Durant and lanky scorers from the 1970s - similarities and differences

[70sFan]

I didn't want to derail 2022 season thread, so I decided to open a new one. For anyone interested in the origins of discussion, here is the quote:

Spoiler:

i was actually thinking of the likes of curry, would still be a star but losing the 3 point line would be huge for him

btw, were not there other lanky wing mega scorers in older eras that did just fine scoring wise? or were those guys still stronger or with better handles than durant (people like gervin and such)

For lanky scorers from earlier eras, I would mention these:

George Gervin
Bob McAdoo
Connie Hawkins
Bob Love
Larry Kenon

Among these:

- Gervin was more off-ball oriented and he had tighter handles than Durant,
- McAdoo was considerably more physical, though they are similar,
- Hawkins was more athletic slasher and far more creative with the ball (both as a scorer and as a passer), he also wasn't as reliant on his midrange shot,
- Love and Kenon are not in this class, though both were very athletic and quite talented.

The biggest take is that none of them is talked as one of the 20 best players ever. As much as I love some of them, I wouldn't go thay far either. They also all slowed down considerably with lost quickness as they aged. Would Durant be closer to their level, or would he be as good as he is?

good question, how do you think those guys compare to kd in other areas

like midrsnge jumpshoting (both efficiency and hardness to disrupt) or defense

how do you think durant would stack up to them in their same eras? how did those guys fare against elite physical defenses that focused on them and bodied them off ball?

1. Gervin:

.Gervin was probably comparable in terms of efficiency and repertoire, though he was smaller than Durant. He played a lot of minutes at guard (almost all of his minutes after 1978), so the difference between average guard and Gervin was still significant:

Gervin used slightly different techniques than Durant though, often changing release in mid-air. The use of the glass was also notable in his repertoire:

He also liked to shield his defender off this way:

[streamable]https://youtu.be/0iSsCy8jpwE[/streamable]

Gervin, despite being rather skinny, could be also physical. He liked using his size advantage over defenders, often pushing them with subtle hits. That said, he could be pushed around by bigger, physical defenders. Durant has the edge in terms of making separation, as he's bigger, longer and could carry the ball.

2. McAdoo

Bob was more like KD in a sense that he could hit his jumpshot no matter how good the defense was:

[streamable]https://youtu.be/siLRhzOndAI[/streamable]

He could also beat you off the dribble, so bigs struggled to contain him:

He also had similar post game, in a way that if you try smaller defender on him, he just shot over him:

[streamable]https://youtu.be/siLRhzOndAI[/streamable]

With that being said, I don't think he had as good jumpshot as KD overall. From my limited eye-test, he seems far more inconsistent and he had more games when his shot wasn't falling that Durant on average. I have also seen his jumpshot being blocked more times, because of slower release than Durant. That made him also relatively easier to defend, although when he got hot absolutely nothing could slow him down.

3. Kenon - this one is quick, Kenon wasn't even close to Durant in terms of midrange game. He was mostly an in-between player, shooting a lot of short jumpshots from the ~10 feet area. I just mentioned him because he was athletic freak with similar bodytype:

Watch on YouTube

4. Bob Love is next, I will try to compile a video about him today or tomorrow.

[Laimbeer]

I think the big difference is range. Gervin and McAdoo's shots are primarily 15 feet and in. Also, KD isolates and uses his handles to create more for himself.

[Goudelock]

This is a great breakdown. I'd like to add that one difference between KD and McAdoo was their strength. I think KD is underrated in how strong he is, as you don't score 20,000+ points without being able to bang around inside.

But McAdoo seemed to rely on physicality far more than KD does, with one of his go-to moves being a borderline offensive-foul where he'd put his shoulder in a defender's chest to create space.

[tsherkin]

This is a really neat thread.

This is a great breakdown. I'd like to add that one difference between KD and McAdoo was their strength. I think KD is underrated in how strong he is, as you don't score 20,000+ points without being able to bang around inside.

"Bang around" is VERY generous. He can get knocked off balance very easily. KD has a wonderful jumper, which he exploits very well. And he's fairly mobile for his size. Pre-injury, he also had some footspeed advantages over his peers when they didn't have a smaller dude on him (kind of Dirk-ish, like that). But physicality was never his thing. Drawing contact for the foul, though, I mean he certainly tolerated that, if that's what you meant? He'd miss, but he'd at least get the call.

[70sFan]

I think the big difference is range. Gervin and McAdoo's shots are primarily 15 feet and in. Also, KD isolates and uses his handles to create more for himself.

The point is that without three point line and with stricter handles rules KD wouldn't play thay way either back in the 1970s.

[penbeast0]

When Gervin signed with San Antonio, the GM there tells a story (I got it from "Loose Balls" by Terry Pluto) that Gervin mentioned 3 pointers. The GM said that the shot was just too inconsistent, so Gervin picked up a ball and sunk 20 in a row. The GM just looked at him and said, "George, let's go inside and make sure the ink is dry on your contract."

[70sFan]

When Gervin signed with San Antonio, the GM there tells a story (I got it from "Loose Balls" by Terry Pluto) that Gervin mentioned 3 pointers. The GM said that the shot was just too inconsistent, so Gervin picked up a ball and sunk 20 in a row. The GM just looked at him and said, "George, let's go inside and make sure the ink is dry on your contract."

I have no doubt in my mind that Gervin would be excellent three point shooter and the only thing prevented from that is era related.

[tsherkin]

When Gervin signed with San Antonio, the GM there tells a story (I got it from "Loose Balls" by Terry Pluto) that Gervin mentioned 3 pointers. The GM said that the shot was just too inconsistent, so Gervin picked up a ball and sunk 20 in a row. The GM just looked at him and said, "George, let's go inside and make sure the ink is dry on your contract."

I have no doubt in my mind that Gervin would be excellent three point shooter and the only thing prevented from that is era related.

He's definitely a dude I would have been interested to see play in this era. Not much of a defender or really anything else but a scorer, but what a vision when he was scoring. Must have been just a wild time to watch on the regular.

[70sFan]

When Gervin signed with San Antonio, the GM there tells a story (I got it from "Loose Balls" by Terry Pluto) that Gervin mentioned 3 pointers. The GM said that the shot was just too inconsistent, so Gervin picked up a ball and sunk 20 in a row. The GM just looked at him and said, "George, let's go inside and make sure the ink is dry on your contract."

I have no doubt in my mind that Gervin would be excellent three point shooter and the only thing prevented from that is era related.

He's definitely a dude I would have been interested to see play in this era. Not much of a defender or really anything else but a scorer, but what a vision when he was scoring. Must have been just a wild time to watch on the regular.

Gervin had big potential as a defender as well. He showed some tremendous things on that end of thr court before around 1980 when he decided that playing defense was not for him.

[tsherkin]

Gervin had big potential as a defender as well. He showed some tremendous things on that end of thr court before around 1980 when he decided that playing defense was not for him.

I mean, lots of players have the tools. What they do or do not do them with them is what matters.

[70sFan]

Gervin had big potential as a defender as well. He showed some tremendous things on that end of thr court before around 1980 when he decided that playing defense was not for him.

I mean, lots of players have the tools. What they do or do not do them with them is what matters.

In Gervin's case, we can see him being clearly positive though. At least in games I have seen, Gervin looked usually very solid in 1978-79. He always had some problematic tendencies, but he impacted Spurs defense in positive way. He looked far worse in the 1980s, I'm not sure why.

[tsherkin]

Gervin had big potential as a defender as well. He showed some tremendous things on that end of thr court before around 1980 when he decided that playing defense was not for him.

I mean, lots of players have the tools. What they do or do not do them with them is what matters.

In Gervin's case, we can see him being clearly positive though. At least in games I have seen, Gervin looked usually very solid in 1978-79. He always had some problematic tendencies, but he impacted Spurs defense in positive way. He looked far worse in the 1980s, I'm not sure why.

Got bored? Need more energy as he got older? Who knows? Regardless, he was a sublime scoring force and what little I've seen of him as a player not from any era where I was regularly watching ball, he was a lot of fun to watch.

[70sFan]

I mean, lots of players have the tools. What they do or do not do them with them is what matters.

In Gervin's case, we can see him being clearly positive though. At least in games I have seen, Gervin looked usually very solid in 1978-79. He always had some problematic tendencies, but he impacted Spurs defense in positive way. He looked far worse in the 1980s, I'm not sure why.

Got bored? Need more energy as he got older? Who knows? Regardless, he was a sublime scoring force and what little I've seen of him as a player not from any era where I was regularly watching ball, he was a lot of fun to watch.

Yeah, he was a marvel to watch. One of the truly greatest scorers ever doing it in completely unique way:

Watch on YouTube