The Kevin Durant Thread (2016 - 17 Pt. 1)

[GSP]

2 steals short of a 5x5 in the finals

crazy

ive never seen him so locked in, that mightve been the best allaround performance of his career

[StepBackCrack]

It also helps that his opponent is just outmatched.

I don't really feel the same way given he's playing on the most stacked team of all time. I mean he played great but I just didn't get that same feeling watching Kobe in 09, Dirk in 11, Bron in 12 etc etc. Those guys were still leading good but flawed teams and had to "work" for it. Superteams have always existed but it's good to see those teams challenged or have some flaws. When you're playing on the best team ever or if not the best definitely up there I don't feel his "assertiveness" was really something special to watch or rather the same as the assertiveness of other guys.

Might just be me though. Shrug.

I understand the mindset of these comments, but the point is being missed.

Obviously KD is on a historically great team. The Warriors did not play like a historically great team last night. They won convincingly because Durant and Curry performed offensively, and the defense on Cleveland was staunch. In large part because of Durant himself.

The fact is many posters' opinions are colored and/or biased by what we already know (KD joined a great team that was just in the finals), and ostensibly its become difficult to credit him with anything in general. But when speaking about his assertiveness and intensity, the quality of his team is irrelevant -- especially when they didn't actually play that well to begin with. You guys make it sound like he ran down the lane for a few dunks and the game was over.

No. KD was picking up Kyrie Irving full court. He was chasing Lebron all over the perimeter and into the paint. Stopping a paint attempt, then scrambling to stop Love's shot attempts. Defending everyone on the Cavs at points.

Offensively, everytime the Cavs looked like they might make a run, KD made a point to squash it. Off the dribble pullups. Three point pullups over a contest. He pulled down tough rebounds in traffic over multiple defenders. Created layups for **** Zaza Pachulia. Durant owned Cleveland on both ends of the court, and was the primary reason GS wasn't particularly challenged.

He looked hungry. Which is all I was saying. And is an attribute that you want in your players regardless of how great the names of the back of their jerseys are. The sheer effort he put into last night was so high that the notion he wasn't "working" is extremely unfair, and very inaccurate, imo.

I hope that people being pre-disposed to rejecting any semblance of credit to KD on account of the circumstances, regardless of what actually happens in the game, doesn't continue. If the team is firing on all cylinders and he's just sitting back reaping the benefits, then sure, by all means throw salt. He'll have earned it.

If he's driving the team to victory and playing extraordinarily well on both ends of the court, like he was last night, and you can't even give him credit for effort... that just seems petty.

Thank you. The effort thing is what bothers me the most in this mindless hate. People make it seem like he is chilling out there without giving much effort in these wins. He is easily giving the most effort on both ends in his team. Playing super hard all the time on both ends is tiring as hell.

[PaulieWal]

It also helps that his opponent is just outmatched.

I don't really feel the same way given he's playing on the most stacked team of all time. I mean he played great but I just didn't get that same feeling watching Kobe in 09, Dirk in 11, Bron in 12 etc etc. Those guys were still leading good but flawed teams and had to "work" for it. Superteams have always existed but it's good to see those teams challenged or have some flaws. When you're playing on the best team ever or if not the best definitely up there I don't feel his "assertiveness" was really something special to watch or rather the same as the assertiveness of other guys.

Might just be me though. Shrug.

I understand the mindset of these comments, but the point is being missed.

Obviously KD is on a historically great team. The Warriors did not play like a historically great team last night. They won convincingly because Durant and Curry performed offensively, and the defense on Cleveland was staunch. In large part because of Durant himself.

The fact is many posters' opinions are colored and/or biased by what we already know (KD joined a great team that was just in the finals), and ostensibly its become difficult to credit him with anything in general. But when speaking about his assertiveness and intensity, the quality of his team is irrelevant -- especially when they didn't actually play that well to begin with. You guys make it sound like he ran down the lane for a few dunks and the game was over.

No. KD was picking up Kyrie Irving full court. He was chasing Lebron all over the perimeter and into the paint. Stopping a paint attempt, then scrambling to stop Love's shot attempts. Defending everyone on the Cavs at points.

Offensively, everytime the Cavs looked like they might make a run, KD made a point to squash it. Off the dribble pullups. Three point pullups over a contest. He pulled down tough rebounds in traffic over multiple defenders. Created layups for **** Zaza Pachulia. Durant owned Cleveland on both ends of the court, and was the primary reason GS wasn't particularly challenged.

He looked hungry. Which is all I was saying. And is an attribute that you want in your players regardless of how great the names of the back of their jerseys are. The sheer effort he put into last night was so high that the notion he wasn't "working" is extremely unfair, and very inaccurate, imo.

I hope that people being pre-disposed to rejecting any semblance of credit to KD on account of the circumstances, regardless of what actually happens in the game, doesn't continue. If the team is firing on all cylinders and he's just sitting back reaping the benefits, then sure, by all means throw salt. He'll have earned it.

If he's driving the team to victory and playing extraordinarily well on both ends of the court, like he was last night, and you can't even give him credit for effort... that just seems petty.

Thank you. The effort thing is what bothers me the most in this mindless hate. People make it seem like he is chilling out there without giving much effort in these wins. He is easily giving the most effort on both ends in his team. Playing super hard all the time on both ends is tiring as hell.

Relax, there is no "mindless hate" and I never said anything about his effort. All I said was his "assertiveness" didn't remind me of Kobe, Dirk, Bron etc. Two different things. He's been playing great but I just can't separate the fact without him they are still a title contender.

[StepBackCrack]

^ The replay wasn't aimed at you. Sorry if you thought that. Just the people in the GB in general who question his effort.

[StepBackCrack]

He is outplaying James so far and that's all I want really. Winning isn't enough for him.

[StepBackCrack]

35.5 PPG
10.5 RPG
7.0 APG
1.5 SPG
2.5 BPG
56.3 FG% / 50.0 3P% / 90.9 FT%

[TheGOATRises007]

KD isn't getting enough credit tbh.

Some seem to think he's just on the bench and not doing anything out there.

[RightToCensor]

You never realized how scary a two-way 7'0" superstar player looks when he's winning his matchup against a consensus top five all-time player. Regardless of supporting cast, Lebron is having so much trouble guarding KD one on one and on the other side of the court he's getting bothered by KD's length on D.

[GSP]

35.5 PPG
10.5 RPG
7.0 APG
1.5 SPG
2.5 BPG
56.3 FG% / 50.0 3P% / 90.9 FT%

He is in the company of Timmy, Hakeem and Kareem as the only players to have 30/10 with 5+ blocks in the finals a game after being in the company of Jordan and Shaq for most pts without a to in game 1

Legendary finals performance so far

also
[img]

Read on Twitter

/photo/1[/img]

[KD35Brah]

Read on Twitter

[GSP]

Read on Twitter

Even in the regular season everytime Draymond got in trouble and Kd needed to handle a big load defensively at the 4 or 5 spots Warriosr went on huge runs and exploded

the kings game comes to mind

[ThaRegul8r]

KD isn't getting enough credit tbh.

Some seem to think he's just on the bench and not doing anything out there.

Who's saying Durant "[isn't] doing anything out there" these Finals?

I'm reading and hearing that after Game 1, Durant scored the second-most points in a Finals game without a turnover since turnovers were recorded, and now I'm seeing that he's the fourth player with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a Finals game since blocks were recorded. And they're talking about Durant being "a leading factor" in the Warriors' 2-0 lead on the radio as I type this.

Where's this "some seem to think he's just on the bench and not doing anything out there" coming from?

[GSP]

Read on Twitter

Nick is agenda driven but hes had some very high praise for Kds defense so far. He said even if u ignored Kds offense hes been the best player in the series. I really dont think Steph has been close to him so far and glad most of the populace sees that. Lebron has still been the 2nd best player IMO despite some defensive issues

also Kd starting to develop that Kg/Hakeem wirey strength. Love just couldnt move him at all hard to imagine this was the kid who couldnt bench 185

i really dont think Kd has approached his peak yet. If Warriors win this all Kds gonna have alot of pressure removed weve seen past greats after they get over that ring hurdle just completely explode. Its gonna be scary to see this guys overall game next season and specially continued defensive excellence if they win this series. Hes displayed insane defensive versatility so far and really hes still new at this defensive role which only just started from the Spurs series last year

[TheGOATRises007]

KD isn't getting enough credit tbh.

Some seem to think he's just on the bench and not doing anything out there.

Who's saying Durant "[isn't] doing anything out there" these Finals?

I'm reading and hearing that after Game 1, Durant scored the second-most points in a Finals game without a turnover since turnovers were recorded, and now I'm seeing that he's the fourth player with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a Finals game since blocks were recorded. And they're talking about Durant being "a leading factor" in the Warriors' 2-0 lead on the radio as I type this.

Where's this "some seem to think he's just on the bench and not doing anything out there" coming from?

Mostly on GB and just casual fans.

[KD35Brah]

Film study on Durant's defense in game 1.

http://www.nba.com/article/2017/06/03/film-study-kevin-durant-defense-lebron-james?collection=writer/archive/john-schuhmann

[GSP]

Film study on Durant's defense in game 1.

http://www.nba.com/article/2017/06/03/film-study-kevin-durant-defense-lebron-james?collection=writer/archive/john-schuhmann

His defense was great in game 1 but Draymond was still the star on that end.

Game 2 tho Kd was incredible.........rewatching the highlights and contests/help defense/rim protection/defense on Lebron, on the perimeter, on the block, all his blocks were against every position on the Cavs from point guard to center.

This was honestly one of the best allaround performances in Nba finals history

[GrandTheftRondo]

KD's improvement defensively is highly impressive. Always thought he was okay, but couldn't have imagined him 2 or 3 years ago playing like a true rim protector on the defensive end.

He really is a unique talent. Basically a 7 foot shooting guard on the offensive end, playing as a great defensive big men on the defensive end. He's everything teams want their big men to be these days.

Come a long way from the days of just being a lights out scorer.

[The Realist]

So what changed with Durant between last year and this, did I miss something?

[NormanDale]

This guy is so much better than Curry it's not even funny, I knew that'd become apparent in the Finals and so it is. Can't believe there was ever a debate on who the best GSW player was. Arguably the best/most versatile scorer ever, unguardable and a nightmare mismatch for any team + a very good defensive player too. He's one of the best players of all-time without a doubt, he's like an upgraded Dirk Nowitzki.

That said, it sucks that he took the cowards' way out and is playing for the most stacked team of all-time, which could win it all even without him. I'd certainly be way more impressed if he managed to eventually win it with Westbrook in OKC or in another team like Washington. But I guess we are to blame in the way because of all the ring obsession; KD probably felt he'd never get the recognition he deserves if he didn't win a ring, and he's probably right...

From a legacy standpoint, he's almost certainly right. In addition to the "ring obsession," there's also our collective short memory.

When The Decision happened, the consensus view was that LeBron had forever forfeited his place in the GOAT discussion by leaving a championship contender to join the team of the 2nd best player in his generation along with a third All-Star--even if they won several titles together, his legacy would be forever tainted. Now, look where we are. That team won two titles and LeBron has now added a third, and people are all over these boards and in the media arguing that he's better than Jordan.

With Durant, we said that he could no longer aspire to match LeBron after joining the Warriors, yet here we are: many commentators are saying now he's the best player in the league, after two finals games. If they win 3 or 4 straight titles and he wins 2-3 Finals MVPs, what do you think will happen? In many people's estimation, Durant will pass Bird (if he hasn't already, incredibly) and Duncan on the "greatest forward ever" list, and some will argue that he passes LeBron as well.

Durant is awesome, I actually really enjoy watching him with the Warriors, and I defended his decision when he made it. But I wish we as a society had a slightly longer collective memory.

[The Realist]

This guy is so much better than Curry it's not even funny, I knew that'd become apparent in the Finals and so it is. Can't believe there was ever a debate on who the best GSW player was. Arguably the best/most versatile scorer ever, unguardable and a nightmare mismatch for any team + a very good defensive player too. He's one of the best players of all-time without a doubt, he's like an upgraded Dirk Nowitzki.

That said, it sucks that he took the cowards' way out and is playing for the most stacked team of all-time, which could win it all even without him. I'd certainly be way more impressed if he managed to eventually win it with Westbrook in OKC or in another team like Washington. But I guess we are to blame in the way because of all the ring obsession; KD probably felt he'd never get the recognition he deserves if he didn't win a ring, and he's probably right...

From a legacy standpoint, he's almost certainly right. In addition to the "ring obsession," there's also our collective short memory.

When The Decision happened, the consensus view was that LeBron had forever forfeited his place in the GOAT discussion by leaving a championship contender to join the team of the 2nd best player in his generation along with a third All-Star--even if they won several titles together, his legacy would be forever tainted. Now, look where we are. That team won two titles and LeBron has now added a third, and people are all over these boards and in the media arguing that he's better than Jordan.

With Durant, we said that he could no longer aspire to match LeBron after joining the Warriors, yet here we are: many commentators are saying now he's the best player in the league, after two finals games. If they win 3 or 4 straight titles and he wins 2-3 Finals MVPs, what do you think will happen? In many people's estimation, Durant will pass Bird (if he hasn't already, incredibly) and Duncan on the "greatest forward ever" list, and some will argue that he passes LeBron as well.

Durant is awesome, I actually really enjoy watching him with the Warriors, and I defended his decision when he made it. But I wish we as a society had a slightly longer collective memory.

The move was Durant's most obvious and best decision he's ever made. Caught 10 times less heat than LeBron for a 20 times "worse" decision, and now after 2 finals games he's suddenly the best player in the world despite pretty much everyone expecting this and LeBron having an otherworld season especially in the playoffs. Hilarious.