Comments on: Kevin Durant, Alpha Dogs, and Supporting Casts

By: Ignarus

Ignarus — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:20:35 +0000

Glad to hear Durant's finally getting some burn at the 3 spot. Putting him at the 2 for development seemed like the stupidest thing I'd ever heard. He's 6-10 with long arms!!! Why put him in a position to guard guys who can routinely beat him off the dribble? Why put him as far from the bucket as possible?

By: Jack

Jack — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:12:43 +0000

If Neil still reads comments on older posts, do you have a take on Durant since Brooks took over? I believe his usage% has increased, yet he's seen an increase in TS% and the differential between his ORating (102) and the team's (97.6) has also increased (these numbers were taken from bbr). I don't know what this could be attributable to, as there are a number of factors that changed (new coach, starting Westbrook and Durant's position switch). Thoughts?

By: Ethan

Ethan — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:27:39 +0000

Nick, it's one thing to say that Durant is playing poorly now, and might not be all he's hyped up to be. I would disagree, but until he produces like a star it's not an unreasonable thing to say. But glorified role-player? I hope you remember that as his career continues, because that is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

By: Jordanpushedoff

Jordanpushedoff — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:38:26 +0000

Durant seems to have a variety of problems:
1) Too thin
2) In college he was a great rebounder, but now they're asking him to be only a jump-shooter. This could be a bit jarring to his confidence.
3) Jeff Green duplicates his game to some extent. It's difficult to develop two young players who do the same thing.

By: John

John — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:48:12 +0000

Re: KD playing out of position for his body type. Kevin reminds me of a young Clyde Drexler. At 6'7" Clyde seemed tall and skinny in his first seasons at guard, but his ball handling and three point range made him a good fit. I think KD could become a great SG also, with the flexibility to drop down as a small forward. Also look at the change in average height in the NBA. How many 7' centers are there? I think if he can bulk up he can create some great match-ups taking a guard in the post.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:21:04 +0000

I forgot to mention in the comment above, that ten of the first seventeen FGA's (the whole first quarter), were shots close in to the basket. Much better than the first dozen games.

Joe-Thunderguru.com

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:19:10 +0000

Well, good news if your a Thunder fan. The change of coach to Brooks from PJ made a big difference last night. Neil you said you saw the friday game against the Hornets, and it was horrific. But it was typical of the PJ team thus far this season.

Last night I watched very closely as they played the same team back to back. The team had 112.8 OR, and worked repeatedly to get better shots instead of launching jumpers.

Durant seemed to thrive, he went 11/16, 30 points. His night would have been better if he had rebounded better (5), and not had 5 turns. But, the new coach Brooks put Durant at the three, which was well past due.

FWIW, fellow Sophomore Jeff Green was more efficient last night.

By: Neil Paine

Neil Paine — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:42:53 +0000

As of last night, Wade's offensive rating is 115.4, and he's using a staggering 37% of Miami's possessions when on the floor. His teammates have a combined offensive rating of 106.9 (league average is 105.8), so Wade's differential is +8.5 over his teammates. That's really good from an historical perspective -- it puts him in the top 20% of all "alpha dogs" since 1973, and with that 37% usage rate, he's doing it with a far bigger workload than just about anyone else on the list. The record for single-season usage rate is 36.5%, set by Kobe Bryant in 2005-06, so if D-Wade keeps this up we would actually be witnessing the biggest one-man show in the league since '73.

By: zarr

zarr — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:16:34 +0000

Hi,

I was wondering about how D-Wade is doing this season. He is stuffing the stat sheet and shooting at a 49-50% FG clip. It seems to me he's miles away from his teamates production? Any toghts on this one? Thanks.

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:09:06 +0000

I completely agree with Brian. Lebron was fully developed physically by the time he was 15, while Kevin Durant still has an adolescent body. Keeping this in mind, Durant appears to be farther away from his prime than any of the players on that list. Durant may still be a superstar, but it will take a few years for him to get there.