient to get him shots in traffic that he can't take now. Also, he was hitting a lot of threes but he can't do that at NBA ranges (yet).
But that handle has been his saving grace at the NBA level because it allows him to exploit leg length; once he gets a step on a smaller defender, it's over because he's like a half-dozen feet or more behind them. That's an advantage brought on by height but also because he can put a defender off-balance with a dribble move in order to get that step and that's been the most surprising (and wonderfully so) part of his game.
But that's not freakish anything. He's not freakish because there are MANY guys with comparable physical traits and freakish implies a deviation from the normal distribution. It is clearly his skill level that separates him from someone like Tayshaun Prince or Luol Deng offensively.
Hell, Wade is more "freakish" than Durant and he had a comparatively weak vertical at his combine showing and wasn't very tall. He's 6'5 but he's got 6'11 arms and he's very aggressive. Amare? His wingspan is a hair under 7'2 and his vert isn't as impressive as you'd think (still excellent of course but not like Josh Smith or Rudy Gay excellent) but he's aggressive as Hell and very strong. He can absorb contact and finish in ways Durant cannot. He's closer to a freak athlete because he has a lot more leaping power than Durant and he's got hella quick feet. Same deal with Wade, that first step is nasty, even if his lift is primarily buoyed by massive arm length. 'Melo? Not the best leaper in the league but a nasty first step and a very muscular frame, very mature for his age (ala Lebron).
Durant? He's not really stunningly far from average in lateral/end-to-end quickness or leaping ability, he doesn't have a really great frame (narrow shoulders, comparatively low mass, very gangly) but he's got decent height, good coordination and excellent wingspan. He's also not a stiff athletically, he can move around very well for his size, just not so well as to label him a "freak athlete."
That term should not be thrown around lightly because it is designed to refer to the best athletes, athletes mind, in the league. Durant is CLEARLY not one of the best athletes in the league even if his athletic package is quite viable and suited to basketball.
He doesn't compare to Josh Smith, Gerald Wallace, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Baron Davis, Tracy McGrady (a young T-Mac, anyway), Corey Maggette, Kobe Bryant, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Desmond Mason, Vince Carter, Chris Paul, Nate Robinson, Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala, Chris Bosh or Gilbert Arenas.
These guys are all more athletic than Durant and there are probably some guys escaping my memory. You could even argue Jordan Farmar on account of his massive vertical leap, though I think given his relatively average lateral quickness, he wouldn't fit the "freak" definition. The point, however, is that he has a singularly outstanding physical trait and Durant possesses no such traits.
