Kevin Durant 2013: 28 PPG, 8 RPG, 5 APG, 51/42/91

[KG215]

Save the bitching about FT's, being babied by the refs, etc. for another thread. I'm going into Durant stan mode for a minute.

This is the season of LeBron and the Heat, and rightfully so. They'll win the title barring an injury to LeBron, and LeBron is far and away the best player on the planet. I'm not starting this thread to try and argue that Durant is as good or better than LeBron, he's not, and never will be more than likely.

However....Durant is 24 years old and is wrapping-up his 6th season. He may play a quarter or two tomorrow night, I don't know what Scott Brooks plans to do with the main guys since the game has no meaning, so these averages could come down a tiny bit if he plays a quarter and goes for something like 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist. But ignore that for a minute. Durant just put the finishing touches on a 60 win, 1st in the West season with these averages:

28.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.3 BPG, .510/.416/.905, 64.7% TS, 55.9% eFG

Only higher scoring 50/40/90 season is Bird's 30 PPG season in 1988. And Bird had a 28.1 PPG 50/40/90 season in 1987. But that's it. It could be market size, LeBron's season, Westbrook's play post All-Star Break (I'd argue Westbrook was better than Durant in March and deserved POTM over KD, but that's another debate), Carmelo going off down the stretch, or the Kobe injury and Lakers drama...whatever the reason, it seems like Durant has kind of become an afterthought as the season winds down.

This thread may not get any replies, and that's fine. I figured I'd remind people just how good of a season he just had and, barring injury, he could be 3-4 years away from peaking.

[Electric Slide]

yeah he got a lot of FTs and gets babied by the refs to get those numbers, don't care.

[tpols]

He is not nearly as good as those numbers.

[Johnny Jones]

tldr

[TheMarkMadsen]

yeah he got a lot of FTs and gets babied by the refs to get those numbers, don't care.


April 13 posters with that quality.

Durant is having a monster season, its weird how its basically going un noticed by the media.

[shady6121]

yeah he got a lot of FTs and gets babied by the refs to get those numbers, don't care.

This.


He is not nearly as good as those numbers.

This.

[Ballin095]

Cool story, bro

[TheMarkMadsen]

He is not nearly as good as those numbers.


Explain that one to me. He's led his team to the best record & #1 seed in the west while statistically having his most dominant season ever.

He's improved his playmaking greatly & has become even more of a threat with the ball in his hands than ever before

[PJR]

He is not nearly as good as those numbers.

Oh yea? Please enlighten. :rolleyes:

Durant's year is probably the best runner up MVP season since 93 Jordan.

[daj0264]

MVP :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[Johnny Jones]

April 13 posters with that quality.

Durant is having a monster season, its weird how its basically going un noticed by the media.
:facepalm

[Leftimage]

Great season, terrific player. Unfortunately, I think many have realized this season that his style of play is, surprisingly, quite boring. He's not turning out to be the flag-bearer some had hoped for.

Looking solely at output though, this has gotta be one of the best non MVP seasons of all time.

[DonDadda59]

If Lebron had never been born, Durant would be considered the best player in the game and would probably be gearing up to collect his second MVP. But like Karl Malone before him, it just isn't in the cards for him.

[KG215]

He is not nearly as good as those numbers.
Please, explain.

[aj1987]

He is not nearly as good as those numbers.
You're kidding, right?

Great season for the kid. If he gets better defensively next year, he would be a lock for MVP.

[pauk]

Nothing to dislike about his game, efficient & great basketball and like it or not you can start arguing if he is the best shooter in the game aswell.

[Levity]

his trying to be more of an all around player/facilitator has greatly increased turnover rate, but overall, hes been great this season.

[BuffaloBill]

He's only getting better. Can't wait to see how good he is in a few years.

[clayton]

KDwhistle.

[KG215]

his trying to be more of an all around player/facilitator has greatly increased turnover rate, but overall, hes been great this season.

Actually...

2012: 3.8 TOV/G, 14.0 TOV%, 31.3 USG%
2013: 3.5 TOV/G, 13.7 TOV%, 29.8 USG%

He still needs to cut down on his turnovers, though, and I think he will as he progresses and gets more comfortable in this role.

[dekciw]

He's a monster. Hopefully he continues to improve which I believe he will. He would probably get a lot more praise if he wasn't playing in the same era as Lebron James... sad but true. Also, you got to be kidding yourself if you think he's not as good as these numbers, do yourself a favor and watch him for more than 5 games a season.

[daj0264]

He could average 35+ but he tries to be too much like Lebron.

[Levity]

Actually...

2012: 3.8 TOV/G, 14.0 TOV%, 31.3 USG%
2013: 3.5 TOV/G, 13.7 TOV%, 29.8 USG%

He still needs to cut down on his turnovers, though, and I think he will as he progresses and gets more comfortable in this role.

o my bad. i just assumed they increased this year, cause i remember watching games where he'd get 5 or more each time. definitely not as bad as i thought it was, but like you said, its something he needs to cut down next season.

[dekciw]

He could average 35+ but he tries to be too much like Lebron.


Can you blame him for trying to win games vs trying to win individual titles?

[Psycho]

his trying to be more of an all around player/facilitator has greatly increased turnover rate, but overall, hes been great this season.

Not true. His turnover rate is fairly consistent while his assist rate has increased somewhat.

Turnovers/36 mins by season:
3.0, 2.8, 3.0, 2.6, 3.5, 3.2

Assists / 36 mins by season:
2.5, 2.6, 2.6, 2.5, 3.3, 4.3

Nice try champ. Better luck next time. :sleeping

[WWRWestbrookDo?]

:bowdown: :bowdown: KD

[Levity]

Not true. His turnover rate is fairly consistent while his assist rate has increased somewhat.

Turnovers/36 mins by season:
3.0, 2.8, 3.0, 2.6, 3.5, 3.2

Assists / 36 mins by season:
2.5, 2.6, 2.6, 2.5, 3.3, 4.3

Nice try champ. Better luck next time. :sleeping

already addressed i was wrong. keep up the quality posts, tiger.

[KG215]

o my bad. i just assumed they increased this year, cause i remember watching games where he'd get 5 or more each time. definitely not as bad as i thought it was, but like you said, its something he needs to cut down next season.
He's just had a couple of 10ish game stretches where his turnovers were out of control. He started off the season (first 6 or 7 games) where he had 5-6 turnovers every game. Then he had another stretch in March where he did the same thing. If he could cut out those stretches, or just cut the number of games he goes on those really bad stretches, he could get his TOV/G down to a more reasonable 3 or so.

[Haymaker]

He needs to get those assist numbers up IMO.

[daj0264]

Can you blame him for trying to win games vs trying to win individual titles?


He could score more and still win, his team is too talented.

[Psycho]

already addressed i was wrong. keep up the quality posts, tiger.

You too, sweetcheeks.

[KyrieTheFuture]

He's great but this season was just weird to watch. He does not drive nearly enough to warrant the amount of fouls he receives

[The-Legend-24]

The only thing that's impressive about those numbers is the 91% from the FT line, to get about 20 free throws a game and shoot 91% is impressive.

:applause:

[scm5]

He needs to get those assist numbers up IMO.

Not really...

Passing isn't really his job, he should score, rebound, and defend and he's amongst the best at each of those in his position.

His defense really doesn't get enough credit. When you look at the statistics behind his defense, he could arguably be the best defender at his position. Yes, that includes Lebron.

[All Net]

epic

and he has taken more of Harden's role too.

[Electric Slide]

Nothing to dislike about his game, efficient & great basketball and like it or not you can start arguing if he is the best shooter in the game aswell.
Durant is probably the only superstar ever that I can legit say that I do not enjoy watching play.

[leMVP]

I think the problem with KD this year is he tried to cover for Harden's absence by playing a more of facilitator role, he's still adapting to this role so many times i see him on the court i feel something off from last year.

But putting 50/40/90 season is still impressive, so congrats to him.

[Leftimage]

Not really...

Passing isn't really his job, he should score, rebound, and defend and he's amongst the best at each of those in his position.

His defense really doesn't get enough credit. When you look at the statistics behind his defense, he could arguably be the best defender at his position. Yes, that includes Lebron.

Exactly. Durant is just as rare and unique a talent as Lebron is, but that's where the comparisons should end. They simply don't have the same skill sets. Besides, if Lebron was a silky smooth shooter like Durant, I'm fairly certain he'd have averaged less apg over his career.

I would love to see KD really make something of his freakish length and agility on defense - he needs to watch Larry Sanders tapes.

[Kiddlovesnets]

Durant's not the scoring champ anymore, nobody cares about him nowadays.

[KG215]

Not really...

Passing isn't really his job, he should score, rebound, and defend and he's amongst the best at each of those in his position.

His defense really doesn't get enough credit. When you look at the statistics behind his defense, he could arguably be the best defender at his position. Yes, that includes Lebron.
Durant is a better defender than I think he gets credit for, he's still nowhere close to the best at his position, and I know what even the advanced stats say. What mostly keeps him from being as good as he could be is consistent effort. He tends to fall asleep and get lost/lazy when he's off the ball. When he's locked in, though, he can be a pretty good on-ball defender.

[OldSkoolball#52]

Lets be honest, hes better right now than Kobe ever was.

[All Net]

Durant is a better defender than I think he gets credit for, he's still nowhere close to the best at his position, and I know what even the advanced stats say. What mostly keeps him from being as good as he could be is consistent effort. He tends to fall asleep and get lost/lazy when he's off the ball. When he's locked in, though, he can be a pretty good on-ball defender.

He's certainly better than he was in the finals for one...

[NumberSix]

All of Durants stats are heavily skewed by shady officiating.

[Haks]

Honestly speaking I think Kobe has been a better player than durant this season

[Rubio2Gasol]

Great season - though I have to say Westbrook impressed me more these past few months. But i think he's thoroughly earned the right to be labelled a top 2 player in the game over the past couple years.

Can still improve in timing.

[KG215]

Honestly speaking I think Kobe has been a better player than durant this season
Ummmm...care to explain?

[scm5]

Durant is a better defender than I think he gets credit for, he's still nowhere close to the best at his position, and I know what even the advanced stats say. What mostly keeps him from being as good as he could be is consistent effort. He tends to fall asleep and get lost/lazy when he's off the ball. When he's locked in, though, he can be a pretty good on-ball defender.

The thing is, Durant is such an effective defender that when you look at the overall stats, even with inconsistent effort, he has the best defensive stats.

His length and speed really bothers players.

[Ancient Legend]

Take away Durant's scoring and he is nothing. He had one of the emptiest 50 point games earlier this season.

When HE IS on a scoring tear, though, watch out.

[KG215]

Take away Durant's scoring and he is nothing. He had one of the emptiest 50 point games earlier this season.

When HE IS on a scoring tear, though, watch out.
Yeah, because the 8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and the effective disruptive defense (1.5 SPG and 1.5 BPG) just scream "nothing but a scorer."

[fozi]

Durant statistically had a great season.. I expected him to be more dominant than he is now, if you want to call it he dominated in the first place. But i understand having another player which i admire like Westbrook cant accept the fact that there is a first option and a second option...



I thought the battle between LeBron and Durant would be tougher, or tough to be more accurate...


LeBron is unarguably the best player this season, I put kobe before Durant this season ...


Although KD improved his overall game, he should control the games more.


Playoffs this season and next season will show if Durant has more room of improvement or not..



EDIT: Kobe played better as of post all-star and he was doing much more on the court than KD. The reason why i believe kobe is 2nd is because he still attracts defense more than Durant..


If you switched kobe and durant under the exact same circumstances, kobe would be more efficient while durant probably wouldnt, and here why dominance is the line between them ..

[The Choken One]

Cares about stats. Probably lost em a game or two because that pussyfoot.

[KG215]

Durant statistically had a great season.. I expected him to be more dominant than he is now, if you want to call it dominance. But i understand having another player which i admire like Westbrook cant accept the fact that there is a first option and a second option...



I thought the battle between LeBron and Durant would be tougher, or tough to be more accurate...


LeBron is unarguably the best player this season, I put kobe before Durant this season ...


Although KD improved his overall game, he should control the games more.


Playoffs this season and next season will show if Durant has more room of improvement or not..



EDIT: Kobe played better as of post all-star and he was doing much more on the court than KD. The reason why i believe kobe is 2nd is because he still attracts defense more than Durant..


If you switched kobe and durant under the exact same circumstances, kobe would be more efficient while durant probably wouldnt, and here why dominance is the line between them ..
So is this "Kobe was better than Durant this year" thing an actual thing? Or is it just something a few random fans believe? Did I miss something this year? Am I just supposed to ignore how remarkably good and how much better than Kobe Durant was pre All-Star break which was more than half the season?

And do people just watch 5-10 OKC games, and then form their opinions on Durant and Westbrook? I watched around 75 OKC games, and I can't think of many where Durant didn't see a double/triple team and/or trap almost every time he touched the ball. Maybe not every time, but most of the time, and double teams and traps were much more frequent post All-Star break.

I understand how great Kobe was this year and what he did. But I can't think of any objective measure, statistical, eye test, etc., that would tell me he was better than Durant this year.

[fozi]

So is this "Kobe was better than Durant this year" thing an actual thing? Or is it just something a few random fans believe? Did I miss something this year? Am I just supposed to ignore how remarkably good and how much better than Kobe Durant was pre All-Star break which was more than half the season?

And do people just watch 5-10 OKC games, and then form their opinions on Durant and Westbrook? I watched around 75 OKC games, and I can't think of many where Durant didn't see a double/triple team and/or trap almost every time he touched the ball. Maybe not every time, but most of the time, and double teams and traps were much more frequent post All-Star break.

I understand how great Kobe was this year and what he did. But I can't think of any objective measure, statistical, eye test, etc., that would tell me he was better than Durant this year.


Its arguable. As i said, if Durant was dominant this year than the story would be slightly different .. Kobe dominated games, played overall better than Durant.. thats how i see it ..


Durant's game is flawed unlike kobe plus what he did this year edges Durant from being 2nd..


Look, KD has a great potential and i was disappointed that he still couldn't include the dominance in his game yet. And i still see that him playing with Westbrook hurt his game, unless WB realizes and acknowledges that Durant is the first player in the team ..

In terms of duo, Durant and Harden would've been better together as a 1-2 punch.. But it would be crazy at the time of the decision that you trade away an athletic PG, which is rare in the NBA.
Other than that, my previous post pointed out the differences between kobe and KD this year..

[knicksman]

If Lebron had never cheated, Durant would be considered the best player in the game and would probably be gearing up to collect his second MVP. But like Karl Malone before him, it just isn't in the cards for him.
fixed

[DMAVS41]

Its arguable. As i said, if Durant was dominant this year than the story would be slightly different .. Kobe dominated games, played overall better than Durant.. thats how i see it ..


Durant's game is flawed unlike kobe plus what he did this year edges Durant from being 2nd..


Look, KD has a great potential and i was disappointed that he still couldn't include the dominance in his game yet. And i still see that him playing with Westbrook hurt his game, unless WB realizes and acknowledges that Durant is the first player in the team ..

In terms of duo, Durant and Harden would've been better together as a 1-2 punch.. But it would be crazy at the time of the decision that you trade away an athletic PG, which is rare in the NBA.
Other than that, my previous post pointed out the differences between kobe and KD this year..

Kobe has absolutely no argument over Durant this year. Durant is clearly the better player actually. Better offense and better defense. And able to produce without hogging the ball the way Kobe does.

You talked about switching Kobe and Durant. LOL...you'd see the Lakers easily make the playoffs and Westbrook and Kobe come to blows just about every other game. Give me a break.

:facepalm

[fozi]

Besides, Durant is more skilled than LeBron and is more of an offensive threat than James. I know Durant is younger but Durant couldn't maximize his talent yet.


One thing i blame Durant for doing, is when he trained with James, that was just pathetic, and it shows the lack of hunger Durant has, hopefully, he'd learn..


You simply dont train with the guy who owned you last season. And James contained and dominated Kd this season too !!

[knicksman]

Durant is probably the only superstar ever that I can legit say that I do not enjoy watching play.

because you only care about dunks and flashy highlights.

[ThatsGame]

Numbers HEAVILY skewed by bitch moves and poor officiating. I say this with the straightest face possible.

[fozi]

Kobe has absolutely no argument over Durant this year. Durant is clearly the better player actually. Better offense and better defense. And able to produce without hogging the ball the way Kobe does.

You talked about switching Kobe and Durant. LOL...you'd see the Lakers easily make the playoffs and Westbrook and Kobe come to blows just about every other game. Give me a break.

:facepalm

Well, if we take Kobe and Durant for example,


Kobe had 6 assists per game while KD 4.5 i guess.

Lakers average 22.1 assist per game while Oklahoma 21.4

LAL ranks 17 while OKC 21
http://stats.nba.com/leagueTeamGeneral.html?PerMode=PerGame&sortField=AST&sortOrder=DES

So that dismisses ball hogging thing :)

[DatAsh]

Durant is one of the best scorers I've ever seen, and he's only 24 years old. His age is really the most impressive thing. He's likely still 4-5 years from his peak.


He is not nearly as good as those numbers.

Usually, people say this when a player's puts up huge numbers on a losing team. You hear the term "empty stats" get thrown around a lot. That's not really applicable here. Durant just led his team to 60 wins with those stats.

[DatAsh]

Well, if we take Kobe and Durant for example,


Kobe had 6 assists per game while KD 4.5 i guess.

Lakers average 22.1 assist per game while Oklahoma 21.4

LAL ranks 17 while OKC 21
http://stats.nba.com/leagueTeamGeneral.html?PerMode=PerGame&sortField=AST&sortOrder=DES

So that dismisses ball hogging thing :)

His point was that Durant allows the other guys on his team a better chance of getting involved by playing off the ball more. You obviously missed that point. Kobe has no argument over Durant this year.

[DFB]

Besides, Durant is more skilled than LeBron and is more of an offensive threat than James. I know Durant is younger but Durant couldn't maximize his talent yet.


One thing i blame Durant for doing, is when he trained with James, that was just pathetic, and it shows the lack of hunger Durant has, hopefully, he'd learn..


You simply dont train with the guy who owned you last season. And James contained and dominated Kd this season too !!

So much stupidity in this post.

KD is more skilled than Lebron? :biggums:

More of an offensive threat? :wtf: .. Unless KD gets 15+ft then yes its arguable.

[Random_Guy]

After watchng a couple of OKC games myself, IMHO, I believe that KD could actually score a lot more than 28 a game. I think trying to play a Harden role/Lebron all rounder type is actually detrimental to his game. I always find it odd that people would consider all rounder types such as Lebron to be the BEST way of playing, when I believe that KD could still make OKC a monster team with super efficient scoring. In other words, if KD could keep his efficiency up (might slightly go down with more shots), I'd rather he score 35 then say get more assists next season. As of now, some of his playmaking still looks slightly forced, and is still a bit turnover prone. However, if he can continue to improve his playmaking and become an even better scorer (he is already an incredible one), his peak will be truly amazing.

However, as other posts have mentioned, I find KD's game to be one of the most boring amongst superstars, still superefficient tho :cheers:

Do I think that he is better then Bron? Nope, but that takes nothing away from him IMO. In regards to offensive skillsets, I for one believe that Bron actually has a better skillset because I think "offense" includes everything, not just scoring, but also the ability to control the flow of the whole game. KD is an amazing player, but will still have to improve before he gets to Brons level.

[fozi]

His point was that Durant allows the other guys on his team a better chance of getting involved by playing off the ball more. You obviously missed that point. Kobe has no argument over Durant this year.

Well doesnt that mean how team averages per game ?

It depends on how the team is playing .. Oklahoma has better chemistry together than the lakers .. As watching all lakers games this season, things didnt work without kobe having the ball, unfortunately. Otherwise he wouldnt need to play full games.. Teams like Chicago and Lakers have different strategies while MJ and Bryant are on the bench, here is when dominance comes through..


The reason why KD plays off ball because WB doesn't acknowledge KD as the first option .. When you watch in clutch time, KD plays isos( same as kobe) so moving off the ball isnt the factor between kobe and Durant to determine Durant plays better off the ball, because if he does than he would find an open shot or gets the ball in the paint ..( OKlahoma ppg is 106 i believe while Lakers are 102. (3rd and 6th if not mistaken)

[KG215]

It depends on how the team is playing .. Oklahoma has better chemistry together than the lakers .. As watching all lakers games this season, things didnt work without kobe having the ball, unfortunately. Otherwise he wouldnt need to play full games.. Teams like Chicago and Lakers have different strategies while MJ and Bryant are on the bench, here is when dominance comes through..
How a team performs when their star player is on the bench determines dominance?


When you watch in clutch time, KD plays isos( same as kobe) so moving off the ball isnt the factor between kobe and Durant to determine Durant plays better off the ball, because if he does than he would find an open shot or gets the ball in the paint.
Wrong. Durnt gets plenty of shots and points over the course of the game playing off the ball and in the flow of the offense. Just because they go iso Durant more in crunch time doesn't mean squat in that comparison. Durant absolutely does play better off the ball than Kobe. Using a part of a game (and in this case, it's not even every game since OKC had plenty of games tht were well in hand before "crunch time" of the 4th quarter) does not help your point.

[KG215]

Its arguable. As i said, if Durant was dominant this year than the story would be slightly different .. Kobe dominated games, played overall better than Durant.. thats how i see it ..
Where did you get the notion that Durant wasn't dominant this year? Since when is 28-8-5 on 50/40/90 shooting on a 60 win team not dominant? You see it that way because you admitted to watching Laker games this year, which means you're probably a Laker fan and a bit of a Kobe fanboy. Nothing wrong with that, but I think that's why you're seeing it that way.

Yes, Kobe has more of a flare for the dramatic. That was bound to happen quite a bit this year playing in LA on a team not living up to expectations, and being in close game after close game where someone was bound to be the hero the majority of the time when they pulled out a win. And obviously that someone was Kobe. What else can it be? What else made Kobe more dominant this year? Was it the back-to-back 40-12-5 games where they had to come from behind to pull out narrow victories over the Hornets and Raptors? The Thunder have a 9.36 SRS this year, the Lakers have a 1.42 SRS. Meaning OKC was blowing out a lot of teams and the Lakers were in a lot of close games. How does that make Kobe more dominant? I get his team had chemistry and injury issues, but I'm still not sure how Kobe could've been dominant this year but not Durant.



Durant's game is flawed unlike kobe plus what he did this year edges Durant from being 2nd..
How? How is Durant's game flawed but not Kobe's? If you're going to make this claim, you've got to at least explain yourself.



Look, KD has a great potential and i was disappointed that he still couldn't include the dominance in his game yet.
Here you are with the dominance thing again.

How about a 25 game stretch in November and December where he averaged 30-7-4-2-1 on 53/43/91 shooting and his team went 20-5?

How about another 10 game stretch in January where he averaged 34-7-5-2-1 on 53/42/94 shooting and OKC went 8-2? That included two 40 point games, a 50 point game, and a 37 point game in that stretch.

I'm just really confused as to where you're getting this whole "Durant was dominant" thing from.


Well, if we take Kobe and Durant for example,


Kobe had 6 assists per game while KD 4.5 i guess.

Lakers average 22.1 assist per game while Oklahoma 21.4

LAL ranks 17 while OKC 21
http://stats.nba.com/leagueTeamGener...&sortOrder=DES

So that dismisses ball hogging thing :)
Read more at http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296497&page=4#RY6y713xehDk88Ir.99
Kobe plays with the ball in his hands a lot more than Durant. He's basically the team's PG. Naturally he's going to average more assists. I'm not sure how that one statistic would prove he was better than Durant this year anyway.

And that doesn't mean I think Durant's a better passer/playmaker than Kobe, because he's not, but a couple more APG and one category doesn't really prove anything.

[All Net]

Didn't realise Durant now averages 5 assists per game?

[KG215]

Didn't realise Durant now averages 5 assists per game?
Well, technically 4.6 APG. I gave him a generous round-up. But I went stan mode for the OP. Generally, when a player is at .3, .4, .6, or .7, I usually say 1.5 or 2.5. But for aesthetics and propping-up purposes in the thread title, I went with 28-8-5 instead of 28-8-4.5.

Good news, though, is he could play tomorrow night, record 0 assists, and he'd still be averaging 4.56 APG on the season which would still round-up to 5. :D

Also, he's averaging 6.4 APG in 7 April games, and 5.9 APG in his last 10 games to 3.2 TOV/G. Really small sample size, but a near 2:1 A:TO ratio is actually pretty solid for a SF.

[joeysms55]

Just too bad but when I watch thunder games, it seems that Westbrook impacts the game more than him. Westbrook has more of a alpha dog attitude too

[All Net]

Well, technically 4.6 APG. I gave him a generous round-up. But I went stan mode for the OP. Generally, when a player is at .3, .4, .6, or .7, I usually say 1.5 or 2.5. But for aesthetics and propping-up purposes in the thread title, I went with 28-8-5 instead of 28-8-4.5.

Good news, though, is he could play tomorrow night, record 0 assists, and he'd still be averaging 4.56 APG on the season which would still round-up to 5. :D

Also, he's averaging 6.4 APG in 7 April games, and 5.9 APG in his last 10 games to 3.2 TOV/G. Really small sample size, but a near 2:1 A:TO ratio is actually pretty solid for a SF.

Still good for a SF...can't base all guys around Lebron's standard as a forward for assists.

[maybeshewill13]

GAWDrant :bowdown:

[Droid101]

Oh yea? Please enlighten. :rolleyes:

Durant's year is probably the best runner up MVP season since 93 Jordan.
2006 Kobe laughs at your assumptions.

[tazb]

Hands down one of the most if not the most overrated stat in NBA history. Especially the way Durant does it.:facepalm

[KG215]

Hands down one of the most if not the most overrated stat in NBA history. Especially the way Durant does it.:facepalm
I know you're a troll who only posts this type of stuff for attention, but don't you think 50/40/90 is still pretty impressive even if you think his FG% is inflated by the number of FT's he gets? I mean he's shot 750 FT's on the season and still made 90.5% of them. Is that not pretty damn impressive? And I guess the 42% 3P% on 4 attempts per game isn't anything special. And even if you think his FG% is inflated because of the FT's he gets, he's still shooting 51% on almost 18 shots per game. It's not like he's taking 10-15 shots a game to get his FG% at or above 50.

[Fudge]

GOATrant.

[fozi]

Where did you get the notion that Durant wasn't dominant this year? Since when is 28-8-5 on 50/40/90 shooting on a 60 win team not dominant? You see it that way because you admitted to watching Laker games this year, which means you're probably a Laker fan and a bit of a Kobe fanboy. Nothing wrong with that, but I think that's why you're seeing it that way.

Yes, Kobe has more of a flare for the dramatic. That was bound to happen quite a bit this year playing in LA on a team not living up to expectations, and being in close game after close game where someone was bound to be the hero the majority of the time when they pulled out a win. And obviously that someone was Kobe. What else can it be? What else made Kobe more dominant this year? Was it the back-to-back 40-12-5 games where they had to come from behind to pull out narrow victories over the Hornets and Raptors? The Thunder have a 9.36 SRS this year, the Lakers have a 1.42 SRS. Meaning OKC was blowing out a lot of teams and the Lakers were in a lot of close games. How does that make Kobe more dominant? I get his team had chemistry and injury issues, but I'm still not sure how Kobe could've been dominant this year but not Durant.



How? How is Durant's game flawed but not Kobe's? If you're going to make this claim, you've got to at least explain yourself.



Here you are with the dominance thing again.

How about a 25 game stretch in November and December where he averaged 30-7-4-2-1 on 53/43/91 shooting and his team went 20-5?

How about another 10 game stretch in January where he averaged 34-7-5-2-1 on 53/42/94 shooting and OKC went 8-2? That included two 40 point games, a 50 point game, and a 37 point game in that stretch.

I'm just really confused as to where you're getting this whole "Durant was dominant" thing from.


Kobe plays with the ball in his hands a lot more than Durant. He's basically the team's PG. Naturally he's going to average more assists. I'm not sure how that one statistic would prove he was better than Durant this year anyway.

And that doesn't mean I think Durant's a better passer/playmaker than Kobe, because he's not, but a couple more APG and one category doesn't really prove anything.


Was a reply to the other poster, i set durant as an example, nothing to do with our discussion ..


seeing this in the library, finals is on the corner so I'll be back to you when i finish ..

[Dro]

OP makes a great point, even used nice grammar..and the first few posts are idiots hating for no reason and nothing to back up their point....gotta love this site...

[Dro]

Durant's game is flawed unlike kobe plus what he did this year edges Durant from being 2nd..

:coleman: :confusedshrug:

[dannywpt]

Now: Improve your defense, cut down on turnovers, look to score instead of pass (but use the pass every time it gives OKC a better shot) and you can actually climb up to the level of play LeBron has shown this season.

Durant will never be the defender or playmaker LeBron is, but if he keeps improving in those areas and becomes an even bigger monster of in terms of scoring the title for the best player in the league could be very close the next 5 years. Right now, it's not very close.

[dunksby]

Damn so much hate flowing in here, makes me wanna puke...
Anyway Durant is clearly far better than any other player in the world not names LeBron James. Dominant season, 28/8/5 and having a 50/40/90 season and leading his team to a 60+ wins is just spectacular, if you can't appreciate this you are a ***.

[I.R.Beast]

He could score more and still win, his team is too talented.
too talented?...no they arent...the thunder is extremely top heavy with durant and westbrook.

[I.R.Beast]

Durant's defense has been good for 2 straight season now...he's had yet another season with a lower opponent FG% than lebron and is a better on ball defender than James yet again. Durant is part of the reason the thunder are one of the better defensive teams in the league. You guys are making it seem as if he plays no defense. It's amazing the way lack of media coverage of aspects of a players game will make it go un-noticed.

[DMAVS41]

Durant's defense has been good for 2 straight season now...he's had yet another season with a lower opponent FG% than lebron and is a better on ball defender than James yet again. Durant is part of the reason the thunder are one of the better defensive teams in the league. You guys are making it seem as if he plays no defense. It's amazing the way lack of media coverage of aspects of a players game will make it go un-noticed.

Exactly.

It's absurd how under-rated his season has become.

[klee]

You're kidding, right?

Great season for the kid. If he gets better defensively next year, he would be a lock for MVP.

That's the thing--it's not solely on his performance that'll determine if he gets the MVP. The guy is playing out of his mind this season but it still falls short of Lebron.

Just appreciate him for him; you don't need to bring in MVP talk and set expectations that put him above the entire rest of the league.

[PJR]

2006 Kobe laughs at your assumptions.

2006 Kobe isn't even in dicussion considering he only finished 4th in MVP voting that year. And his team only won 45 games.

[Jlamb47]

Durant is hel1 of a player. Beast season IMO

[madmax]

Lets be honest, hes better right now than Kobe ever was.

affirmative sir:applause:

[Suguru101]

This gets me on my nerves.... He doesn't have a 28 8 5. He has a 28 8 4.6

If he had 4.8 or 4.9 assists, yeah you could round up. But the dude has 4.6.... Relax with the numbers.

[STATUTORY]

This gets me on my nerves.... He doesn't have a 28 8 5. He has a 28 8 4.6

If he had 4.8 or 4.9 assists, yeah you could round up. But the dude has 4.6.... Relax with the numbers.

but 4.6 doesn't sound nearly as beast as 5... manipulate the data to fit the agenda.

[tazb]

I know you're a troll who only posts this type of stuff for attention, but don't you think 50/40/90 is still pretty impressive even if you think his FG% is inflated by the number of FT's he gets? I mean he's shot 750 FT's on the season and still made 90.5% of them. Is that not pretty damn impressive? And I guess the 42% 3P% on 4 attempts per game isn't anything special. And even if you think his FG% is inflated because of the FT's he gets, he's still shooting 51% on almost 18 shots per game. It's not like he's taking 10-15 shots a game to get his FG% at or above 50.

Meh I agree the only impressive part about the stat is his free throw shooting. Other than that though nothing impressive. If he's shooting at let's say 5/10, he won't shoot out the perimeter anymore unless he gets a lay-up or a dunk just to protect his FG%. And it's crazy to think with the season Durant has had, that there is another playing having a better season, right?:eek:

[baccano]

Amazing season by KD.

Historic by the numbers!

It only lacked a better "storyline", or moments, since it kinda went under the radar.

[theBIGjabroni]

Amazing season by KD.

Historic by the numbers!

It only lacked a better "storyline", or moments, since it kinda went under the radar.
its because his game is freakin boring to watch like leshortcuts

[Iceman#44]

Still Melo takes the Scoring Title...:rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

[KG215]

This gets me on my nerves.... He doesn't have a 28 8 5. He has a 28 8 4.6

If he had 4.8 or 4.9 assists, yeah you could round up. But the dude has 4.6.... Relax with the numbers.
If you go back a couple of pages, I admit I generously rounded up for him. I even said I normally take 0.3, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.7 and say 0.5 but didn't in this one instance. It's not like this is something new. I've seen plenty of other posters round something like 5.5 or 5.6 up to 6. So chill, I meant no harm.

[KG215]

Still Melo takes the Scoring Title...:rockon: :rockon: :rockon:
Yes he did, and he earned and deserves it. Durant still had a far superior season.

[KG215]

Meh I agree the only impressive part about the stat is his free throw shooting. Other than that though nothing impressive. If he's shooting at let's say 5/10, he won't shoot out the perimeter anymore unless he gets a lay-up or a dunk just to protect his FG%. And it's crazy to think with the season Durant has had, that there is another playing having a better season, right?:eek:
If he's shooting 5/10 and won't shoot anything but layups and dunks the rest of the game, then how'd he average nearly 18 FGA/G? He'd rarely get those extra 8 FGA every game if he was too worried about protecting his percentages so he wouldn't shoot anymore jumpers. And 42% from 3 is really imressive considering he attempted 4 a game.

[CeltsGarlic]

Hes nothing without refs and his FT.
FT should be named DT. Durant Throws.

[dannywpt]

Hes nothing without refs and his FT.
FT should be named DT. Durant Throws.

:lebroncry:

[dh144498]

KD is a big time player. Great numbers. It's crazy that he might put up better numbers in the next couple of years. :applause:

[ShaqAttack3234]

Great season for him, he's seemed to improve every season. He's obviously one of the greatest scorers in recent years, and most impressive is that he does it on a contending team, but it's clear that he's worked hard to become more of an all around player. His defense has improved to the point where he's above average. A lot of that has to do with how disruptive a 6'10" player can be with a 7'5" wingspan and mobility. He's clearly improved his ball-handling and passing quite a bit, though I'd say he still has to work on that more because he does seem to lose the ball quite a bit. He did see more double teams after the all-star break, though so those criticizing him for trying to be more of a playmaker have to keep that in mind. He really is a remarkable shooter though, if he gets a decent look, I expect every shot to go in. What I like is that he's a great shooter from everywhere, not just 3s, and at 6'10", it's nearly impossible to contest his shot.


Oh yea? Please enlighten. :rolleyes:

Durant's year is probably the best runner up MVP season since 93 Jordan.

Lets not carried away. Aside from the year Shaq actually was voted MVP(2000) he had several other years I'd say were clearly better than Durants year. Kobe as well, KG in 2003 and Wade in 2009.


He could average 35+ but he tries to be too much like Lebron.

Who cares? There have been a number of players who probably could have averaged 35+, but few do it or come close because you're most likely not going to contend scoring that much. Durant is on a contender so unless that changes, he'll continue scoring an efficient 28 ppg or so, while probably continuing to improve his all around game as he's done every season. That approach is much better for OKC than if he was out there gunning for 30 ppg.


Lets be honest, hes better right now than Kobe ever was.

No.


This gets me on my nerves.... He doesn't have a 28 8 5. He has a 28 8 4.6

If he had 4.8 or 4.9 assists, yeah you could round up. But the dude has 4.6.... Relax with the numbers.

This isn't uncommon, and many just don't feel like typing out the exact numbers. Nothing wrong with rounding to the nearest number.

[Frozen1]

Lebron second year was better than this Durant season. Also Wade had a much better season in 2009 and finished third in MVP vote.

Back then, players usually got scoring titles putting 30+ points per game, now melo will get his with 28.

The league getting weaker each year, and now guys think that a good season by Durant is worth comparing with all time great seasons. And don`t come with that 50/40/90 crap because that's random stats, just like that Lebron 10 game 30points/60% fg stretch that ESPN hyped so much.

[chosen_wun]

If LeBron only played 36 minutes a game his numbers would still be more impressive than Durant's actual averages on the season.

Durant is still having an amazing season though.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Lebron second year was better than this Durant season. Also Wade had a much better season in 2009 and finished third in MVP vote.

Back then, players usually got scoring titles putting 30+ points per game, now melo will get his with 28.

The league getting weaker each year, and now guys think that a good season by Durant is worth comparing with all time great seasons. And don`t come with that 50/40/90 crap because that's random stats, just like that Lebron 10 game 30points/60% fg stretch that ESPN hyped so much.

You think second year Lebron was better than Durant is currently? :wtf:

Who cares if Melo is getting a scoring title averaging 29 ppg rather than 30? Hell, his numbers were lowered by the 3 games in March where he left early vs Cleveland due to the knee injury, and tried to return to early and couldn't really play. In those 3 games, his scoring average dropped from 28.6 ppg to 27.5 ppg. Take those 3 games out and his average would be 29.5.

By the way, Shaq averaged 29 when he got his first scoring title, same with Jordan when he got his last(actually it was Melo's exact current average now at 28.7), Iverson got one in '99 averaging 27 and T-Mac got one in '04 averaging 28.

The reason we're not seeing 30+ ppg seasons lately is because the best scorers and stars are pretty much all on 50-60 win teams.

[KG215]

Lebron second year was better than this Durant season. Also Wade had a much better season in 2009 and finished third in MVP vote.

Back then, players usually got scoring titles putting 30+ points per game, now melo will get his with 28.

The league getting weaker each year, and now guys think that a good season by Durant is worth comparing with all time great seasons. And don`t come with that 50/40/90 crap because that's random stats, just like that Lebron 10 game 30points/60% fg stretch that ESPN hyped so much.
50/40/90 is random? Since when?

Each of those numbers is kind of the barometer to which scorers are considered efficient or not. I'm not saying you have to shoot 50% to be considered efficient (I think generally anything around 47% and up is really efficient for a perimeter player) but that's kind of the dividing line. Same with 40%+ 3P shooters and 90%+ FT shooters. If you're shooting at or above those specific marks from the field, 3P, or FT line, you're generally considered one of the best shooters from that specific area. So when a payer shoots at or above those percentages in all 3 areas, it's pretty damn impressive. Especially when you consider the number of FGA and points Durant averaged per game.

[Jlamb47]

You think second year Lebron was better than Durant is currently? :wtf:

Who cares if Melo is getting a scoring title averaging 29 ppg rather than 30? Hell, his numbers were lowered by the 3 games in March where he left early vs Cleveland due to the knee injury, and tried to return to early and couldn't really play. In those 3 games, his scoring average dropped from 28.6 ppg to 27.5 ppg. Take those 3 games out and his average would be 29.5.

By the way, Shaq averaged 29 when he got his first scoring title, same with Jordan when he got his last(actually it was Melo's exact current average now at 28.7), Iverson got one in '99 averaging 27 and T-Mac got one in '04 averaging 28.

The reason we're not seeing 30+ ppg seasons lately is because the best scorers and stars are pretty much all on 50-60 win teams.

Also because superstars are now teaming up sharing the ball

[KG215]

If LeBron only played 36 minutes a game his numbers would still be more impressive than Durant's actual averages on the season.

Durant is still having an amazing season though.
Why do you feel the need to make random posts about LeBron in this thread? No one is trying to compare him to LeBron. That wasn't why I started the thread.

[chosen_wun]

Why do you feel the need to make random posts about LeBron in this thread? No one is trying to compare him to LeBron. That wasn't why I started the thread.
You mentioned in your OP that Durant's season has become an afterthought due to LeBron's, and im helping you better understand the cause.

[KG215]

You mentioned in your OP that Durant's season has become an afterthought due to LeBron's, and im helping you better understand the cause.
Right, I mentioned it. I understand perfectly why Durant's season wasn't as good as LeBron's. You're not posting things I, or any other sensible fan don't already know.

[knicksman]

You mentioned in your OP that Durant's season has become an afterthought due to LeBron's, and im helping you better understand the cause.

well jordan 32 8 8 only won 47 while 30 4 6 jordan won 72 games. Same with oscar who didnt win a single championship as the man.

[Burgz V2]

He is not nearly as good as those numbers.

this is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen on this board.

YES, he IS as good as those numbers because he is GETTING those numbers, not to mention on the best team in the western conference.

:facepalm

[KG215]

The thread is 8 pages long and 2 days old and tpols still hasn't addressed his ignorant comment, despite being called out on it probably 10 times.

[tpols]

this is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen on this board.

YES, he IS as good as those numbers because he is GETTING those numbers, not to mention on the best team in the western conference.

:facepalm
What? It isn't possible to have inflated stats and percentages on a good team? Durant assist to turnover ratio is ass. 4.6/3.8.. His FG is heavily inflated because of all the excessive bailout calls he gets.. Which also allows him to pad his FTs and obviously his ppg.

He also isn't a dominant takeover the game type player. He picks and chooses his shots intermittently throughout the game instead of hitting you with a dominant few minute long stretch to take a lead or cut a big deficit. Not all of the time obviously.. I've seen Durant take over four quarters and play unbelievably clutch. He can be clutch as he'll to close games but I don't see as many of those big pushes in the middle of games.. Westbrook on the other hand tries to do that all game sometimes at the expense of the team.

It's like last year's finals though. Okc was in close games with the heat all series and Durant put up great numbers but it didn't seem like it. Because he wasn't stringing anything together.. And his D was exposed. But whatever man.. Well see if he can make that type of impact in the playoffs.

[Burgz V2]

What? It isn't possible to have inflated stats and percentages on a good team? Durant assist to turnover ratio is ass. 4.6/3.8.. His FG is heavily inflated because of all the excessive bailout calls he gets.. Which also allows him to pad his FTs and obviously his ppg.

He also isn't a dominant takeover the game type player. He picks and chooses his shots intermittently throughout the game instead of hitting you with a dominant few minute long stretch to take a lead or cut a big deficit. Not all of the time obviously.. I've seen Durant take over four quarters and play unbelievably clutch. He can be clutch as he'll to close games but I don't see as many of those big pushes in the middle of games.. Westbrook on the other hand tries to do that all game sometimes at the expense of the team.

It's like last year's finals though. Okc was in close games with the heat all series and Durant put up great numbers but it didn't seem like it. Because he wasn't stringing anything together.. And his D was exposed. But whatever man.. Well see if he can make that type of impact in the playoffs.

what superstar doesnt get bailout calls? this whole thing about his FT/g is seriously overblown. dude will get fouled on one jumpshot every game and people will act like he gets fouled 20 times a game. No, this year Durant has attacked the rim more than any other season. if you dont believe look it up on (http://vorped.com/bball/index.php/player/shotchart/1106-Kevin-Durant/season/2012-2013-REG).

None of what you said actually explains why his stats are inflated. TO/g? You do realize he is the star player of his team and has plays run for him almost one third of the time his team has possession. Wouldn't it make sense that by sheer volume of possession and for the position he plays and for the role he plays on his team (a scorer) that his AST to TO ratio would NOT be high/league leading? That is just common sense, it does not apply even to this conversation.

The rest of your argument doesn't even make sense. You even put forth a possible explanation to your own scenario (ie. Westbrook). So because he doesn't drop an even amount of points throughout all 4 qtrs, that implies his stats are empty?

And he got "exposed" in the finals playing against the best basketball player in the world and still did fairly well, for a 23 yr old no less.

Everything you said is nitpicking. Durant is an amazing player and deserves all the credit for the season he's had. Give credit where credit is due, otherwise, you are just hating.

[ShaqAttack3234]

what superstar doesnt get bailout calls? this whole thing about his FT/g is seriously overblown. dude will get fouled on one jumpshot every game and people will act like he gets fouled 20 times a game. No, this year Durant has attacked the rim more than any other season. if you dont believe look it up on

Actually, Durant attempted 3.9 shots at the rim this season, 4.2 last season, 5.0 in 2010 and 4.9 in 2009. Even attempted 4.4 shots at the rim during his rookie season. He only attempted less shots at the rim in 2011 when he had 3.2 attempts at the rim.

[KG215]

What? It isn't possible to have inflated stats and percentages on a good team? Durant assist to turnover ratio is ass. 4.6/3.8.. His FG is heavily inflated because of all the excessive bailout calls he gets.. Which also allows him to pad his FTs and obviously his ppg.
Bailout calls aside, I hate when people say things like his FG% is "heavily" inflated because of the FT's, like he'd be shooting 5%+ points worse if it wasn't for the FT's.


He also isn't a dominant takeover the game type player. He picks and chooses his shots intermittently throughout the game instead of hitting you with a dominant few minute long stretch to take a lead or cut a big deficit. Not all of the time obviously.. I've seen Durant take over four quarters and play unbelievably clutch. He can be clutch as he'll to close games but I don't see as many of those big pushes in the middle of games.. Westbrook on the other hand tries to do that all game sometimes at the expense of the team.
You just contradicted yourself first off, because yous aid he doesn't take over and dominate games, but admitted he's clutch and does take over in 4th quarters. And he's gone on scoring surges plenty of times in the 2nd or 3rd quarters to create some separation. I saw him do it twice (both games in the 3rd quarter) in OKC's last 10 games or so.


It's like last year's finals though. Okc was in close games with the heat all series and Durant put up great numbers but it didn't seem like it. Because he wasn't stringing anything together.. And his D was exposed. But whatever man.. Well see if he can make that type of impact in the playoffs.
I can see where you're coming from here, but the fact is he still averaged something like 31 PPG on 55% shooting in the Finals. And how did his defense get exposed? I'm not saying I disagree, I just want to see why you think that. And even if it did, he's proven this year he's not a bad defender, or even just an average defender.