11-23 for 27 points last night. He can stroke it from mid range, but still needs to work on his post game. The main thing he needs to do is get some weight gain 5000. I think he can put on about 20 pounds and still not lose any quickness.
If he's gonna be the next Tmac, then he's on the right path. Tmac was skinny and lanky when he first came too. If he can carry a team for more than 4 years all by himself (which is probably what's gonna happen anyways) like Tmac and not have the back problems.. then sky's the limit.
Portland made another franchise-changing mistake on a draft pick. Oden will not be a special player. Durant will be a superstar. When KD gains a little weight, gets a little stronger and is able to finish better in traffic, it will be over. He should have been 16/23 last night. He may never be Tracy when it comes to raw skills and talent, but he will be more of a tough-minded assassin on the court who will step on the neck of opposing teams. Plus, he has a much purer stroke from outside than Tracy. At his height and length, that will be impossible to stop. Unlike Dirk, KD (1) can put the ball on the floor against smaller players and (2) he has a back-to-the-basket post-up game. It was hard to watch the 4th quarter against the Suns. I badly wanted the Sonics to win but nobody else on their team could score when the Suns started playing defense. When KD got the ball, they smothered him. Carlesimo must develop some 4th quarter plays that allow the Sonics to capitalize on the doubling and tripling of KD. Even though they will lose, I hope TNT continues to show Sonics games.
If Damien Wilkins can keep shooting well from the outside, it will open up the floor for Durant. The Sonics really need Durant to dominate this season. They need a player they can really latch on to and maybe drum up some support to keep the Sonics in Seattle. Carlesimo needs to give the ball to Durant and just let him go to town. Did anybody hear the "Save our Sonics!" chant last night? Awesome...
Damn that gotta really suck for Durant. He's barely a rookie in his first games and he already has the burden of shouldering the whole city. I feel for him. They should build around Durant and Delonte, those 2 guys will be a pretty good back court combo.
Don't discount Jeff Green. He obviously isn't ready to make the impact as a rookie like KD, but the guy is a keeper. He is very athletic, has an all-around game, good skills, etc. Going forward, he is a key building block for that team. I agree Delonte West has raised his game up from last season. The Sonics need to find a way to dump Luke Ridnour.
Nobody could say if Portland made a mistake because nobody knows how good Oden will be. All we can say is that they would have been fine drafting Durant. Lets give Oden a couple of years and then judge...
Huh? I can say they made a mistake? They took a center who averaged about 17ppg over a wing player who averaged 25ppg in college...and was the consensus college player of the year. Oden could become a great player, but Durant is more of a game changer. I think Portland blew it...again. DD
Oden showed up on Inside the NBA, said he named his dog "Charles Barkley McLovin" I like how KD doesn't hesitate at all on his shots. when he bulks up in a year or two, watch out.
Its not going to be the same Rockets vs Sonics if they move. I feel bad, the Seattle fans deserve better considering that their team has been consistently good for most of its existence.
Imagine, if Portland drafted Durant, they would not have traded Zach Randolph for virtually nothing (Francis buyout). Randolph Aldridge Durant Roy Jack Webster Rodriguez Miles Blake NY would have probably bought out SF anyways.
The Sonics are going to be scary good if they end up with one of the top PGs coming out in next year's draft. I love what Durrant and Green can do. They are both long, quick, and very skilled.
With Durant, Portland still would have made that trade. They wanted ZBo gone and SF's contract was for about $30MM less. They would have: Pryzbilla Aldridge Durant Roy Jack Webster Outlaw Rodriguez Blake Green With that roster, and excepting for Aldridge and Roy being injury-prone, they could have a killer team in a couple of years.
And his reward is to get to move to a terrible media market in a 1.5 horse town in one of the ****tier states in america. WELCOME KEVIN!
