Why was Kawhi considered elite so quick and do you agree with it

[jrask]

quick or not, his status is well deserved now

[HotelVitale]

Kawhi then disappeared in the 2015 and 2016 playoffs. The Spurs went nowhere those years. Lost to the Clippers in the 1st round 2015 and got dominated by KD Thunder in 2016.

Kawhi was extremely good in the 2016 playoffs, there was a ton of talk about how great he was at that time; he was basically the exact same player as he was last year, just better on defense and not quite as high volume on offense. To count that offseason against him is totally out of touch with reality, if you don't even remember three years ago clearly then you probably shouldn't be writing threads like this.

EDIT: just glanced and Kawhi actually had better advanced #s in 2016 in the playoffs than last year. Change your approach here and make your take at least a little more subtle.

[Forte IV]

Weird thread

[ropjhk]

You don't need multiple seasons of high calibre play to be considered elite. If an average player like Patrick Beverly all of a sudden averaged 28ppg, 11ast and 7rebs for the season he would be considered elite by the end of the season despite his previous reputation as a hard nosed role player.

[Danny1616]

Kawhi's defensive peak was between 2012-2016. He was by far the best defensive player in the NBA.

While is defense has gone down a little, he has now become arguably the most efficient offensive player in the game. His offensive improvement has been nothing short of remarkable.

[jayu70]

People thought Pop was crazy when he said Kawhi would be the face of the Spurs back in 2012.

[Woody Allen]

He only averaged 17 points in the 2014 Finals and they say he “supposedly” locked down Lebron. Lebron averaged 29 points a game that series. How is that locking someone down?

It's more complicated than that. You can't just look at simple stats and assume you understand it. You need to watch the games.

[SAKURABA216]

Watching Kawhi play defense reminds me a lot of watching Troy Palamalu play on the Steelers a few years back. He's a ballhawk and playmaker that always seems to be where the ball is and makes the critical deflection or interception for a fast break.

[jazzfan1971]

OP probably would take Devin Booker over him. (a bit of an exaggeration, but, when you value a players PPG over everything else when it comes to evaluating a player, you deserve this sort of comment)

[50CalClips]

Watch on YouTube

[johanliebert]

Even before winning a ring with the Raptors he was already considered elite and a top 3 player. He only averaged 17 points in the 2014 Finals and they say he “supposedly” locked down Lebron. Lebron averaged 29 points a game that series. How is that locking someone down?

Kawhi then disappeared in the 2015 and 2016 playoffs. The Spurs went nowhere those years. Lost to the Clippers in the 1st round 2015 and got dominated by KD Thunder in 2016.

2017 is the year he actually put up superstar numbers in the season and people assume the Spurs would’ve won the series against the Warriors if Kawhi didn’t get hurt. Even if Spurs went on to win that game it don’t mean they would win the whole series. Reminds me of how people thought the Warriors would’ve won the series against the Rockets without KD because they beat them one full game.

It just seems like Lebron and KD had to put in more work to be considered elite players. Even Steph and James Harden worked harder than Kawhi to be considered top players. All of those players career ppg and playoff ppg is much higher

2017 was one year but media was saying he was the best player in the NBA or 2nd best. Right now he has two rings so I give him credit but it seemed like he was already crowned top 3 before even joining the Raptors


Maybe if Iggy averaged 17 ppg in 2015 Finals he would’ve be considered elite

He was definitely crowned before he became a raptor based off his 2017 play. At first it was just spurs fans looking for another player to replace what duncan was to that franchise but when people placed him ahead of kd/lebron it became a bit much IMO.

he doesnt have any individual accolades that propels him into that conversation he has all the team ones though and that comes with playing on great teams his entire career. If you look at his decade alone hes done less than antetokoumpo who was drafted 2 years later.

He's in LA now so that media will try to market him as the best SF in the game and after last post season i dont blame them. I just dont see how he eclipsed KD lebron or even giannis.

[johanliebert]

Kawhi then disappeared in the 2015 and 2016 playoffs. The Spurs went nowhere those years. Lost to the Clippers in the 1st round 2015 and got dominated by KD Thunder in 2016.

Kawhi was extremely good in the 2016 playoffs, there was a ton of talk about how great he was at that time; he was basically the exact same player as he was last year, just better on defense and not quite as high volume on offense. To count that offseason against him is totally out of touch with reality, if you don't even remember three years ago clearly then you probably shouldn't be writing threads like this.

EDIT: just glanced and Kawhi actually had better advanced #s in 2016 in the playoffs than last year. Change your approach here and make your take at least a little more subtle.

you dont gotta make up narratives lol. im sure you can find some #'s to back up your point but he was far from great in the 16' playoffs.

[johanliebert]

You don't need multiple seasons of high calibre play to be considered elite. If an average player like Patrick Beverly all of a sudden averaged 28ppg, 11ast and 7rebs for the season he would be considered elite by the end of the season despite his previous reputation as a hard nosed role player.

nobody would say hes better than steph if that occured.

[macNcheese3]

What stuck out to me was his defense. I never considered him a scoring machine or anything. After his run in Toronto that changed my perspective. Let’s see how he fairs off this year in LA.

[50CalClips]

Watching Kawhi play defense reminds me a lot of watching Troy Palamalu play on the Steelers a few years back. He's a ballhawk and playmaker that always seems to be where the ball is and makes the critical deflection or interception for a fast break.

You didn't happen to read my post on the Clippers board from a few days ago, did you?

I mention Troy Polamalu in comparison to Kawhi too... Kawhi has "court vision" for the defensive side of the ball. Polamalu sees things, anticipates, makes a play before they develop.

viewtopic.php?p=78752775#p78752775
(it's more about my self-delusion, and how me and Kawhi, and Troy, have similar styles of play)

Watch on YouTube

[50CalClips]

What stuck out to me was his defense. I never considered him a scoring machine or anything. After his run in Toronto that changed my perspective. Let’s see how he fairs off this year in LA.

Kawhi will be whatever the Clippers needs him to be.