Re: Let's settle this: Kevin Durant vs. Carmelo Anthony
Fact: something that is indisputably true.
Saying that Durant is better offensively from everywhere on the floor is not only disputable, but it's flat out incorrect, as I've already shown that Melo was more efficient from 16-23 feet and 3 point range (although he attempted fewer 3's than Durant, so you can make the same argument I made regarding finishing around the hoop).
Their attempts at the rim are not within range at all, unless you have an incredibly large range.
Quoting yourself, forgive me, but I thought it was obvious that it's illogical to round the numbers to the nearest whole number when doing so skews the stats so much. Melo attempted 83% more shots at the rim than Durant, and yet you rounded it down to 25%. That's a gigantic difference.
So you're basically ignoring that players are able to improve their games. Based on this logic, we can say Durant is absolute garbage in the post-season based upon how he played in the previous season when his stats were god awful.
...or they may not stay consistent...
Not really. Instead of taking shots in his most efficient spot on the floor, he settles for shots from his least efficient spots or passes a shot up to his offensively-lacking teammates.
Agreed, but as we saw in the series against Dallas, it's not the best idea in the world to put your scorers in position to take shots from their worst spots on the floor, and yet that's what Durant insists on doing.
This is true, but at the ends of games when you need to get shots from your hot spots, Melo knows where to go and does so without problem. Durant seems to struggle with that.
What was obvious? The only thing obvious was that Durant messed up badly.
How was it a busted play? It was busted because he busted it. Moreover, how do we know the back screen was covered well? Durant set up the screen horrifically, and then completely ignored it all together and just ran into Westbrook, causing himself to be surrounded by defenders instead of having some space to operate. Also, Durant was not tripled when they set the screen for him. There were only two players on his side of the court, and had he used the screen, it most likely would have resulted in a 3 pointer, a one dribble pull up, or a backdoor cut against the slow footed Dirk with Tyson Chandler rotating over to helpside late. I think you can agree that any of those options are much more preferred over heaving a 40 foot shot into Shawn Marion's arm.
No, you came off as condescending because you continue to think that your opinion is more than an opinion.
Let me try again.
You said:
1. There was nothing OKC could do to beat Dallas. They were simply the inferior team and they couldn't do anything about it.
2. Scott Brooks cost them the series.
If you believe #1, it implies that #2 is false, and vice versa.
I'll agree that OKC is the better team right now, but after the way OKC fell apart against Dallas in the 4th quarters of games, specifically Durant's inability to use screens and get to his spots, and Westbrook's turnovers, I question whether or not OKC is really in good hands if they have to rely on Durant to win on an isolation play.
Cook is undoubtedly a better 3 point shooter, but at the same time, Thabo was shooting over 60% in the series and had knocked down quite a few open looks. Also, Thabo was the guy that Scott Brooks trusted to inbound the ball, which ended up being tough, but he made a good pass. And lastly, Thabo was nowhere near the play, and the defense still stayed by him and never really played any help defense on Durant or Westbrooks.
Regarding the first bolded statement, Melo's run to the WCF was just as good if not better than Durant's. He was more efficient from the field and 3 point line, and averaged over 4 assist per game while Durant averaged less than 3, and yet he turned the ball over less while having a higher usage rate. Also, while Melo has had a couple of poor post-seasons, Durant's still been in the league just 3 years, and out of his 2 post-season runs, one was god-awful, just like Melo's first playoff experience was.
Regarding the second bolded statement, I don't think anybody has said Durant is the 2nd best player in the NBA, even last year, besides perhaps yourself. People said he had the potential to be, and I don't disagree with that, but anyone that believes Durant was a top 2 player last year is jumping the gun in my opinion.
Regarding the third bolded statement, how exactly has Durant averaged 29 points per game in his playoffs career without ever having averaged that much in either of his two post-season runs?
Fact: something that is indisputably true.
Saying that Durant is better offensively from everywhere on the floor is not only disputable, but it's flat out incorrect, as I've already shown that Melo was more efficient from 16-23 feet and 3 point range (although he attempted fewer 3's than Durant, so you can make the same argument I made regarding finishing around the hoop).
Their attempts at the rim are not within range at all, unless you have an incredibly large range.
Quoting yourself, forgive me, but I thought it was obvious that it's illogical to round the numbers to the nearest whole number when doing so skews the stats so much. Melo attempted 83% more shots at the rim than Durant, and yet you rounded it down to 25%. That's a gigantic difference.
So you're basically ignoring that players are able to improve their games. Based on this logic, we can say Durant is absolute garbage in the post-season based upon how he played in the previous season when his stats were god awful.
...or they may not stay consistent...
Not really. Instead of taking shots in his most efficient spot on the floor, he settles for shots from his least efficient spots or passes a shot up to his offensively-lacking teammates.
Agreed, but as we saw in the series against Dallas, it's not the best idea in the world to put your scorers in position to take shots from their worst spots on the floor, and yet that's what Durant insists on doing.
This is true, but at the ends of games when you need to get shots from your hot spots, Melo knows where to go and does so without problem. Durant seems to struggle with that.
What was obvious? The only thing obvious was that Durant messed up badly.
How was it a busted play? It was busted because he busted it. Moreover, how do we know the back screen was covered well? Durant set up the screen horrifically, and then completely ignored it all together and just ran into Westbrook, causing himself to be surrounded by defenders instead of having some space to operate. Also, Durant was not tripled when they set the screen for him. There were only two players on his side of the court, and had he used the screen, it most likely would have resulted in a 3 pointer, a one dribble pull up, or a backdoor cut against the slow footed Dirk with Tyson Chandler rotating over to helpside late. I think you can agree that any of those options are much more preferred over heaving a 40 foot shot into Shawn Marion's arm.
No, you came off as condescending because you continue to think that your opinion is more than an opinion.
Let me try again.
You said:
1. There was nothing OKC could do to beat Dallas. They were simply the inferior team and they couldn't do anything about it.
2. Scott Brooks cost them the series.
If you believe #1, it implies that #2 is false, and vice versa.
I'll agree that OKC is the better team right now, but after the way OKC fell apart against Dallas in the 4th quarters of games, specifically Durant's inability to use screens and get to his spots, and Westbrook's turnovers, I question whether or not OKC is really in good hands if they have to rely on Durant to win on an isolation play.
Cook is undoubtedly a better 3 point shooter, but at the same time, Thabo was shooting over 60% in the series and had knocked down quite a few open looks. Also, Thabo was the guy that Scott Brooks trusted to inbound the ball, which ended up being tough, but he made a good pass. And lastly, Thabo was nowhere near the play, and the defense still stayed by him and never really played any help defense on Durant or Westbrooks.
Regarding the first bolded statement, Melo's run to the WCF was just as good if not better than Durant's. He was more efficient from the field and 3 point line, and averaged over 4 assist per game while Durant averaged less than 3, and yet he turned the ball over less while having a higher usage rate. Also, while Melo has had a couple of poor post-seasons, Durant's still been in the league just 3 years, and out of his 2 post-season runs, one was god-awful, just like Melo's first playoff experience was.
Regarding the second bolded statement, I don't think anybody has said Durant is the 2nd best player in the NBA, even last year, besides perhaps yourself. People said he had the potential to be, and I don't disagree with that, but anyone that believes Durant was a top 2 player last year is jumping the gun in my opinion.
Regarding the third bolded statement, how exactly has Durant averaged 29 points per game in his playoffs career without ever having averaged that much in either of his two post-season runs?
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