Kevin Durant and +/-

Very interesting article about Kevin Durant and his +/- impact on the Thunder. I think he has superstar potential and can't really buy into the analysis that he's not good for a team. Mavs wouldn;t take him for free?? Please....

over 2 years ago eduardo_m7 10 comments 0 recs |

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Also wanted to post this for the following quote

Meanwhile, the things that make him inefficient — mediocre passing, forcing some shots, turnovers, not making teammates better, and of course bad defense — are all things that improve not just with work but also with better teammates. With the mere passage of time, thanks to an armada of draft picks, cap space, and high-potential young players to develop with him, these things will get much better on their own

Ignore the “forcing shots” part. Remind you of someone??

The future begins now...

by eduardo_m7 on Oct 9, 2009 9:41 PM PDT reply actions

Small sample size + young player + bad team + inconsistent statistical measuring device =

a pile of crap theory. I’d take him for Martin right now. I’d take him for Martin and a top five protected first round pick. I’d trade anyone on the Mavs for him, including Dirk.

Now, I won’t say that Durant isn’t perhaps a wee bit overhyped, and I’m still not completely convinced that Oden won’t eventually give him a run for his money as the best player from their draft. And Durant has aspects of his game that need improvement. But I’ll take the 21 year old with the 22.7 career scoring average if no one else wants him.

Such silliness.

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by section214 on Oct 9, 2009 10:06 PM PDT reply actions

I'm pretty sure Durant is the best bang for your buck in the entire league

They’ve got like 2 more years of him producing like this for less than we’re paying Beno.

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by Aykis16 on Oct 9, 2009 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions

How hard would Cuban laugh

after this guy tells him not to trade for Durant?

The future begins now...

by eduardo_m7 on Oct 9, 2009 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Sometimes the stats nerd outsmart themselves

This is a case of that. They’re working very hard to quantify everything, to use formulas and creative metrics to value players individually and within the team. They don’t see it in the numbers so they’re confused by it but just because they don’t see it in the numbers, that doesn’t mean it isn’t in there. It’s a unique situation where Durant is a pretty rare type of player, he’s only been at his true position of SF for less than a full season and the Thunder are very young.

I think people are taking these numbers and really running with them too much, like all of a sudden it’s the cool thing to do, pull a complete 180 and say “oh wait, Kevin Durant isn’t that good after all! look at these numbers” . The kid is going to have a PER that is greater than his age, the Thunder will exceed expectations this season and these numbers will look like a complete fluke a year from now.

by Kevin Conroy on Oct 10, 2009 12:26 AM PDT reply actions

That may be

But the grammar nerd never outsmarts himself.

If I could have stopped myself from doing that, I would have.

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by andy sims on Oct 10, 2009 8:08 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

sometimes the stats are "all dressed up with no place to go"

this is one of those times.

Wayne Winston’s comments end up nowhere. That he states them publicly and proudly is either a desperate cry for attention or a loud call for restraint. Couldn’t he find other numbers and stats to bury the ones he found?

I think it’s time to go back to the drawing board

by betweentheeyes on Oct 10, 2009 9:52 AM PDT up reply actions

You bring up a great point KC that rarely gets brought up with Durant

He was playing out of position with Carleismo around (at SG), and he was coming off an injury in the later part of last season where OKC sort of lost their momentum. (It’s partly why I’m interested to see this bandied about now to be honest. Great timing on Henry Abbott’s part.)

What I will say, myself, is that Durant passing has been very low for a scorer of his caliber. I think there are 2 reasons for that. One is that assists are generally racked up with outside shooters of which the Thunder didn’t really have until James Harden. I’m willing to bet that Harden’s presence will increase Durant’s assist total by at least 1 a game due to the fact that he can hit the 3.

Green and Westbrook are also reasonable to quality passers, and that means that when Durant has the ball in their hands, it also means that the Thunder are looking for Durant to primarily score. (Abbott touched on this somewhat that Green and Westbrook return to natural roles without Durant in the game.)

On the other hand, I do think that the mix in OKC has been very tight to make Durant’s #‘s look good. 214 brought it up further below, but James’ teammates were veterans. So were Carmelo Anthony’s. Michael Jordan wasn’t playing with a very young lot either.

I think Durant’s at a make or break year for him in terms of some of these categories. It will be very interesting on a number of level’s to see how he develops from here on out. What I do know is that I wouldn’t hesitate to trade any Kings player on the roster (including Evans) for Durant.

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by pookeyguru on Oct 10, 2009 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions