AI wrote:Don't get me wrong, George is great. But would his team be as successful if they played in the west? I'm not so sure. Offensively, Durant is far more potent and that creates the gap between the two. Additionally, Durant's team success is also great, and he plays in a much more competitive conference.
Simply put, I feel as if you take George away from the Pacers, they're still a good team that will win games. Remove Durant from the Thunder, and you have a team that's spiraling downward in need of an additional scorer, since RW can't do it all by himself.
His team has two bigs that can bang, that's the starting point for competing in the West. Secondly, Coach Vogel is a defensive coach and that's where they pride themselves. With that said, his team would be very competitive in the West. Best record like they're having in the East? I doubt it because their offense is and will always be a work in progress until they get a true point. Durant is very valuable to his team, but I would argue that Russy is more critical to the success of that team and going deep in the playoffs. Durant would get his and offensively, he's damn near unguardable, but he clearly struggled without Westbrook.
As far as the MVP goes, Paul George has clearly stepped up his game and brought his team along with him. Hibbert didn't make strides, West is still David West, and Lance is somewhat improved, but that team goes as Paul George plays. I don't believe the Pacers would be as successful because they would lose that perimeter anchor on defense and game changing player.
As the season goes on and teams cool off, i.e. Knicks '12, you'll see KD and LBJ distance themselves from the pack. CP3 isn't winning if Blake cannot improve his game.
Buckeye State of Mind.