Kevin Durant Longhorn Legend

[Goo Punch 4275]

11 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Maybe a tad premature. The first part is inarguable (though maybe with a few less ">").

But this is Steph's team. Always has been, probably always will be. They go as he goes. Even when he's having a bad game, his presence on the court feeds their offense. This is the first season in about 7 that they've even been able to mount a competent offense without him on the floor. This isn't admonishing KD in any way...just pointing out the obvious that Golden State's offense was built from the ground up around Steph's game, movement, and threat of his shot. He is the most valuable Warrior. I'm not sure there's anything that KD can do on the court to change whose team it is, despite being clearly better (they probably don't win it all in 2017 and definitely don't last year without him). Steph has just been there too long through the ups and downs, and is the unquestioned Tim Duncan-esque leader. Another reason why KD should leave.

just curious- what do you think happens the last two postseasons if GS is without KD? I know it's impossible to say since the premise of the question means that KD would be on some other team, but still I'm curious. 

[aggie08 21455]

40 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

just curious- what do you think happens the last two postseasons if GS is without KD? I know it's impossible to say since the premise of the question means that KD would be on some other team, but still I'm curious. 

I said what I thought would happen without KD:

52 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

they probably don't win it all in 2017 and definitely don't last year without him

Moreover, they'll probably lose to the East representative this year without KD. But the same can obviously be said about Steph too.

Edited May 11, 2019 by aggie08

[ztejas 43383]

56 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Maybe a tad premature. The first part is inarguable (though maybe with a few less ">").

But this is Steph's team. Always has been, probably always will be. They go as he goes. Even when he's having a bad game, his presence on the court feeds their offense. This is the first season in about 7 that they've even been able to mount a competent offense without him on the floor. This isn't admonishing KD in any way...just pointing out the obvious that Golden State's offense was built from the ground up around Steph's game, movement, and threat of his shot. He is the most valuable Warrior. I'm not sure there's anything that KD can do on the court to change whose team it is, despite being clearly better (they probably don't win it all in 2017 and definitely don't last year without him). Steph has just been there too long through the ups and downs, and is the unquestioned Tim Duncan-esque leader. Another reason why KD should leave.

Your take is fucking stupid and aggy sucks cow penis.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

1 hour ago, Goo Punch said:

just curious- what do you think happens the last two postseasons if GS is without KD? I know it's impossible to say since the premise of the question means that KD would be on some other team, but still I'm curious. 

Would you even dispute that Steph, Klay, and to a certain extent Draymond Green just play better when KD isn’t out there? And I don’t mean that as a knock on KD. I just think Steph mentally turns into Robin when KD is out there (because KD is the better overall offensive player), and Klay maybe doesn’t get enough touches to get into a rhythm. When KD isn’t out there, both of those guys turn into assassins. 

My point is, I think our opinions on Steph and Klay over the last 3 years would be DRASTICALLY different if KD weren’t on the team. Whether they win more games or not, we’ll never know. But when Steph and Klay are on in the same game, they’re almost unbeatable.

Edited May 11, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[Nowhichski 32]

5 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

Would you even dispute that Steph, Klay, and to a certain extent Draymond Green just play better when KD isn’t out there? And I don’t mean that as a knock on KD. I just think Steph mentally turns into Robin when KD is out there (because KD is the better overall offensive player), and Klay maybe doesn’t get enough touches to get into a rhythm. When KD isn’t out there, both of those guys turn into assassins. 

My point is, I think our opinions on Steph and Klay over the last 3 years would be DRASTICALLY different if KD weren’t on the team. Whether they win more games or not, we’ll never know. But when Steph and Klay are on in the same game, they’re almost unbeatable.

100% agree with this. Impossible to assess team without KD, because they’re in many ways most amazing when he sits out. If ever all could fire at once, it’s the greatest of all time. Just doesn’t happen that way. 

[victory88 5663]

You guys remember when GS lost to Lebron and Kyrie in the finals with Steph and Clay?  You guys act like they were a dynasty before Durant.  They were 1-1 in their finals appearances and the Cavs had them figured out in the second series.  It's why they blew a 3-1 lead.  They knew to break Lebron they needed KD.  They went from a great team to an unstoppable team.  I don't think they win the last two championships without Durant.  He was the only one that could match Lebron's play.  It's why he was the finals MVP both times.  Also, I don't think Steph or Durant care who's team it is.  The warriors are about as unselfish of a team as they come.  It's why they play so well together. 

[52-80 19128]

Tremendous sampling there.  KDs lost in the finals.  So has LeBron, many times.  Then they come back later and win. 

When the 2 best teams of each conference survive the playoff gauntlet and face off at the tail end of 100 or so games played, anything can happen. 

Vince young runs 1 ft wide on his scramble and the greatest Texas team that ever was, wouldn't be. 

The 67 win warriors wasn't one of the best teams ever merely because of their win total, it was because of how they played, how they won. 

It was Klay and Steph and Draymonds 3rd year together, the first they ever broke 20ppg, and 10ppg for Draymond.  The trajectory of that team, and their key players, they would've been an absolute dynasty even without KD.

I like how that team suddenly becomes overlooked, because LeBron was transcendental and Kyrie actually played to his potential.  As if the 05 Trojan squads suddenly turned into scrubs because Vince went all Jesus for 1 night.

 

 

[TommyGufano 6021]

18 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Tremendous sampling there.  KDs lost in the finals.  So has LeBron, many times.  Then they come back later and win. 

When the 2 best teams of each conference survive the playoff gauntlet and face off at the tail end of 100 or so games played, anything can happen. 

Vince young runs 1 ft wide on his scramble and the greatest Texas team that ever was, wouldn't be. 

The 67 win warriors wasn't one of the best teams ever merely because of their win total, it was because of how they played, how they won. 

It was Klay and Steph and Draymonds 3rd year together, the first they ever broke 20ppg, and 10ppg for Draymond.  The trajectory of that team, and their key players, they would've been an absolute dynasty even without KD.

I like how that team suddenly becomes overlooked, because LeBron was transcendental and Kyrie actually played to his potential.  As if the 05 Trojan squads suddenly turned into scrubs because Vince went all Jesus for 1 night.

 

 

Dude, Cleveland totally had them figured out. 3-1, bro. Hello? Nevermind a Draymond suspension, Steph being hurt for the entirety of the series and Harrison Barnes managing to play as poorly as he is capable of playing at the exact worst time.

It's like how GS needed to lose KD in order to beat Houston at home. They were 0-2 with him. But once he was gone, Houston couldn't figure them out and they were 1-0. And that tells the entire story of what happened. Like for sure.

[victory88 5663]

Ah yes, they were 0-2 because of KD. Had nothing to do with Curry and Klay missing shot after shot after shot.  Are we watching the same games??

 

[Pam Cummings 9603]

2 hours ago, victory88 said:

You guys remember when GS lost to Lebron and Kyrie in the finals with Steph and Clay?  You guys act like they were a dynasty before Durant.  They were 1-1 in their finals appearances and the Cavs had them figured out in the second series.  It's why they blew a 3-1 lead.  They knew to break Lebron they needed KD.  They went from a great team to an unstoppable team.  I don't think they win the last two championships without Durant.  He was the only one that could match Lebron's play.  It's why he was the finals MVP both times.  Also, I don't think Steph or Durant care who's team it is.  The warriors are about as unselfish of a team as they come.  It's why they play so well together. 

That 2016 Finals win took an all time GOAT effort from LeBron and probably the best stretch of basketball that Kyrie will ever play, among other things.

 

Losing in the finals definitely doesn't mean that you "need" the best scorer to ever play and also conveniently the best player on one of the west's main contenders.

 

Adding him was just overkill.

[aggie08 21455]

39 minutes ago, victory88 said:

Ah yes, they were 0-2 because of KD. Had nothing to do with Curry and Klay missing shot after shot after shot.  Are we watching the same games??

 

Exactly. If Steph had played up the even 75% of his potential earlier in the series, Game 5 may have never even been necessary, and we'd all be talking about how unfair the Warriors are again. Steph had arguably his 2nd or 3rd best statistical regular season this year, so he's just fine playing with KD. Him playing like ass for all but 3 quarters in this series is entirely on him. And Klay disappearing for large stretches of the postseason is nothing new, before, during, and probably after KD.

I love Steph as much as anyone (obviously), but holy crap the Warriors are much better with KD. Are they good enough to win a title without him? Sure. If they shore up their bench, suffer zero even minor injuries, and LeBron doesn't have an offensive juggernaut (like the '17 Cavs) around him. They'd be a "normal" really good team in the tier of the 3 or 4 teams who have a shot every year with a little luck. With KD, I get laughed at when I suggest that they only have 90% chance to win the title at the beginning of the year.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

3 hours ago, victory88 said:

You guys remember when GS lost to Lebron and Kyrie in the finals with Steph and Clay?  You guys act like they were a dynasty before Durant.  They were 1-1 in their finals appearances and the Cavs had them figured out in the second series.  It's why they blew a 3-1 lead.  They knew to break Lebron they needed KD.  They went from a great team to an unstoppable team.  I don't think they win the last two championships without Durant.  He was the only one that could match Lebron's play.  It's why he was the finals MVP both times.  Also, I don't think Steph or Durant care who's team it is.  The warriors are about as unselfish of a team as they come.  It's why they play so well together. 

Had them figured out?! Wow. If Green doesn’t get suspended that series is over in 5. They lost game 6 on Cleveland’s home floor (understandable) and game 7 was literally a coin flip that was decided by the greatness of Lebron (the 2nd best player ever) and Kyrie. But to say they had them figured out is laughable. To this day, I swear i think they called KD as a joke just to see if he’d be willing to join. There’s no way they were expecting him to join. That was kind of a “wait, for real? You don’t want to beat us?” type of situation.

I swear I don’t think he goes to GS if Klay doesn’t go ridiculously hot in game 6 of that series against OKC, and this:

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[Vic Mackey 46976]

[ztejas 43383]

6 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

They needed him last year. They needed him against the Clippers. They will need him if they make the Finals.

But sick meme, bro.

Edited May 12, 2019 by ztejas

[ztejas 43383]

15 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Tremendous sampling there.  KDs lost in the finals.  So has LeBron, many times.  Then they come back later and win. 

When the 2 best teams of each conference survive the playoff gauntlet and face off at the tail end of 100 or so games played, anything can happen. 

Vince young runs 1 ft wide on his scramble and the greatest Texas team that ever was, wouldn't be. 

The 67 win warriors wasn't one of the best teams ever merely because of their win total, it was because of how they played, how they won. 

It was Klay and Steph and Draymonds 3rd year together, the first they ever broke 20ppg, and 10ppg for Draymond.  The trajectory of that team, and their key players, they would've been an absolute dynasty even without KD.

I like how that team suddenly becomes overlooked, because LeBron was transcendental and Kyrie actually played to his potential.  As if the 05 Trojan squads suddenly turned into scrubs because Vince went all Jesus for 1 night.

 

 

Their first Finals win they were lucky as fuck. They didn't have to play the defending champ Spurs, they didn't have to play the Clippers, they didn't have to play OKC. 

When they got to the Finals, it was LeBron and a bunch of loose change they were up against and they got taken to 6 games with HCA. 

I would not say they were on their way to being "an absolute dynasty". Durant was a fuel injection in 2017 and they went apeshit on the field. In 2018 they scraped by the Rockets and probably lose to San Antonio in the first round without Durant. 

[aggie08 21455]

5 minutes ago, ztejas said:

probably lose to San Antonio in the first round without Durant. 

Yeah, no.

[aggie08 21455]

18 minutes ago, ztejas said:

They needed him against the Clippers.

Also no.

 

18 minutes ago, ztejas said:

They will need him if they make the Finals.

Yes on this.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

12 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Their first Finals win they were lucky as fuck. They didn't have to play the defending champ Spurs, they didn't have to play the Clippers, they didn't have to play OKC. 

When they got to the Finals, it was LeBron and a bunch of loose change they were up against and they got taken to 6 games with HCA. 

I would not say they were on their way to being "an absolute dynasty". Durant was a fuel injection in 2017 and they went apeshit on the field. In 2018 they scraped by the Rockets and probably lose to San Antonio in the first round without Durant. 

Lol what?

[ztejas 43383]

Oh good the fucking peanut gallery has arrived. 

[aggie08 21455]

You say a lot of incredibly dumb shit.

[Pam Cummings 9603]

Lol at them losing to the Spurs in the first round without Durant, sure bro

[Hate 20104]

If I'm reading this it correctly, the Warriors are now 26-1 since 2016 when Durant sits and Curry plays.  I can't easily find anything for what the Warriors record is when Curry sits and Durant plays, but it's probably not 26-1. 

[Machinator 32098]

40 minutes ago, Hate said:

If I'm reading this it correctly, the Warriors are now 26-1 since 2016 when Durant sits and Curry plays.  I can't easily find anything for what the Warriors record is when Curry sits and Durant plays, but it's probably not 26-1. 

5-1. Only loss was to your Spurs last year.

Never mind, was thinking playoffs only.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Machinator

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

36 minutes ago, Hate said:

If I'm reading this it correctly, the Warriors are now 26-1 since 2016 when Durant sits and Curry plays.  I can't easily find anything for what the Warriors record is when Curry sits and Durant plays, but it's probably not 26-1. 

 

14 minutes ago, Machinator said:

5-1. Only loss was to your Spurs last year.

According to this deadspin article:

In the two-plus seasons since Durant linked up with the Warriors, the team is 21-20 when Durant has played and Curry has not. When Durant sits and Curry doesn’t, the team is 26-1. This year alone the warriors went on a 0-3 stretch when they had a road trip in Texas earlier this year.

 

Not sure how we came to different numbers there machinator. I’m having a tough time verifying this, but I heard it was something along those lines.

But hey, this team desperately needs KD. Nah, this team goes as Steph goes. If Steph is making his shots, they win. And Steph typically plays better when KD isn’t out there. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[Machinator 32098]

7 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

 

According to this deadspin article:

In the two-plus seasons since Durant linked up with the Warriors, the team is 21-20 when Durant has played and Curry has not. When Durant sits and Curry doesn’t, the team is 26-1. This year alone the warriors went on a 0-3 stretch when they had a road trip in Texas earlier this year.

 

Not sure how we came to different numbers there machinator. I’m having a tough time verifying this, but I heard it was something along those lines.

But hey, this team desperately needs KD. Nah, this team goes as Steph goes. If Steph is making his shots, they win. And Steph typically plays better when KD isn’t out there. 

Sorry, for some reason my mind was thinking playoffs-only.

@Hate

[aggie08 21455]

They're 5-1 without Steph in the playoffs with KD.

4-0 in the playoffs without KD with Steph.

31-4 with Steph no KD overall.

21-20 with KD no Steph overall.

[aggie08 21455]

I look at it this way: if you picked 4 NBA players at random, that team would be better with KD as their 5th than Steph. No question whatsoever.

But the Warriors, a core 4 who have been through the battles even before Kerr, whose offense and culture was built around Steph, who compliment each other beautifully, who move and cut and pass as one...they're better with Steph than they would be even with an unquestionably better player like KD.

...but still much, much better with both of them, obviously.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

12 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

I look at it this way: if you picked 4 NBA players at random, that team would be better with KD as their 5th than Steph. No question whatsoever.

But the Warriors, a core 4 who have been through the battles even before Kerr, whose offense and culture was built around Steph, who compliment each other beautifully, who move and cut and pass as one...they're better with Steph than they would be even with an unquestionably better player like KD.

...but still much, much better with both of them, obviously.

I agree 100% with this, and it’s why nobody wanted to see KD in GS. We all know this team is great without him. They were already great. All-time great. He could’ve carved out his own legacy with his own super team literally anywhere else. The warriors recruited him because they knew he was better than all of them. I can’t fault them for that. It’s like “hey KD, when you get tired of getting your ass beat come holla at us because you can’t beat us. You know that, and we know that.” 

KD just wanted to take the easiest path to the finals possible because he was tired of coming up short. We all take short cuts in life if presented to us, but again, “he’s Kevin Durant. You know who he is”. He was supposed to be the hero that took down the hated warriors. It was going to happen. Just a matter of time. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[HookEm 2450]

"The hero who took down the Warriors" was LeBron James. Without Durant on the Warriors he probably beats them 1-2 more times.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

12 minutes ago, HookEm said:

"The hero who took down the Warriors" was LeBron James. Without Durant on the Warriors he probably beats them 1-2 more times.

Haha there’s no way of proving it one way or the other, but I just don’t agree with that at all. U don’t even think Lebron himself believes that. There was a reason he reacted the way he did when they won the championship, and it wasn’t just because he won one with Cleveland. He knows that he accomplished a feat that he could’ve had 100 cracks at, and they might have won that series 3 times. And all 3 of those times Draymond Green gets suspended for game 5

 

slight over exaggeration, but he knows he accomplished a borderline impossible feat 

Edited May 15, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[Dutchrudder 11126]

Bogut getting hurt was huge too, but in 2015 the Cavs win that series if Love and Kyrie don't get hurt either, so it all evens out. Coming back from 3-1 is an amazing story for Lebron's legacy, and beating the best regular season team in history is the cherry on top of it all. The 2011 Mavs is the only other championship that comes close to that level of awesomeness, but they were never on the brink of elimination in that series. 

[Patrick Bateman 3910]

Yea, Cavs from 2017 beat the Warriors if KD passes.  Houston probably beats them last year..... although maybe the Rockets find a way to blow it.

 

[HookEm 2450]

You have to appreciate that without Durant they are overpaying for Harrison Barnes the next year. The basketball you see right now when Durant is hurt is not the basketball you would get with Barnes out there clogging things up.

In 2017, Cleveland lost Game 3 by 5 points. (Durant with 31). They win that game if Durant doesn't play. They lost game 5 by 9. (Durant with 39). They probably win that one too. Then it is 3-3 and who knows what happens game 7. Without Durant, LeBron is hands down the best player in the series.

In 2018, maybe Kyrie doesn't leave if they are coming off back to back titles. Also Houston probably beats Golden State as mentioned earlier.

[TommyGufano 6021]

Harrison Barnes isn't a star. And he stunk in the '16 finals. But that's a wild ass assessment right there.

You're right that the basketball we see right now isn't what we'd get with Barnes out there. It'd be much better. Like we saw with the OG Death Lineup which outscored opponents by 47 pts per 100 possessions in 15-16. All due respect to Jerebko and Looney who are losing minutes in this scenario.

[Hate 20104]

1 hour ago, HookEm said:

You have to appreciate that without Durant they are overpaying for Harrison Barnes the next year. The basketball you see right now when Durant is hurt is not the basketball you would get with Barnes out there clogging things up.

In 2017, Cleveland lost Game 3 by 5 points. (Durant with 31). They win that game if Durant doesn't play. They lost game 5 by 9. (Durant with 39). They probably win that one too. Then it is 3-3 and who knows what happens game 7. Without Durant, LeBron is hands down the best player in the series.

In 2018, maybe Kyrie doesn't leave if they are coming off back to back titles. Also Houston probably beats Golden State as mentioned earlier.

There is absolutely no possible way that you can definitively say something like "Cleveland wins that game without Durant".  The game plays out completely differently than it did.  Steph tends to go to a spot and wait for a pass from Durant when they play together.   These stats that I mentioned and aggie08 posted above mean something:

31-4 with Steph no KD overall.

21-20 with KD no Steph overall.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

9 minutes ago, Hate said:

There is absolutely no possible way that you can definitively say something like "Cleveland wins that game without Durant".  The game plays out completely differently than it did.  Steph tends to go to a spot and wait for a pass from Durant when they play together.   These stats that I mentioned and aggie08 posted above mean something:

31-4 with Steph no KD overall.

21-20 with KD no Steph overall.

I thought about responding to him, but where do you even start with that lol? The record speaks for itself. It isn’t an opinion based argument. I’m all about changing my opinion when new info is presented to me, on any topic, but they do not need KD to win. Definitely not this series, and I honestly don’t think they would need him next series. If Steph and Klay are making their shots, they win. Period. If they don’t, then yes, they need someone that can create his own shot at all times. 

[HookEm 2450]

Sounds like they should just sit Durant all the time then since he makes them so much worse.

[HookEm 2450]

Y'all also seem to forget Durant's impact on defense, especially on LeBron in the finals.

Regardless, they LOST THE TITLE WITHOUT DURANT - and Cleveland was even better in 2017. They were like 12-1 in the playoffs going into the finals.

But GSW definitely would have won anyway.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

2 minutes ago, HookEm said:

Sounds like they should just sit Durant all the time then since he makes them so much worse.

Who said they were better without him. Just that they don’t need him. Obviously if you have two top 10 players on the court together you’re going to be better than if you have 1 top 10 player.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

6 minutes ago, HookEm said:

Y'all also seem to forget Durant's impact on defense, especially on LeBron in the finals.

Regardless, they LOST THE TITLE WITHOUT DURANT - and Cleveland was even better in 2017. They were like 12-1 in the playoffs going into the finals.

But GSW definitely would have won anyway.

Where are you guys getting this idea that Cleveland was better in ‘17 than they were in ‘16? They won 57 games in ‘16 and they won 51 in ‘17. I know regular seasons games aren’t the end all be all when figuring out what team is better, but I’m curious to know the argument...

 

Or am I getting my years mixed up?

Edited May 16, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[TommyGufano 6021]

9 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

Where are you guys getting this idea that Cleveland was better in ‘17 than they were in ‘16? They won 57 games in ‘16 and they won 51 in ‘17. I know regular seasons games aren’t the end all be all when figuring out what team is better, but I’m curious to know the argument...

 

Or am I getting my years mixed up?

I think their offense kind of got cranked up to 11 in '17. Guys like Korver and DWill were helping to spread the floor. Issue is guys like that get played off the court against GSW.

 

[HookEm 2450]

The regular season didn't tell the story with that team. They coasted their way into the playoffs with LeBron playing sparingly. Once the playoffs started they went through the Eastern conference like a buzz saw. 4-0 vs. Indiana, 4-0 vs. Toronto, 4-1 vs Boston including 32 point and 44 point wins.

[TommyGufano 6021]

4 minutes ago, HookEm said:

The regular season didn't tell the story with that team. They coasted their way into the playoffs with LeBron playing sparingly. Once the playoffs started they went through the Eastern conference like a buzz saw. 4-0 vs. Indiana, 4-0 vs. Toronto, 4-1 vs Boston including 32 point and 44 point wins.

They were 12-2 in eastern conference run in '16. And in ECF their wins were by 31, 19, 38, and 26.

 

23 minutes ago, HookEm said:

Y'all also seem to forget Durant's impact on defense, especially on LeBron in the finals.

Regardless, they LOST THE TITLE WITHOUT DURANT - and Cleveland was even better in 2017. They were like 12-1 in the playoffs going into the finals.

But GSW definitely would have won anyway.

Run me through LeBron's offensive struggles in those series. Looks like ~34 ppg on 55% shooting to me.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

9 minutes ago, HookEm said:

The regular season didn't tell the story with that team. They coasted their way into the playoffs with LeBron playing sparingly. Once the playoffs started they went through the Eastern conference like a buzz saw. 4-0 vs. Indiana, 4-0 vs. Toronto, 4-1 vs Boston including 32 point and 44 point wins.

It really is amazing how much the east has changed this year. Who was the best player in the east in ‘17 outside of lebron? It’s hard for me to put stock in “they ran through the east like a buzz saw” when guys like DeMar Derozen and Indiana Paul George are the best players you’re going up against. We’re going to agree to disagree on this whole topic, because I still think if Draymond never gets suspended in ‘16 they win that series in 5. Giving them that glimmer of hope, winning game 5 on GS home court changed everything. And game 7 was literally a coin flip. A lot had to go right for the cavs to win that series. 

Edited May 16, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[HookEm 2450]

Fair enough. My main point is that Durant helped their chances. A lot. I guess we will see what happens next year when he is gone.

[Patrick Bateman 3910]

 

[hobbes2702 12951]

23 hours ago, youdunnf'dup said:

Who said they were better without him. Just that they don’t need him. Obviously if you have two top 10 players on the court together you’re going to be better than if you have 1 top 10 player.

This is where most people seem to talk past each other.

They are not better without KD and anyone saying so is ridiculous.

They don’t need KD to be great and anyone saying so is ridiculous.

Both things can be and are true.

[satyanash 14349]

12 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

This is where most people seem to talk past each other.

They are not better without KD and anyone saying so is ridiculous.

They don’t need KD to be great and anyone saying so is ridiculous.

Both things can be and are true.

The issue is that people are giving Steph a pass for all of his below-average performances earlier in the playoffs, pretending like they never happened or that they were somehow Durant's fault, based on just a two-game sample so far. While Durant gets put under a microscope and his utility to the team is questioned despite the fact that he's scoring 34.2 ppg so far this post-season.

Edited May 17, 2019 by satyanash

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

8 minutes ago, satyanash said:

The issue is that people are giving Steph a pass for all of his below-average performances earlier in the playoffs, pretending like they never happened or that they were somehow Durant's fault, based on just a two-game sample so far. While Durant gets put under a microscope and his utility to the team is questioned despite the fact that he's scoring 34.2 ppg so far this post-season.

I’ll give you that. Steph (and Klay) get a pass in general because they’re generally more likable than KD. I also think that the warriors are infinitely more fun to watch when KD isn’t out there. The ball moves all over the place, and something about seeing Steph and Klay being white hot from 3 is just more fun to watch. It’s not KD’s fault that they defer to him and don’t play as well when he’s out there, but it’s the truth. It’s just funny, because they probably don’t recruit him if they didn’t consider him their last true threat in the west. That’s on KD for taking the short cut 

Edited May 17, 2019 by youdunnf'dup

[hobbes2702 12951]

5 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

I’ll give you that. Steph (and Klay) get a pass in general because they’re generally more likable than KD. I also think that the warriors are infinitely more fun to watch when KD isn’t out there. The ball moves all over the place, and something about seeing Steph and Klay being white hot from 3 is just more fun to watch. It’s not KD’s fault that they defer to him and don’t play as well when he’s out there, but it’s the truth. It’s just funny, because they probably don’t recruit him if they didn’t consider him their last true threat in the west. That’s on KD for taking the short cut 

They recruited him because he was the only player in the league on Lebron’s level and everyone knew it. It wasn’t about being a threat. It was about needing someone to make LeBron a wash so they could dominate the rest of the game.