As the Durant & LeBron debate is likely to become a frequent topic over the next year, I actually wanted to point out something here in regards to KD's inability to create at a high level. I'm going to post a few ideas/some stat digging I spent some time on a few weeks back. I plan to do a far more in depth study(as I did with the Westbrook uncontested rebounds/poor contests back in January) sometime soon as there are flaws in this, such as Durant being assisted off the ball more frequently skewing the data, but what I've found thus far is rather interesting in regards to the narrative that James is far superior to Durant as a creator. I'd be interested to get some secondary opinions on what I've found thus far.
Lebron's advantage since 2013-14 has been his vastly superior playmaking, as referenced by his 7.3 APG to 5.0 APG lead over Durant stemming back to 2014. However, that 2.3 apg gap doesn't take into consideration that Durant plays off the ball far more than James which reduces his assist opportunities. Durant actually ranks as the 9th best passer in the league in terms % of passes ending in an assist at 16.4%. Lebron is better, but not by a wide margin. He ranks 4th at 18.2%. And that gap was even smaller last season when Durant was in OKC, Lebron was at 17.4% and Durant was 16.5%.
As a matter of fact, Westbrook was injured on December 25, 2013. He returned full time on February 26, 2014. During that 25 game stretch forced into the role of Point Forward for the first time in his NBA career, Kevin Durant led the ENTIRE NBA in % of passes ending in an assist at 20.5%. He was the #1 rated passer in the entire league. And that was occurring while he was also averaging 35 ppg and 8 rpg on 55/43/88 64 TS% splits with his 2nd option out of the lineup.
What people fail to realize about Durant's lower assists is that his time of possession is significantly lower than James's. Since 2013-14, he's averaging 3.4 minutes per game in time of possession, where as Lebron is averaging 5.1 over the same time frame. During that time James is averaging 7.3 apg to Durant's 5.0 apg.
7.3/5.1=1.43 assists per minute for LeBron
5.0/3.4=1.47 assists per minute for Durant
Durant is actually averaging more assists per unit of TOP than LeBron. He's not the passer LeBron is, but he's very good in his own right, and his shooting forces defenses to play him tighter leading to more breakdowns/easier looks for teammates. And thus his ability to create for teammates at a near equal rate.
Durant's elite shooting is also overlooked in other areas. He's such a great shooter, in fact, that he demands constant attention off the ball. That leads to his teammates being able to play 4 on 4 when Durant doesn't' even have the basketball, in essence making him a creator on offense every second his team has the ball. LeBron is not a shooter in the same mix and doesn't require the same attention when he's off the ball. Thus his offensive impact is reduced greatly when he's not playing point.
Additionally, Durant's PG's have always flourished with him in regards to assists. This is because they are still allowed to be ball dominant as Durant can play off the ball at an elite level when necessary. LeBron's point guards always decline in assist totals. Irving, Wade, and Mo Williams(yes even he averaged 18/8 60 TS% prior to joining the Cavs) have all seen noticeable dropoffs in their assist numbers after James joined their teams. Curry on the other actually saw in increase per 36 from 2016 after Durant joined the team. Westbrook averaged the same number of assists this year as last season despite having the ball in his hands FAR more often with Durant off the team. Thus Durant's assists come at 0 detriment to his PG's assist totals. Even though LeBron is better at creating, Durant's 5.0 assists do not deduct from his PG's to date while LBJ's have. I.E. Irving's assists went down by ~1 once LeBron joined the team. If we assume the same trend of Durant's assists coming @ 0 loss of his PG's, that 2.3 assist gap automatically becomes 1.3 assists because Irving would be averaging 6 apg like he did in 2014 as opposed to 5 in 2015 when LeBron joined. That 1 assist became a part of LeBron's assist total. Here are their PG's/Playmakers AST% before and after their arrival/departure.
Kyrie 15.3 in 2014(no Bron), 13.3 in 2015, 12.9 in 2016, 14.9 in 2017.
Westbrook 18.5 in 2015(Durant injury), 22.8 in 2016(Durant), 20.8 in 2017(post Durant).
Curry was 17.3 2016 and 18.0 2017
Wade 16.2 2014, 16.4 2015(post Bron).
(
http://stats.nba.com/players/passing/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sort=AST_TO_PASS_PCT_ADJ&dir=1&CF=GP*G*50)
http://stats.nba.com/players/passing/#!?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sort=AST_TO_PASS_PCT_ADJ&dir=1&CF=GP*G*50 (
http://stats.nba.com/players/passing/#!?Season=2013-14&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sort=AST_TO_PASS_PCT_ADJ&dir=1&CF=GP*G*15:MIN*G*30&DateFrom=01%2F04%2F2014&DateTo=2%2F26%2F2014
