We need to reeavaluate Kevin Durant

Versa

Versa

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ISO said:
KD is obviously an animal he’s just a tad overrated. Top 20 player for sure though.

His impact outside of scoring is marginal compared to other All-Time greats and he is overrated as an on-ball player he is more suited off-ball that’s why GS was perfect for him and so is this Nets team with Harden. In his rookie year in Seattle go watch tape a lot of off-ball work off curls and pin downs. Great scorer in isolation situations today of course but in the clutch playing hero ball he is liable to volume scoring, lose ball TO’s because of his high dribble and long sweeping crossover, and passing TO’s because he gets a bit overambitious on what passes he can throw or throws some weak limp wrist ones. We saw this in OKC, 10 of 30 nights, games with 5, 6 TO’s, playing my turn/your turn ball with Russy. It’s happened at times this season on the Nets with Kyrie.

Harden is more impactful because he’s a scoring machine and a playmaking maestro you gotta really pick your poison with him. He makes others better. He just ain’t shyt when it matters probably the worst big game player ever for a superstar.
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You're one of the few people here whose views I respect and whose posts I always stop to read, so I'm not gonna come at you crazy. I do disagree with you though. Outside of KD being TO prone at times due to a high dribble, I'm not with you on pretty much any of this really.

- I'm interested in seeing your top 20 list as ordered as possible. Curious as to where exactly KD is ranked on your list.

- KD being overrated as an on ball player is interesting to me. Despite the turnover issue, he still has the same career turnover rate as Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Larry Bird, etc. All the exact same percentage. Great players who handle the ball a lot are gonna turn it over at times. His efficiency means he's pretty much an automatic bucket on or off the ball, and his first step, handle, skillset are all A1. And while not Harden or LeBron, he's a willing and good passer.

- Every scorer has 10 of 30 nights. He's nearly a career 50% from the field as primarily a ranged shooter so those 10 of 30 nights are less common for him than pretty much anyone else.

- It's established OKC had no system and is one of the main reasons dude left.

- I love what Harden is doing and I respect his all time status, but it's funny how much emphasis people put on the regular season with him when time and time again postseason after postseason he becomes exactly what you just said. So he's more impactful when it doesn't really matter but becomes the WOAT star when it does. Like...okay?

- Harden is obviously an engine and an all time playmaker, but KD being vastly more efficient and also being able to play on/off ball at an elite level is just as impactful IMO and honestly more so in a playoff setting. One of the most underappreciated things about KD has always been the fact you can just throw him out there and not worry about him. Doesn't matter the system. He doesn't need to be the system and he doesn't need to dominate the ball. That isn't as tangibly obvious as crazy assist rates and flashy passes, but it's one of the best things he brings to a team and why he's a fit anywhere.
 
KidJSoul

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The thread wasn't even supposed to argue whether KD is great or not...

It was supposed to argue how much of a winning impact player he is. Is he just a volume scorer or not? Y'know.

He played well against Denver and won that. But their record is still some type of way without Harden so that stands.
 
ISO

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Versa said:
You're one of the few people here whose views I respect and whose posts I always stop to read, so I'm not gonna come at you crazy. I do disagree with you though. Outside of KD being TO prone at times due to a high dribble, I'm not with you on pretty much any of this really.

- I'm interested in seeing your top 20 list as ordered as possible. Curious as to where exactly KD is ranked on your list.

- KD being overrated as an on ball player is interesting to me. Despite the turnover issue, he still has the same career turnover rate as Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Larry Bird, etc. All the exact same percentage. Great players who handle the ball a lot are gonna turn it over at times. His efficiency means he's pretty much an automatic bucket on or off the ball, and his first step, handle, skillset are all A1. And while not Harden or LeBron, he's a willing and good passer.

- Every scorer has 10 of 30 nights. He's nearly a career 50% from the field as primarily a ranged shooter so those 10 of 30 nights are less common for him than pretty much anyone else.

- It's established OKC had no system and is one of the main reasons dude left.

- I love what Harden is doing and I respect his all time status, but it's funny how much emphasis people put on the regular season with him when time and time again postseason after postseason he becomes exactly what you just said. So he's more impactful when it doesn't really matter but becomes the WOAT star when it does. Like...okay?

- Harden is obviously an engine and an all time playmaker, but KD being vastly more efficient and also being able to play on/off ball at an elite level is just as impactful IMO and honestly more so in a playoff setting. One of the most underappreciated things about KD has always been the fact you can just throw him out there and not worry about him. Doesn't matter the system. He doesn't need to be the system and he doesn't need to dominate the ball. That isn't as tangibly obvious as crazy assist rates and flashy passes, but it's one of the best things he brings to a team and why he's a fit anywhere.
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1. He's in the top 15-20 range for me. I'm not sure on a set list but he's just ahead of a guy like KG at this point and I have Steph ranked over him.

2. TO rate might be similar but he is a worse passer than Kobe, Steph, Bird. He's been pretty TO prone this season and for his career his assist to TO ratio is about 4:3 which is kinda mediocre.

3. Yeah, every player has 10 of 30 nights and nights with TO's but for KD they came at some pivotal moments of his career. I'm holding him to the standard of a Jordan or LeBron where they generally had their best performance in closeout and elimination games. KD is a super efficient scorer I was talking about certain playoff games.
 
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