Kevin Durant: the comparisons

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by pgardn

Watch Dirk when the playoffs start and he grabs double digit rebounds every game. A 7 foot player getting perimeter rebounds. The guy is as mobile as they come for a 7 footer. And much, much stronger than Durant. If Durant becomes Dirk Nowitzki he will exceed all expectations. We are talking MVP of the NBA, not the NCAA. Your are watching Dirk's athletic skills against men, Durant against boys. BTW I got Durant listed as 6' 9".
You are correct about his little tricks, they are amazing. But the guy is all over the place in the playoffs. Especially against San Antonio.

Now compared to McGrady and Mellow Dirk clearly lags. But the guy is 7 feet tall. What 7 footer do you know of that moves better than Dirk? The guy is amazingly mobile. He is a freak. Maybe because he is white...

He gets rebounds because he is seven feet tall plus he guards post players on D because he is not athletic enough to guard anyone else. I am not saying that he is not a great offensive player, because he is but he is not mobile, cant jump, and has no lateral movement. He is a great player because he can score period. Sure he is stronger than Durant now but he is 10 years older. Name one big man who came into Pro basketball with size and skills to match as a teenager? I can think of one. Moses Malone, and he was weak then compared to his later years when he bulked up.

Athletic is athletic is athletic. You have athletic skills regardless of your competition. I'm sure that Durant could outrun Dirk, out jump Dirk, out move him. By a signifigant margin. Is he the player that Dirk is? Not right now he's not. But he is still growing, has not filled out his frame, he looks like he is about 12 when you see his face. His touch is uncanny. I have probably seen him play 10-12 times this year. As a matter of fact he is one of the few interesting players in college basketball. Love to watch him and I didn't judge Barnes on one game. I thought he let the Kansas game slip through his hands and I still cant figure out how you dont double team Acie Law at the end of the game.

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

He gets rebounds because he is seven feet tall plus he guards post players on D because he is not athletic enough to guard anyone else. I am not saying that he is not a great offensive player, because he is but he is not mobile, cant jump, and has no lateral movement. He is a great player because he can score period. Sure he is stronger than Durant now but he is 10 years older. Name one big man who came into Pro basketball with size and skills to match as a teenager? I can think of one. Moses Malone, and he was weak then compared to his later years when he bulked up.

Athletic is athletic is athletic. You have athletic skills regardless of your competition. I'm sure that Durant could outrun Dirk, out jump Dirk, out move him. By a signifigant margin. Love to watch him and I didn't judge Barnes on one game. I thought he let the Kansas game slip through his hands and I still cant figure out how you dont double team Acie Law at the end of the game.

He can guard 3's (the position, not the shot) better than any 7 footer in the league.

You have to have a reference point, come on. Durant is playing against kids that are not nearly as strong, as fast, have hops like the pros. I am sure Dirk, at this point, is MORE atheletic than Durant. Lateral movement, are you kidding. Thats how he rebounds so well out high. Dirk has fantastic lateral movement for a man his size. Avery has made him play defense.
Durant barely has muscles yet. And I must repeat, Durant is not a great athlete, he is a great NCAA basketball player. Muscles move bones. Bones move the body. I think we may be mixing coordination with athleticism. Durant is incredibly well coordinated for an 18 year old. But this is because he has lived in the gym since he was 12 years old. His mentor would not allow him to play in pick up games and drilled him on fundamentals and balance. In fact over the Winter break he went right back to the gym to be drilled by this same mentor. Durant is single minded... good thing he can play basketball so well, he is a horrible speaker.

You dont double Acie Law because he does what he just did against Louisville (at home, which I still cant figure out how a 6th seed gets two home games in the first two rounds) He finds the open man for wide open slashes, or 3's. And the 3 Law made was pure luck, he said so, he shot a knucle ball, it had zero rotation. Kirk is ATM's best 3 point shooter, thats who Barnes was worried about shooting.

And you nailed it with Moses Malone. I totally agree. He was a monster under the boards the minute he stepped on the the court.

Keep em coming. I reserve the right to ask you horsie questions so I can learn more.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by pgardn

He can guard 3's (the position, not the shot) better than any 7 footer in the league.

You have to have a reference point, come on. Durant is playing against kids that are not nearly as strong, as fast, have hops like the pros. I am sure Dirk, at this point, is MORE atheletic than Durant. Lateral movement, are you kidding. Thats how he rebounds so well out high. Dirk has fantastic lateral movement for a man his size. Avery has made him play defense.
Durant barely has muscles yet. And I must repeat, Durant is not a great athlete, he is a great NCAA basketball player. Muscles move bones. Bones move the body. I think we may be mixing coordination with athleticism. Durant is incredibly well coordinated for an 18 year old. But this is because he has lived in the gym since he was 12 years old. His mentor would not allow him to play in pick up games and drilled him on fundamentals and balance. In fact over the Winter break he went right back to the gym to be drilled by this same mentor. Durant is single minded... good thing he can play basketball so well, he is a horrible speaker.

You dont double Acie Law because he does what he just did against Louisville (at home, which I still cant figure out how a 6th seed gets two home games in the first two rounds) He finds the open man for wide open slashes, or 3's. And the 3 Law made was pure luck, he said so, he shot a knucle ball, it had zero rotation. Kirk is ATM's best 3 point shooter, thats who Barnes was worried about shooting.

And you nailed it with Moses Malone. I totally agree. He was a monster under the boards the minute he stepped on the the court.

Keep em coming. I reserve the right to ask you horsie questions so I can learn more.

I dont think Dirk can guard any 3 in the NBA. None. Zero. I saw Marc Jackson light him up. Marc freakin Jackson. Dirk has zero lateral movement. He plays passable D, he often rests on D because he is usually guarding the other teams least effective player. Avery knows where his bread is buttered unlike Barnes. You seem to have a fascination with Durants muscles. Being skinny has nothing to do with being athletic.
You dont let the other teams best player beat you, period. Louisville doubles everyone and A=M prepared for it (not that they were that effective).

BTW - I have a few highly placed NBA sources that I steal some info from occasionally, I'm not just shooting from the hip.

[ddthetide]

i think durant and texas get Tar Heeled next week.

[Samarta]

Originally Posted by ddthetide

i think durant and texas get Tar Heeled next week.

Say it ain't so......not another Tar Heel Fan...probably the only thing worse than a Bama football is a Tar Heel Hoops fan....lmao..oh and I have the heels getting horned next week.....

[ddthetide]

Originally Posted by Samarta

Say it ain't so......not another Tar Heel Fan...probably the only thing worse than a Bama football is a Tar Heel Hoops fan....lmao..oh and I have the heels getting horned next week.....

OH Yes !! i might have been a Tar Heel basketball fan before fan before a Alabama Football fan !

those were the college basketball days! Coach Smith, the "Big Blue Team", Phil Ford and the "Four Corners", Mitch Kupcheck, Walter Davis, Carmichael Areana......ahhhhh, the OLD School ACC !!

[skippy3481]

Durants body reminds me alot of teyshaun prince in college. Now scoring wise they aren't even close. But with the length and wingspan. He will get bigger in the nba, he's only 19 and he is so tall he hasen't had time to pack on muscle. No doubt he'll at least be a solid nba player.

[King Glorious]

First thing.........Leandro Barbosa is the fastest. Now that that's settled, on to Durant.

I love the guy's game. In college. In college, he's got all of the skills he needs. I am not sure how it can be said that he's not athletic. I see a very nice athlete. To say he's not as good an athlete as Dirk is crazy to me. He's not as physically mature as Dirk is but he's easily a better athlete. The thing I like about him is that he's very polished and poised offensively. He takes exactly what the defense gives him. He has the ability to go into the post and score even though I don't really think he has much of a post game. He's got the perfect game for college.

When he gets to the NBA, he's going to find the going a whole lot tougher. He's going to be able to score 20 a game simply because of his skills and size. He is a mismatch for most people because of his size and skills, sort of like Garnett and Dirk in that regard. But I think he's going to have problems in trying to become a dominant offensive player. I don't see him with a signature move at this point. In the pros, he won't be able to hold a position on the block because he's not big enough. Will he add size? Maybe. If he does, will it take away from his effectiveness on the perimeter? Maybe. I don't see him with the quickness to beat 2's and 3's off the dribble in the NBA. And I think he's going to be able to be guarded by those because he's primarily a perimeter player. Guys like McGrady, James, Bowen, etc will be able to guard him and he won't be able to take advantage of his height advantage and he won't out-quick them. Another problem that I think he'll have is the exact opposite of what works for him in college. Whereas in college he takes what the defense gives him, in the pros, they won't give him anything. He's going to have to take things from them. That's what separates the true superstars. Guys like Bryant, Wade, James, Dirk, Anthony, Iverson, McGrady, etc., they have the ability to take what they want at any point in the game. I haven't seen that ability yet from Durant. The more I watch him play, the less I'm impressed with him. As I said, he'll be a valuable addition to a team. He'll score points. But he won't be able to dominate like he has in college. The player I am most reminded of when I watch him........Bob McAdoo. The current players that I would compare him to are probably Loul Deng, Antawn Jamison, and Tim Thomas.

[Seattleallstar]

I was once compared to John Stockton, only im a much better shooter and I have a killer crossover.

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

First thing.........Leandro Barbosa is the fastest. Now that that's settled, on to Durant.

I love the guy's game. In college. In college, he's got all of the skills he needs. I am not sure how it can be said that he's not athletic. I see a very nice athlete. To say he's not as good an athlete as Dirk is crazy to me. He's not as physically mature as Dirk is but he's easily a better athlete. The thing I like about him is that he's very polished and poised offensively. He takes exactly what the defense gives him. He has the ability to go into the post and score even though I don't really think he has much of a post game. He's got the perfect game for college.

When he gets to the NBA, he's going to find the going a whole lot tougher. He's going to be able to score 20 a game simply because of his skills and size. He is a mismatch for most people because of his size and skills, sort of like Garnett and Dirk in that regard. But I think he's going to have problems in trying to become a dominant offensive player. I don't see him with a signature move at this point. In the pros, he won't be able to hold a position on the block because he's not big enough. Will he add size? Maybe. If he does, will it take away from his effectiveness on the perimeter? Maybe. I don't see him with the quickness to beat 2's and 3's off the dribble in the NBA. And I think he's going to be able to be guarded by those because he's primarily a perimeter player. Guys like McGrady, James, Bowen, etc will be able to guard him and he won't be able to take advantage of his height advantage and he won't out-quick them. Another problem that I think he'll have is the exact opposite of what works for him in college. Whereas in college he takes what the defense gives him, in the pros, they won't give him anything. He's going to have to take things from them. That's what separates the true superstars. Guys like Bryant, Wade, James, Dirk, Anthony, Iverson, McGrady, etc., they have the ability to take what they want at any point in the game. I haven't seen that ability yet from Durant. The more I watch him play, the less I'm impressed with him. As I said, he'll be a valuable addition to a team. He'll score points. But he won't be able to dominate like he has in college. The player I am most reminded of when I watch him........Bob McAdoo. The current players that I would compare him to are probably Loul Deng, Antawn Jamison, and Tim Thomas.

Thought this would be interesting to bring back up and see who's been the closest to being right. Currently, Durant is averaging 20 a night, is very weak on the glass with only 4.2 boards and is not much of a passer at 2.1 assists. He gets to the line 5.5 times a game and he's shooting 39.9% from the field. He's playing the 2-guard position in the NBA. Last night, I watched his game against the Lakers. He shot 6-26 from the field and scored 19 points. He had one rebound and one assist. He shot as many 3's as free throws, six each. He was guarded by Kobe Bryant during the game. I don't recall seeing him in the post at all. The Sonics had the ball for the final possession of regulation with about 20 seconds left. They got the ball to Durant on an isolation with Kobe guarding him. The shot they got from Durant was a fadeway 20-footer that wasn't even close. He had no chance of getting by Bryant and getting to the line or getting a closer shot. This is what I was saying. He's not going to be quicker on the perimeter than 2-guards in the NBA. Maybe if they put some small forwards on him, he can outquick them but not guards. And he has no post-game whatsoever. He doesn't have the size to go with his height to be able to get and hold a position on the blocks against these guys. A lot of the 2-guards in this league are bigger than he is, weight wise. He will add size as he goes along but it's my belief that it still won't make him a post player. He doesn't have that mentality. You see guys like Dirk and KG. They can do it on occassion but when it's not your mentality, it's just not. I think you can take Jamison out of the comparison because he's much more aggressive offensively and rebounds way better. Thomas and Deng are very good comparisons though. They both rebound very bad for their size (Thomas is a career 4.2 guy and he's 6'10") and are more comfortable on the perimeter than on the block. Durant is looking more and more like the guy he replaced up in Seattle, Rashard Lewis.

Originally Posted by ddthetide

i think durant and texas get Tar Heeled next week.

If Texas gets there I agree. NC is much much tougher inside than Texas. Texas would have to make this a completely run and gun game to win, again, if they get there.