Kevin Durant is on Fire

[Infield Infidel]

Kevin Durant scored 46 last night and 54 a couple gmes ago. has scored 30 pts or more in 8 straight games and in 11 of the last 13 games. from Daily Dime:
 

 
He's averaging 30.9 points on 50-40-88 shooting splits, and is at 36.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists in the 14 recent games Westbrook has missed.
 

 
He's scoring 2-3 more ppg this season, his eFG, FG% and 3pt% close to last year, but he's firing a higher percentage of shots from 3pt range (26% vs 23%), and getting to the line more. 
 
Is his scoring outburst making up for Westbrook's absence, or was Westbrook's high usage rate holding him back? Or is it too soon to tell?

 

[MakMan44]

Since LP is free this week, I ended up watching the Port v OKC game last night. 
 
He is disgusting, just unbelievably good. 

 

[jon abbey]

Is his scoring outburst making up for Westbrook's absence, or was Westbrook's high usage rate holding him back? Or is it too soon to tell?

 
Neither? OKC needs both of those guys to be a true title contender, as we saw when Westbrook got hurt in the first round last year and OKC was out soon after. OKC needs Durant to score at these levels to win games with Westbrook out, 22-4 with Westbrook playing this year, 10-6 with him out even with Durant's crazy scoring. 

 

[AMS25]

 
Neither? OKC needs both of those guys to be a true title contender, as we saw when Westbrook got hurt in the first round last year and OKC was out soon after. OKC needs Durant to score at these levels to win games with Westbrook out, 22-4 with Westbrook playing this year, 10-6 with him out even with Durant's crazy scoring. 

 
Very true. Much as I see potential in the young guards (Jackson and Lamb), neither has been able to consistently bring to the Thunder what Westbrook does. Westbrook is sometimes an inefficient scorer, but he reliably produces assists, rebounds, and steals. And yes, the Thunder have been struggling to win, even with Durant scoring like mad.

 

[wutang112878]

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

[IdiotKicker]

wutang, I was just going to bring that up actually.  Here's the question.  Would you give up the 2008 championship to win the lottery and have Durant on your team going forward?

 

[wutang112878]

Its a great and brutal question.  Because its not only the title, its also having the privilege of rooting and watching KG play the way you want to see every superstar play with reckless abandon and unmatched intensity.
 
Thinking back to 2007, because it had been so long since we won a title, I take the title especially because it was setup to be a solid 3-4 year run.  If you ask me at the end of the Bird era, I would have to take Durant because its very rare you get to have a guy of that caliber as your franchise player for a decade.

 

[Kliq]

He is a more efficient George Gervin with a lethal jumpshot. Scoring the basketball has just become so easy for him. I don't think there is any question that if he wanted to, he could score 35 a game. He is easily my favorite player to watch in the NBA. The play where he grabs a rebound, charges down the court in about 4 strides, slows up at the three point line to fool the defender into thinking he is pulling up, and then blowing by said defender and finishing at the rim is the most exciting play in the NBA, bar none.

 

[The Social Chair]

wutang, I was just going to bring that up actually.  Here's the question.  Would you give up the 2008 championship to win the lottery and have Durant on your team going forward?

 
No. Seeing the Celtics beat the Lakers (and Paul Pierce getting his title and finals MVP) is priceless to me. I'm not giving up The Comeback, Game 6, or "Anything is Possible!"

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

wutang, I was just going to bring that up actually.  Here's the question.  Would you give up the 2008 championship to win the lottery and have Durant on your team going forward?

I would trade 74, or 76, or 81, since they were "so long" ago though. How's that?

 

[LeoCarrillo]

I would trade 74, or 76, or 81, since they were "so long" ago though. How's that?

 
81? And miss Larry Bird at the championship rally at Government Center telling the crowd "Moses [Malone] does eat shit."

 

[Blacken]

Nine straight games with 30+ points. Durant has gone plaid.

 

[Scoots McBoots]

 

[The X Man Cometh]

Got to feel for the people who bought tickets to yesterday's game. Celtics got destroyed, and they didn't even get the honor of watching Kevin Durant do it.

 

[LeoCarrillo]

Got to feel for the people who bought tickets to yesterday's game. Celtics got destroyed, and they didn't even get the honor of watching Kevin Durant do it.

 
Yeah, that's crap luck.
 
Any word on the injury/sore shoulder? Looked like he just tweaked it when he tried to dunk on Duncan and got blocked -- though in truth it looked like at that point it was a foul fait accompli and he just kinda strained it following through while the basketball stopped where it was. Minor, I'd think.
 
Really enjoying the KD Rising, though. Four years younger than LeBron. He's gotta rule the league at some point. And watching this kid is like the amalgam realized of Julius, George Gervin, Reggie Miller, Dirk (gotta have a white guy in comparisons or racist), Jimi Hendrix and the absurdly long-armed Brobee on Yo Gabba Gabba!
 

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

Got to feel for the people who bought tickets to yesterday's game. Celtics got destroyed, and they didn't even get the honor of watching Kevin Durant do it.

There were so many elementary school kids with the Durant t-shirt jersey, it was ridonkulous. 1992-TMNT like following. But it seemed many were overall Thunder fans too.
 
He has to be the #1 favorite player by a mile. (What parent would want their kid to like Kobe or LeQueen anyway?)

 

[Blacken]

If I had a kid into basketball, of-fucking-course I'd want my kid to be like LeBron James. Zach Lowe put it best: he's a basketball nerd in the perfect body for it. He's the most athletically gifted player in the league and has the on-court intelligence to match or beat anybody. And he happens to also be a pretty good guy off the court; nobody has a bad word to say about him except that his commercials suck. Oh, he flops? So does half the league. Oh, he pouts and whines for calls? So does Paul Pierce. These guys play the refs because that's how you win the game. They'd be stupid not to respond to the incentives the game provides.

Which is not to take away from Durant, who's an amazing player in his own right and a great ambassador for the game. Watching him play is a blast. But any parent who'd doesn't want their kid to be LeBron hates their child.


And "LeQueen"? Are you actively trying to make a joke of yourself? I mean, I know you're not and it's really the best you can do so it's really kind of rhetorical, but must you choose to suck so transcendentally? "Oh hurr he's like a woman hurr he sucks" is tired, sad, regressive bullshit.

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

If I had a kid into basketball, of-fucking-course I'd want my kid to be like LeBron James. Zach Lowe put it best: he's a basketball nerd in the perfect body for it. He's the most athletically gifted player in the league and has the on-court intelligence to match or beat anybody. And he happens to also be a pretty good guy off the court; nobody has a bad word to say about him except that his commercials suck. Oh, he flops? So does half the league. Oh, he pouts and whines for calls? So does Paul Pierce. These guys play the refs because that's how you win the game. They'd be stupid not to respond to the incentives the game provides.

Which is not to take away from Durant, who's an amazing player in his own right and a great ambassador for the game. Watching him play is a blast. But any parent who'd doesn't want their kid to be LeBron hates their child.


And "LeQueen"? Are you actively trying to make a joke of yourself? I mean, I know you're not and it's really the best you can do so it's really kind of rhetorical, but must you choose to suck so transcendentally? "Oh hurr he's like a woman hurr he sucks" is tired, sad, regressive bullshit.

http://www.printkiller.com/sports/2012/12/lebron-james-is-a-bad-tipper-who-drinks-apple-martinis-and-likes-his-steak-cut-into-tiny-pieces/

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

So we're supposed to dislike LeBron because of some unsubstantiated story about him being a bad tipper and drinking an apple martini?
 
Unlike Blacken, I do have a kid and his favorite thing is basketball and especially the Association.  He's a true fan of the game (he follows high school prospects, watches a lot of college games, studies stats, reads Zach Lowe religiously and is an avid watcher of all of the first two Birdmesters).  While the Warriors are his favorite team (and Steph Curry his favorite player) he loves Durant as well as LeBron because he admires how gifted they are and how they play the game.  
 
The cool thing is that, relatively speaking, today's NBA superstars come off as more likable than past eras.  We really don't know what these guys are like in person and there are exceptions.  But having some of the top superstars include guys like LeBron, KD, Paul George, Kevin Love, Steph Curry, LeMarcus Aldridge and CP3 is a great thing for the sport.  Even if these guys are deviants, they are pretty good at concealing it.  

 

[LeoCarrillo]

I grew up all in with Bird and the Celts.

And I've been out in the cold for a long time with the Association.

Even when Pierce and KG won, I checked the stoke cuz I knew it'd be bandwagon.

But as DeJ touched on, seems like some cool dudes running it now.

Also, I'm into some medical marijuana. No jokes. But I fucking love watching NBA high. Am I just the late dork to the party on this? (I'm guessing affirmative )

 

[LeoCarrillo]

Sorry, started that last post to say KD is bringing me in. I'll be rootin for that guy this year, and next ....

 

[LeoCarrillo]

Because he's cool

 

[LeoCarrillo]

Am I posting too much?

 

[Sprowl]

Nine straight games with 30+ points. Durant has gone plaid.

 
Durant scores 41 points, including the Thunder's last 8 along with a critical blocked shot in the final minute, to beat the Hawks. It's a twofer, piling on the points and improving the Celtics' draft position.

 

[ifmanis5]

Just dropped a huge shot, triple-teamed against the Hawks. Makes it look easy, always balanced and in rhythm.

 

[Blacken]

What comes after plaid?

 

[LeoCarrillo]

What comes after plaid?


Apparently re-entry into an alternate dimension of space where LeBron James is jealous.

 

[The Social Chair]

Thunder playing the Heat tonight.

 

[Blacken]

If Durant does not personally murder LeBron James and eat his heart to gain his power I will be only very, very slightly disappointed.

 

[ifmanis5]

Taking it to the Heat and it's awesome.

 

[The X Man Cometh]

If only these teams were in the same conference.

 

[AMS25]

Durant was his usual great self, but the Thunder might not have won this one without Jeremy Lamb and (gulp) Derek Fisher....

 

[ifmanis5]

Durant was his usual great self, but the Thunder might not have won this one without Jeremy Lamb and (gulp) Derek Fisher....

Or you could say Brooks FINALLY came to his senses and benched Perk so that better players could play more minutes. Perk's been useless for years but they were afraid to admit it.

 

[Blacken]

Royce Young was saying today that he'd been wondering if they were keeping the "bench Perk" thing in reserve this year (to throw a wrench in playoffs gameplan), but that didn't make sense. Brooks is just one of those super-loyal players' coaches, to his detriment.

 

[LeoCarrillo]

Isn't the point of Perk to play post defense against beasts like Duncan and Dwight Howard? He drove Howard batshit a couple weeks ago. Howard had 11 and was blowing his stack, getting double-fouls, separated from Perk by teammates. The works.

Agree that in the absence of a quality opposing big man, he's pretty useless.

 

[AMS25]

Isn't the point of Perk to play post defense against beasts like Duncan and Dwight Howard? He drove Howard batshit a couple weeks ago. Howard had 11 and was blowing his stack, getting double-fouls, separated from Perk by teammates. The works.

Agree that in the absence of a quality opposing big man, he's pretty useless.

 
Yes, allegedly, Perk is "needed" for his post defense. But, I wonder whether Steven Adams will soon surpass him there. Adams is pretty clunky around the rim, but he is an amazing rebounder on both the offensive and defensive ends. Much better than Perk.

 

[MakMan44]

Under 30 points for the first time in 13 games....pulled from the game as the Thunder destroy the Nets.

 

[AMS25]

Under 30 points for the first time in 13 games....pulled from the game as the Thunder destroy the Nets.

 
After the game, Durant sounded almost relieved that his scoring streak was over.... Great team win; even Perk looked respectable out there.

 

[LeoCarrillo]

After the game, Durant sounded almost relieved that his scoring streak was over.... Great team win; even Perk looked respectable out there.

Streak over, but not ended. Perfect way to finish it.

 

[ishmael]

Under 30 points for the first time in 13 games....pulled from the game as the Thunder destroy the Nets.

 
KD = the anti-Kobe

 

[Infield Infidel]

Durant with another 28 tonight. 40 straight games with 25 points, first to do that since Jordan in 86-87. 

 

[LeoCarrillo]

MVP was probably already a done deal, but now I think the vote will be surprisingly not even all that close.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Tops win shares, tops in scoring and points, tops in offensive win shares, first in field goals made, first in total free throws made, second in minutes played, third in TS%, eighth in defensive win shares, third in offensive rating, 16th in assists!
 
Yeah, he's pretty fucking good.  I, for one, am no longer incensed that the C's lost the chance to pick Oden over this guy.

 

[AlNipper49]

Tops win shares, tops in scoring and points, tops in offensive win shares, first in field goals made, first in total free throws made, second in minutes played, third in TS%, eighth in defensive win shares, third in offensive rating, 16th in assists!
 
Yeah, he's pretty fucking good.  I, for one, am no longer incensed that the C's lost the chance to pick Oden over this guy.

Isn't Ainge on record as saying that he would have gone for Durant over Oden?

 

[Sille Skrub]

Yes. I've heard this also.
 
It also could be hindsight on DA's part. We don't know for certain.

 

[BoSoxFink]

Yes. I've heard this also.
 
It also could be hindsight on DA's part. We don't know for certain.

I could be wrong, but I think I remember DA saying it only a short time after the draft occurred and everything else with KG and Ray Allen went down. That would mean it was before Durant became what he was and before Oden went down the tubes. I tend to believe him if that's the case.

If it is true that he was going to take Durant, I wonder whether it would have been better off for the franchise in the long run, but I guess you can't really complain with what did happen and it bringing a title here. I do think about that sometimes though. Having Durant here and being able to watch him every game would be awesome.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

It was rumored pre draft the Celtics would be the one team that would take Durant over Oden.

Also, Durant has no rings. I know that's too simple, but they won a championship.

 

[Devizier]

Tops win shares, tops in scoring and points, tops in offensive win shares, first in field goals made, first in total free throws made, second in minutes played, third in TS%, eighth in defensive win shares, third in offensive rating, 16th in assists!
 
Yeah, he's pretty fucking good.  I, for one, am no longer incensed that the C's lost the chance to pick Oden over this guy.

 
Ainge used to sit in the Texas stands shooting the shit with Durant's mom. Picking Oden was not going to happen. Frankly, I'm okay with the outcome anyways.

 

[zenter]

I don't see how the trade would clearly not have happened if the Celts got the 1 or 2. Wouldn't picking the most complete college player (Durant) have demonstrated the requisite commitment to winning for KG? He was already frustrated at McHale's interest in moving him. Rondo, Pierce, Durant, KG and Perk plus a bunch of secondary parts is a crazy alternate history for this team.

 

[BoSoxFink]

Durant was unproven, I don't think that would have convinced KG to come here. Nobody at that time thought Durant was going to be the best player in the NBA. KG was convinced to come here because the Celts added another superstar to Paul Pierce with the Ray Allen trade. If that doesn't happen I don't think KG comes to Boston.