re: Kevin Durant's Career and the "Lebron James" Effect

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maybe lebron will try his hand at baseball

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he didn't win it 2 years ago b/c the media was spiteful due to the decision. that's the only reason he hasn't won 4 in a row.

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Pretty much. Though it's also the only year he didn't clearly dominate the league, and I'm pretty sure we both agree Dwight would have been an acceptable alternative to LeBron winning that MVP.

damn i just read one of the most amazing things about lebron's year this year

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We could marvel at his consistency. You probably don't remember a bad game from James this season and that's because he was pretty much a human metronome of dominance this season. At his worst, he was Blake Griffin. No, seriously. Take James' worst 10 games of the season by Game Score (a PER-like metric developed by John Hollinger to evaluate single-game performances) and you'll find that he averaged 19.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in those duds. Griffin this season? 18.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

In other words, statistically on his worst days, James was an All-Star big man. Maybe even a little bit better.

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We could marvel at his consistency. You probably don't remember a bad game from James this season and that's because he was pretty much a human metronome of dominance this season. At his worst, he was Blake Griffin. No, seriously. Take James' worst 10 games of the season by Game Score (a PER-like metric developed by John Hollinger to evaluate single-game performances) and you'll find that he averaged 19.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in those duds. Griffin this season? 18.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

In other words, statistically on his worst days, James was an All-Star big man. Maybe even a little bit better

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fuuuuark the king boys

Dwight was fricking awesome in 2011. He could have easily won it over Rose. I think there is a fair argument to put him Dwight over Lebron for MVP that season.

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Basically, could Kevin Durant become the 3rd best player in NBA history while never winning an MVP or title?

obviously i'm not arguing 1/2 b/c that very well is going to end up Lebron Jordan (and for this thread, i don't care who is 1 and who is 2)

Kevin Durant is 24 years old and is going to finish in the 50/40/90 club. he's got a very good chance of leading the league in scoring (nobody has ever done that while putting up 50/40/90...i don't know if anybody in the 50/40/90 club ever won a scoring title in their career).

all-time, the only 50-40-90 guys in NBA history are:

Bird (twice)
Mark Price
Reggie Miller
Nash (4 times)
Dirk

Durant has also significantly improved his defense and offensive facilitation. Durant is having one of the greatest seasons of all time...and won't (or at least shouldn't) win the MVP

Lebron is only 28 and should be in the middle of his prime, however he keeps expanding his game. he's closely moving into the closest example of a "perfect" player across the spectrum. he can guard 5 positions and can play 5 positions offensively. he's one of the best jumpshooters in the NBA as well as one of the most efficient post players. he's also one of the best drivers in the NBA.

short of injury (which is rare because lebron is very, very durable), lebron is the runaway leader in MVP odds for the next 5 years or so, minimum. if i am correct in my guess, then Durant will be 29 before he ever gets a year when he may possibly enter a season as the MVP leader. he will be exiting his prime as well. as a tall jumpshooter, he should last longer than lebron (in terms of age). the question is if he'll still be MVP-quality

in terms of titles...

Wade should hold on for a couple more years, which means the Heat will be the favorites for a couple more years. the Thunder are pretty set for that time period. Durant/Westbrook/Ibaka are signed long-term. the question is if they can replace their third scorer. Harden is gone. Martin is very possibly gone after this year. The Thunder have a likely top-10 pick (via Houston via Tonroto) and Perry Jones developing. If they whiff on this bench scorer, their title hopes are pretty much dead, imho.

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He could have easily won it over Rose.

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-could
+should

rose was marginally better (if that) than westbrook that year

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you picked three statistics which are collectively about being a great shooter.

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well, i didn't just cherry pick this. it's a well-known thing and even has its own wiki page

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but not necessarily meaningful if you're trying to talk about someone's overall value as a player rather than just their shooting

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well he's the only guy to ever lead the NBA in scoring (in a year in his career) while being in that club. great shooters being volume scorers are rare

he's also a beast on defense this year and has increased his overall offensive efficiency. he's improved his PER by 2 points this year and is over 28 for the year

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Lebron wouldn't be able to guard Kyrie Irving or even Westbrook for an entire game.

if lebron wanted, he could do a decent job. have you already forgotten what he did to rose a few years ago?

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Here I agree with you. Rose was as explosive as anyone in the league and Lebron shut him down

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I don't think he could stop a decent center all game either.

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Regarding this quote. There's no Shaq, Wilt, or Kareem in the league now. He can guard a healthy Dwight Howard and a healthy Dwight is the most dominant big in teh league today.