Kevin Durant: 'Obviously our players aren't as good' as before

[SamuraiSWISH]

Arguably the 2nd best and 3rd best players in the league are on the same team along with an elite interior defender and some other solid role players like Jackson and Waiters. What more does he need?

Seriously ... it's just this buddy-buddy AAU generation. Bron needed to stack the decks to play competitively the past 5 years. No one wants to own their situation, and just ball. Let the roster chips fall where they may ... even Kobe said he didn't want to be in LA after having to deal with just 2x years of lack of talent. Well, I guess not everyone is competitive enough to just help mold your neck best player the way Mike did.

[JT123]

Seriously ... it's just this buddy-buddy AAU generation. Bron needed to stack the decks to play competitively the past 5 years. No one wants to own their situation, and just ball. Let the roster chips fall where they may ... even Kobe said he didn't want to be in LA after having to deal with just 2x years of lack of talent. Well, I guess not everyone is competitive enough to just help mold your neck best player the way Mike did.

Why isn't Mike "molding" any players on the Hornets?
1-9 without Pippen

[dubeta]

Why isn't Mike "molding" any players on the Hornets?
1-9 without Pippen

This.


MJ is great and all, but I seriously can't have him as GOAT with that 1-9 record, takes away from his 'legacy'.

[tpols]

So having the most stacked team in the league still isn't enough?

You have to compare their stackedness to their competition. Usually having a second option like Westbrook and elite defenders would be enough but when other stars have blake Griffin and better coaching, zbo and Conley, Parker Manu Kawhai and pop, klay bogut and Kerr, Ellis Tyson Parsons and Carlisle etc they really aren't stacked at all right now.

[Roundball_Rock]

Why isn't Mike "molding" any players on the Hornets?
1-9 without Pippen

Or in Washington before that. Has MJ ever had a winning season in the pros without Scottie? I know he went 0-2 in baseball and the Wizards, Hornets/Bobcats have been a joke under him. He can't even "mold" an all-star let alone a top 25 all-time player in D.C. or Charlotte. Nor could he "mold" Kukoc--which is why he carried out his annual threat to quit again if Chicago did not retain Pippen when they traded Pippen. He knew what would happen without Pip!

[dubeta]

You have to compare their stackedness to their competition. Usually having a second option like Westbrook and elite defenders would be enough but when other stars have blake Griffin and better coaching, zbo and Conley, Parker Manu Kawhai and pop, klay bogut and Kerr, Ellis Tyson Parsons and Carlisle etc they really aren't stacked at all right now.

By that logic then the Big 3 Heat were not stacked either due to facing stacked teams as well (OKC, Spurs, 2011 Bulls, Celtics, Pacers)

[dubeta]

MJ was the perfect case of 'being in the right place at the right time' Nothing extraordinary about the accomplishments or achievements. Heck he made the playoffs only winning 30 games in the season in his early days, only to get swept.

If MJ was drafted by the Cavs in 2003 in place of lebron people would have forgotten who he was by now.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Wizards had no young physical specimen to mold into something great. They were elder statesmen in the game. Many vets.

Pippen had the physical tools. As many in the Bulls organization have said, including Scottie himself, Jordan imprinted his basketball DNA onto him to mold him in his image.

Plus in Washington MJ was 39 and 40 years old. How's he going to mold players every day in practice as a GM? Use your brain people. MJ would've won all he needed was supplemental support. It wasn't until '91 when Pippen was finally mentally ready. And we all know Scottie isn't any kind of barometer for the reasons for the Bulls success. Dude couldn't get it done with:

Hakeem, and Barkley on the late 90's Houston team.

or

Sheed, Sabonis, S. Smith, Bonzi, Damon Stoudemire, Brian Grant, J. O'Neal on the ULTRA stacked early 2000 Blazer squads.

[Hey Yo]

You have to compare their stackedness to their competition. Usually having a second option like Westbrook and elite defenders would be enough but when other stars have blake Griffin and better coaching, zbo and Conley, Parker Manu Kawhai and pop, klay bogut and Kerr, Ellis Tyson Parsons and Carlisle etc they really aren't stacked at all right now.

KD, Russ and Ibaka, all 3 are All-NBA (2 being top 5 offensively) with Ibaka being a defensive specialist with his scoring also.

Plus a 3pt specialist in Waiters.

STACKED!!

[tpols]

By that logic then the Big 3 Heat were not stacked either due to facing stacked teams as well (OKC, Spurs, 2011 Bulls, Celtics, Pacers)

Derrick rose and Paul George were heats biggest adversaries... the east was shit compared to the west as evidenced by massive disparity in conference win percentages.. Durant has it much much harder right now.

[Roundball_Rock]

Plus in Washington MJ was 39 and 40 years old. How's he going to mold players every day in practice as a GM?

Please. KAJ and Hakeem "mold" players to this day. MJ is the ultimate competitor, whether it is basketball, gambling, Pac Man or ping pong. If he could "mold" players into superstars, or hell, even all-stars he would have done so in Washington or Charlotte. Instead his teams are average at best--a consistent theme in his entire pro sports career except for the periods Scottie was a starter alongside him. He simply can't.

[rapker]

rent free.
But seriously Durant is straight up bitch made. Already making excuses for his upcoming annual playoff choke. I guess having a top 3 player, the league's best shot blocker, and sixth man of the year candidate Dion Waiters isn't enough for this guy.

LOL waiters went from a useless scrub in cavs to sixth man of the year candidate in okc?

i guess you just confirmed that big head band scrub makes his teammate worse and KD makes his better?

[dubeta]

Derrick rose and Paul George were heats biggest adversaries... the east was shit compared to the west as evidenced by massive disparity in conference win percentages.. Durant has it much much harder right now.

Who did they beat in the Finals though? Try and downplay whose teams

Its not a situation like the Lakers where they can gang up on a Dwight Howard- led Magic team or beat a Celtics team in 7

fyi the Heat demolished those same Celtics team in 5 games 10 months later, showing how much tougher the league got 2011 onwards

[JT123]

Or in Washington before that. Has MJ ever had a winning season in the pros without Scottie? I know he went 0-2 in baseball and the Wizards, Hornets/Bobcats have been a joke under him. He can't even "mold" an all-star let alone a top 25 all-time player in D.C. or Charlotte. Nor could he "mold" Kukoc--which is why he carried out his annual threat to quit again if Chicago did not retain Pippen when they traded Pippen. He knew what would happen without Pip!

Excellent point about the threats. Each of Jordan's last 3 seasons with the Bulls he threatened to quit again if the team didn't keep Pippen and Phil. Kinda weak for a guy who's competitiveness is supposedly unmatched by any athlete in the history of sports.

[tpols]

Who did they beat in the Finals though? Try and downplay whose teams

Its not a situation like the Lakers where they can gang up on a Dwight Howard- led Magic team or beat a Celtics team in 7

fyi the Heat demolished those same Celtics team in 5 games 10 months later, showing how much tougher the league got 2011 onwards

I never doubted their finals opposition.. there's a reason they only went 2-4 there and were one shot away from 1-4.. while they cruised through the east every year. Durant doesn't have the luxury of being able to build momentum against crap teams and get passes for whole rounds at a time. His team will likely finish as an 8 seed and face better competition than the heat ever did in any first or second round.. he'll any ecf.

2010 Celtics also spanked your boy that year and were still a prime team.. the last year of it.