It's a game of horse people lol.
Kevin Durant
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Re: Kevin Durant
I just haven't seen anything real athletic from him ever. He's had a couple nice dunks but it's not real hard to do that when you're 6'9 and have a 7'5 wingspan. He just doesn't seem to be real explosive. He doesn't finish around the basket with incredible hangtime or anything like someone such as LeBron or Kobe that makes you say "Wow." I dunno, he just seems unathletic.[NYK|DAL|VT]
A true MC, y'all doing them regular degular dance songs
You losin' your teeth, moving like using Kevin Durant comb
Royce da 5'9"
Originally posted by DCAllAmericanHow many brothers fell victim to the skeet.........Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
Kevin isn't as explosive as Kobe or Lebron. Well, no one on the perimeter is as explosive as Lebron, so let's just throw that out of the window.
Kevin is athletic though. He's just a more unique athlete. He's skills first, so he doesn't seek to solve problems with athleticism. Plus he's a rail thin 20 year old, so some of his athletic abilities will shine more as his strength increases. Unatheletic would be a stretch though.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
KD is definitely athletic. Do I need to post a KD montage? LOL
The gap between his and LBJ's is the reason why I don't think KD will ever approach LBJ's class.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
That's a philosophical difference you and I have, Ex. You put a lot of stock into athletic ability. I'm looking at the whole package:
Work Ethic+Atheletics+Skills+Basketball IQ+Competitiveness
If you look at the greatest players in NBA history, even recent history, you'll see that many of them had KD's athletic ability or less, but made up for it in other areas. For me, since his Work Ethic, Skills and Competitiveness are SO high, I think sky is the limit. Not to mention his unbelievable height and length.
Again, if he's doing what he's doing with his body and age now, you're basically saying there will only be marginal improvement for him not to be in the elite of the NBA. He's already as good as it gets as far as shooting, and a legit 2nd tier scorer. He only needs a slight nudge to be a 1st Class scorer. That nudge can either come in the weight room, or from his constantly increasing Bball IQ.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
We could go on and on about this for days, weeks.
The only thing I'll say is LBJ's feel for the game paired with his supreme physical tools [God-given] will keep him at the top of the world until he retires. The way he can elevate his teammates is off the charts. 24 isn't all that old either, his roof is still sky high.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
When you said Lebron's class, I thought you meant overall people in the first tier of productivity, which for me would include Kobe, Wade, Duncan, Howard etc...
The thing Lebron has to face, that Jordan and even Kobe/Shaq did not have to face, is that there is more star talent in the league set up for his championship run years. With last year and this year's draft, plus the guys who were here before, there are going to be a lot more 1-2 and 1-2-3 punches in the league in the coming years. Being individually better than everyone else won't be good enough unless you are miles ahead of them, like Jordan was.
Lebron is exceptionally gifted, and he has a great Bball IQ to go with it, but IMO other people are close enough that two or three of them on a team that defends could keep Lebron from dominating the league in terms of championships. Championships/Finals appearances is how I define dominance, btw.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
It's no secret that Durant was going to a player with a very prosperous NBA career.
Going into the draft he was regarded by many as one of the best all round players
since Michael Jordan. There are plenty of supporting articles to this effect.
When the Buckeyes played for the National Championship, Oden got all the attention
and eventually he was pipped up for being the number one pick in the draft. If I
were Portland I would have taken the best overall player in Durant and NOT the
best player at a position they needed (at center). Durant was simply TOO GOOD
to pass up on. As a Longhorns' fan Durant nearly carried this team, and as a
Raptor's fan everytime I see him play he simply destroys us and makes Bosh
look like an afterthought.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
^ That is SKILL.
Athleticism is jumping ability, speed, strength, etc........
Durant isn't a GREAT athlete. He is a ball player. VERY skilled ball player. If you are THAT skilled, you can get by with not having SUPER athleticsim.
Hell, Kobe isn't that GREAT of an athlete when you compare him to Bron, TMAC, Vince, Iverson. Kobe worked his tail off. He was a good athlete, above average, but even in his prime he wasn't on those dudes levels that I named.
Skill is the most important thing
Like Bill Walton said
It isn't how HIGH you jump, it is when and where you jump.
It isn't about strength, it is all about positioning and maneuvering.Concrete evidence/videos pleaseComment
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Re: Kevin Durant
Exactly. Thats a really good point and is 100% trueComment
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Re: Kevin Durant
Excellently stated, DC. Though I will say, I think we underestimate Kobe's athleticism because of VC and Lebron's ELITE athleticism.
All things taken into account, balance, flexibility, speed, strength, explosiveness--Kobe is a very impressive athlete in his prime. I used to regard him as above average, but watching some old footage of him from the ages of 19-22, and he was one of the most athletic SGs in the NBA, and that's really saying a lot. I think we take for granted that Kobe moves like a PG in most respects. He's a very good athlete, and maybe even a great athlete, but Vince and Lebron are one of a kind athletes. They should only be part of the equation if we're also including guys like Voshon Lenard.
Kevin Durant isn't as athletic as Kobe, but he's a "good" athlete. Size is a factor, because different sizes require different levels of athleticism for different tasks. For Nate's size, jumping and strength are more challenging. For Durant's size, agility and quickness are challenging.
He plays such a laid back game that it's hard to gauge his athleticism. He almost reminds me of Brandon Roy in that he seems to be athletic enough for the situation. Kevin is so long that you're not going to see him jump very high to try and dunk. Right now he's so weak that he doesn't have enough power to explode through anyone, so he relies on his extraordinary skills to keep him out of contact situations.
Durant is also a normal kid like Kobe was, in a certain sense. Most 18-21 year old basketball players are skinny, and have to work hard to put on weight until they get into their early-mid 20s. That's why most people's prime years are from 27-30. In that sense, we have to wait for Durant to develop to see what kind of athlete he's going to really be.
We get a little spoiled with guys like Lebron and Mayo, who have very mature bodies at a young age.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
Excellently stated, DC. Though I will say, I think we underestimate Kobe's athleticism because of VC and Lebron's ELITE athleticism.
All things taken into account, balance, flexibility, speed, strength, explosiveness--Kobe is a very impressive athlete in his prime. I used to regard him as above average, but watching some old footage of him from the ages of 19-22, and he was one of the most athletic SGs in the NBA, and that's really saying a lot. I think we take for granted that Kobe moves like a PG in most respects. He's a very good athlete, and maybe even a great athlete, but Vince and Lebron are one of a kind athletes. They should only be part of the equation if we're also including guys like Voshon Lenard.
Kevin Durant isn't as athletic as Kobe, but he's a "good" athlete. Size is a factor, because different sizes require different levels of athleticism for different tasks. For Nate's size, jumping and strength are more challenging. For Durant's size, agility and quickness are challenging.
He plays such a laid back game that it's hard to gauge his athleticism. He almost reminds me of Brandon Roy in that he seems to be athletic enough for the situation. Kevin is so long that you're not going to see him jump very high to try and dunk. Right now he's so weak that he doesn't have enough power to explode through anyone, so he relies on his extraordinary skills to keep him out of contact situations.
Durant is also a normal kid like Kobe was, in a certain sense. Most 18-21 year old basketball players are skinny, and have to work hard to put on weight until they get into their early-mid 20s. That's why most people's prime years are from 27-30. In that sense, we have to wait for Durant to develop to see what kind of athlete he's going to really be.
We get a little spoiled with guys like Lebron and Mayo, who have very mature bodies at a young age.
O.J mayo, like brandon Roy is a sneaky athlete. They both were thought to not be elite athletes as far as quickness, Jumping ability coming out of college. But they also both proved all the scouts wrong. They both had 41 inch verticals. Though they might not have outstanding quickness. They both have high iq's and they both understand the game like veterans for being very young players. They both can get wherever they want on the court simply because of their iq's.Comment
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Re: Kevin Durant
I mostly agree with you, but when I said "we underestimate", I was speaking specifically about me and DC. It's actually because his athleticism was overrated that I think people do this. The tendency is to focus on the most phenomenal athletes, then the great ones, and ignore everyone else.
But like I said, I overall agree. I probably disagree on the quickness point, but that's minor. I just can't think of many 6'6" 2 guards in history that were quicker than Kobe offensively or defensively. His first step has never been in question.
Great point on elite body control. Kobe's most impressive feature--IMO--is how he competes athletically with superior athletes based on willpower and body control.
But back to Kevin!
You take Lebron out of the equation, and look at Kevin's size, quickness and flexibility, and I think you have one of the toughest physical matchups in the league at SF. If you're a defender, even besides his shooting, his quickness and length are a real problem. It's something he's taking more advantage of as he gains experience. I hate to overstate the point, but his lack of strength is really skewing the rest of his athletic abilities right now.Comment
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