BoatsNZones wrote:Curry is the best player in the NBA. At the very least the best offensive player in the NBA. Has been for for the larger portion of 6 years outside of peak Lebron moments. I don't care who wins "Finals MVP" in sweeps when one team is focusing all of their attention on the most dangerous offensive weapon since MJ. We all saw who that team was ran by and how they faired with/without each player (definitely no shortage of sample size).
KD is incredible, but he's not a playmaker and has THRIVED with defenses not being able to double him. He has STRUGGLED in other key playoff series when his teammates have gone down. Why do we not mention this more often concerning his skill set? Curry has never known a playoff series where he is not doubled/tripled/box and 1'd, even with KD on the floor. Food for thought.
Huh?
Why do people make up these ridiculous narratives?
2010 Playoffs - KD was a baby and going up against the defending and eventual champion Lakers. He had to deal with Ron Artest, and KD's game, while elite, was far from the peak levels it would reach in the later years of his career.
2011 Playoffs - KD was phenomenal and still growing as a player. He put down an incredibly deep Denver team, rose to greatness against a tough, gritty Grizzlies team that had upset the Spurs and gave the Mavs all they could handle--Dirk was just on another level. However, Durant was still far better against the Mavs defense than LeBron was that year.
2012 Playoffs - KD was incredible the entire run. He hit a couple game winners, upset a seemingly unbeatable Spurs team and then went on to have one of the most efficient NBA Finals in the history of the sport, even in defeat.
2013 Playoffs - In a team that already lacked depth with the departure of Harden, he lost Westbrook in the first round. His best support on offense was Serge Ibaka. Serge freaking Ibaka. AND KD was going up against the best defense in the NBA in the 2013 Grizzlies.
I think we've seen what Curry this year and LeBron in 2019 managed with supporting casts FAR better than the one KD had in those 2013 Playoffs. Durant simply ran out of steam, and again, he still wasn't the player he is today. 2014 KD would've carried that team.
2014 Playoffs - I don't understand the criticism for Durant BEATING very, very tough first and second round opponents. He had to deal with the last great run of the Memphis Grizzlies and the peak LA Clippers, and even if he had one or two bad games, if you remember those series at all, he came through in a big way in the deciding games.
As for the Western Conference Finals, AGAIN, on a team that lacked depth, they lost Serge Ibaka for the first two games and spotted the Spurs a 2-0 lead, not to mention Westbrook was coming back from a knee injury. If the Thunder team stayed healthy, Durant isn't losing the to Spurs. In fact, the Thunder rarely ever lose to the Spurs. See: 2016 Playoffs.
2015 Playoffs - KD was hurt. Hard to thrive when you're not on the court.
2016 Playoffs - KD outplayed Kawhi and utterly demolished what many people were calling a historically great defense. The 3-1 choke was an unfortunate outcome, but it's not like Durant lost to a team he was expected to dominate like LeBron in 2009 or 2011. He lost to the damn Warriors, and it took Klay Thompson having one of the best elimination game performances ever.
The 2016 WCFs is really the only time Durant has truly struggled in the defining moments of a series; the shot simply wasn't falling.
Find me one all-time great player who has never had even one bad series. It definitely isn't Curry or LeBron.
By the way, the most dangerous weapon since MJ is Kevin Durant.
If people are going to interject, READ what's been posted. In the 2017 Finals, Durant's shots were mostly contested and he still averaged 70% TS for the series and 81% TS in the fourth quarter.
Put some respect on his name