Durant as good--or better?!?!--than...

Originally Posted by outacontrol music

I see I started a firestorm
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KD is a scoring beast, but he averaged 2.8 assists last year, and 3.0 turnovers. He's also a passive defender.


LeBron took a team single handedly to the Finals straight out of high school with the spotlight on him 24/7 and surpassed a ridiculous amount of hype.



LeBron is without a doubt the better player. Better passer, rebounder and defender.

LeBron's first year with the Cavs, the Cavs win total increased by 18 games.

Durant's first year in the league, the Sonics got 11 games worse.
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durant may eventually be a better scorer than lebron (shoots better ALREADY, post up, drive...). but lebron's impact isn't just scoring.he's also a defender and playmaker. that's why durant will never be better than lebron. durant needs to improve other facets of his game if he wants tobe among the very best.

however, he can be the best scorer in the L in a few years.
 
Originally Posted by Pill Clinton

Originally Posted by 5dividedby4

Originally Posted by Pill Clinton

Lebron is Lebron because he is a freak of nature. Point blank period. Take away his athletic ability and he is an average basketball player in the NBA.


For example: (not to make this a kobe vs Lebron thread, but w/e)


Kobe Bryant can destroy you MANY different ways. Whether its driving to the basket, fading away, pulling up with a jumper, dunking on you etc. You take away his most dominant attribute(mid range jumper), and he'll kill you by driving to the basket. You take away his driving ability, and he'll kill you by slashing to the basket or abusing you with his fadeaway.

Lebron can't do that. Kevin durant has a jumper, he can drive, he can hit that trey ball etc. Lebron james would be a mediocre basketball player if he wasn't 6'8 280 lbs. Which is why it's going to be interesting to see his career progress, once he loses his legs and his jumping abilities, he'll be done. unless of course he did what kobe and jordan did, which was perfecting the art of the jumper.
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But he is that big and that fast. That's the dumbest argument I've ever heard. People are basing how good LeBron is based off what if's? If he wasn't a freak of nature don't you think he would try and find other ways to better his game.
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But my point is that he isn't that great in terms of SKILL. He's a dominant basketball player in the L because he IS that big and that strong/fast. Skill wise KD is 2x as good as lebron. I'm not taking anything from Lebron. He is a great basketball player, for now.
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seriously? lebron can handle like a PG, pass better than every PG outside of chris paul or nash, quicker than 99% in the L at his size, can shoot(his fg% and 3pt % increasing year by year along w/ fts), post up, pull up, create... those are called SKILLS son. you aren't the BEST ALL-AROUND PLAYER inthe league w/o some skills. all athletic ability ain't for nothing if u got no skills, word to josh smith
 
A better comparison to KD would be Kobe .. their games/skillset are a lot more similar than KD v. Lebron, the way I look at Durant's career is whatwould've happened if Kobe never had Shaq stayed on the Hornets (better)... either way Lebron is andwill always be a pass first player and as his athleticism declines I see his game becoming a lot more similar to that of Magic Johnson or even J-Kidd (with aJ)
 
point is people take the size thing with bron like it's not fair. he is what he is.

Kd is not as good of a player if he was 6'6. same logic, stupid, but same.
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Hmmm......

I do wonder how effective he would be if he wasnt as explosive/athletic, and thats not stupid logic, cuz thats something that will leave him eventually, couldprobably start to fade in the next few years....

Thats different from saying "if LeBron was 6'1, he wouldnt....", which, yea, is stupid/corny....

A better comparison to KD would be Kobe .. their games/skillset are a lot more similar than KD v. Lebron, the way I look at Durant's career is what would've happened if Kobe never had Shaq ... either way Lebron is and will always be a pass first player and as his athleticism declines I see his game becoming a lot more similar to that of Magic Johnson or even J-Kidd (with a J superior size)
yup.

You know how cold LeBron would be if he added a damn post game though?
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^but he hasn't added a post game and this will be his 7th year. I see KD being a better scorer than LeBron soon, maybe even next year. But LeBron willalways be the better player due to his athleticism and court vision.
 
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I just want to sit back and take this all in...remarkable we'recomparing into Lebron going into year and during year 1 and part of year 2 I heard things on here like:

- He's just a chucker
- He's a poor man's Rashard Lewis
- He's the next Shareef Abdur Rahim
- OJ Mayo is "head and shoulders" above him
- Will eventually end up being a good 3rd option on a playoff team

And how could I forget my favorite:

"Oden will go on to win championships because he's a dominant big man, while players like Durant are a dime a dozen"

This is great.
 
Originally Posted by Im Not You

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I just want to sit back and take this all in...remarkable we're comparing into Lebron going into year and during year 1 and part of year 2 I heard things on here like:

- He's just a chucker
- He's a poor man's Rashard Lewis
- He's the next Shareef Abdur Rahim
- OJ Mayo is "head and shoulders" above him
- Will eventually end up being a good 3rd option on a playoff team

And how could I forget my favorite:

"Oden will go on to win championships because he's a dominant big man, while players like Durant are a dime a dozen"

This is great.
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i remember that last one
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So, if OJ ends up averaging between 22-25ppg, 4-5apg, 3-4rpg next season and his team wins more games than Durant's Thunder, then what happens?
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Because, its very possible.

Of course OJ isn't going to have that dominant effect due to his height and wingspan compared to KD, but I was just asking if OJ has a sophmore yearsimilar to Durant's then what will people say.
 
Originally Posted by bhzmafia14

So, if OJ ends up averaging between 22-25ppg, 4-5apg, 3-4rpg next season and his team wins more games than Durant's Thunder, then what happens?
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Because, its very possible.

Of course OJ isn't going to have that dominant effect due to his height and wingspan compared to KD, but I was just asking if OJ has a sophmore year similar to Durant's then what will people say.
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Listen...OJ Mayo is not...and never has been better than Kevin Durant...nor will he be. That's pretty much all there is to it. I don'tcare if Memphis makes the playoffs and OKC goes 0-82. KD is better than him...or anyone on that team for that matter.
 
i sent bill simmons this sam smith article. hopefully i can get his thoughts. He has been on both boats: Lebron is a one in a generation player; Durant has achance to avg 35+ ppg.
 
Originally Posted by I NaSmatic I

Isn't OJ two years older than KD too?
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Yea basically. OJ turns 23 in November. Durant will be 21 in September, I think.

So, are we saying Durant will be dominant in terms of single handedly carrying his team on his own? Or individually dominant where he will be All-NBA 1st team,but will never win anything significant, will be scoring champ, etc. (Iverson, T-Mac).
 
hmm,i think he will be great when its all said and done but i dont know if he will be better than lebron.
i think he needs to bulk up a lot and develop a real good inside game despite his amazing shooting ability.
when he does that the league wont have an answer for him.
I remember i was so close to playing with him at UT,i wish he stayed one more year.
 
Lebron is a once in a lifetime athlete...

Being #2 behind him one day isn't so bad...and right now KD is more talented and has a higher ceiling than anyone who could potentially claim that spot (ina post Kobe NBA, and I think he's #1 right now but that's another story).
 
From Simmons trade value rankings in Feb (Lebron was #1, Durant #8 ):

(Before you make fun of my bromance with KD, explain how a kid who just turned 20 four months ago has basically been averaging a 29-8 with 49-88-45 percentagesand this isn't a national story. I mean, you should be tired of hearing about Durant by now. By the way, he's averaging 31.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 45.4 mpgover the past 12 games, six of them wins. Here's his game log if you don't believe me. And check those numbers compared to a 21-year-old LeBron in Year2, or Kobe's third season when he turned 20. Hmmmm. What do you think Durant has to do to crack one of the first three segments on "PTI"? Score40 for five straight games? I'm just curious. Again, he's 20. He's can't drink yet. This whole paragraph is making me feel bromantic.
 
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