john2jer wrote:I don't see Durant as a volume scorer and Brandon Roy as a franchise star pairing very well. It's not like Durant is a Kevin Martin type of efficency scorer. Durant needs the ball in his hands and quite a few shots. He's improved, but he's not going to be as effective coming off screens and working without the ball in his hands that playing with Roy would command.
I think most people have been harsher on Oden than he deserves. Next year we'll see a much scarier Oden. Keep in mind this is the first year he's ever played against opponents that can come close to matching up with him, he just came off a MAJOR knee operation. Amare wasn't freaky athletic again right away either. Oden's been a very nice player this year, it's just that most people have these insanely high expectations of Oden and he's not a 30/10/5 guy just yet, so most people think he's a bust.
If he turns out to be a 16/11 with 3 blocks a game, which should be more than manageable, he'll be perfect for Portland. They're pretty much splitting time equally with Joel P from Monticello so far. Joel P is no slouch either. Give it time.
Durant is shooting 48% from the field, 43% from deep. He does shoot a lot, but he's on a terrible team... I'm willing to bet he'd give up shots to play on a contender (look at what fewer shots have done for star wings like Pierce and Anthony.) Calling him a volume shooter is a disservice to his game.
People are hard on Oden because he was the first pick in the draft. When you take a center 1st overall, the expectations are going to be very, very high. And when you take that center in front of a guy like Durant, you expect him to perform. That hasn't happened so far.
I agree that he needs time after the microfracture surgery to come around... I think the general consensus is that it takes two years for you to completely round back into shape (Amare, McCants are the only two examples I can think of off the top of my head.) So he could be scarier next year. But if I'd told you on draft day that you could be expect 16/11 from Oden in Year Four, while Durant would be averaging 26/6 in
Year Two (again, on 48% shooting... look it up), you'd have taken Durant, right?