ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Sonics 10/20/2007 (PRESEASON)

yea, he is struggling MIGHTILY with his jumper. he has a beautiful stroke, but he's shooting HORRIBLE right now. that's why having handles and a quick first step would have helped him, but he doesn't have that.

but he's obviously VERY confident in himself. he's still taking 15-17 shots a game despite shooting that poorly for a rookie

he's nowhere close to what melo was in his first year. hopefully durant will get around 16-18ppg on 42-43% shooting. that would be a great year for him.

i don't think we can expect the texas-#s he put p.

 

even durant admits his game is not as good as when tmac came out of high school:

As often as Seattle SuperSonics rookie Kevin Durant has inspired comparison to the Rockets' Tracy McGrady, especially in his Player of the Year season at the University of Texas, Durant would not make that claim. For him, it was too presumptuous and too soon.

"I idolize him a lot," said Durant, the second pick in the draft. "But I don't think my game is nowhere near what his was coming out of high school. I watched a lot of tape coming up and, hopefully, one of these days I can be as good as he is."

Durant drew attention for his inability to bench-press 185 pounds during the Orlando predraft camp. But when he was told Saturday that McGrady said he could not lift that much, a total he can now press roughly 22 times, at his age, Durant's face brightened.

"That's kind of a relief," Durant said. "When he came in, he was killing people. He's a great player.

"He's going to be a Hall of Famer one day. Hopefully, I can get where he's at."

people think tmac or kobe sucked back then, but they just didn't get minutes.

and really, the only comparison b/t tmac and durant is that they both were weak as hell coming into the L.

hell, tmac might still be weak as hell compared to other NBA players considering he can only bench press 22 times say to a wade or kobe or lebron.

 

please be quiet you are just spewing inaccurate facts everywhere. Durant is the best 18 year old EVER to play in the NBA. noone has ever entered the league with the offensive skillset Durant already possesses, not T-Mac, not Kobe, not Jordan, and not LeBron.

it's a no brainer that Durant is better than Kobe and T-Mac when they were 18. Kobe had no jumpshot as a rook, and T-Mac didn't have Durant's range. if you want to compare Durant to someone compare him to Melo. they are pretty similar, except Durant has NBA 3 point range which Melo still lacks.

Kiki Vandeweghe, the former Nuggets GM who drafted Melo, said it best on draft night. "Durant is the best offensively skilled player ever to enter the NBA".

Durant will not just be a superstar, but he has the potential to be one of the greatest scorers of all time.

 

for every 1 high school superstar, there are about 10 that don't succeed. does Kwame Brown ring a bell? how about Jonathan Bender, or better yet, Robert Swift, the guy in the pony tail tonight. there are STILL doubts about high school to nba players.

 

have u watched his first 5 preseason games? i base what i say based on that.

kiki and others base it on college games.

durant so far has proven to have a very poor first step, no great handles, decent athleticism, no post up game, and is a streaky shooter.

that's what i have gathered.

and please, the hype nowadays is ridiculous and that's why people say what they say.

kobe and tmac would have KILLED durant at the age of 19. not just barely win, KILL in a game of 1-on-1.

 

Durant will be amazing. I promise. I don't know of an athlete who is as hardworking and humble as Durant.

I know he'll be great

 

one on one? who cares?

durant never played ball on the playground. he never even played pick up games. he would get beat probably.

all of his focus was on fundamentals. someone like him will succeed and be great. there's no doubt

 

Surely, you cannot deny the fact that high school and 1 year college kids get much more respect (and playing time) than they did when Kobe, Tmac and KG came up?

10 years ago Durant would be playing garbage time in his first season.

 

if u read my post, i never said he won't succeed. in fact, i said he'll be a great player.

i'm just saying he's not as good in some areas as i anticipated but that's expected b/c he played v. college players.

i said he'll prollie avg 24-25 ppg at his peak and that's great if u ask me.

 

I have to ask what Durant has shown so far as a pro that has people so enamored with him?

Was he great in college? Hell yes but so have many other players that bombed in the NBA. I'm not saying he won't be a great player eventually but if you are basing your opinion on what type of pro he will be based on his college career then I think you are mistaken.

 

that's all i'm saying. the benefit young players now get, they wouldn't get 10 years ago.

b/c this kevin durant wouldn't get minutes 10 years ago. after shooting 35% in preseason games? no coach would give a rookie that much freedom 10 yrs ago.

 

i think his jumpshot for a big guy will really make him standout ala dirk. as he progresses, i think he'll add other aspects to his game that will make him a pretty good player. i don't think he'll ever be a first-tier superstar though but he'll be a great perennial all-star. he's too 1-dimensional for my taste for me to say he has the potential to be a truly first-tier superstar.

but he'll be an all-star for yrs to come.

 

Well, I guess you and I are missing something. I don't know, maybe it is the mediocre jumper, the average athleticism, the inability to post up and the lack of great handles that has us fooled.

HE IS ALREADY AN NBA SUPERSTAR!!!!

 

I agree. The kid just has a nose for getting good looks at the rim. I just don't know how all of these people are predicting him to be one of the greatest players ever when he isn't even the best rookie in the preseason.

 

u also have to understand the HYPE players get. people are saying oden is the next great big center and some pundits have him top 5 center ALREADY without playing 1 game. some say he will have a better career than yao.

i mean, if they say that for oden, what else do u expect for durant, esp. for a guy who had a great yr like him in college.

plus, a lot of people on here are texans fans

i'm just being real. i recognize greatness when i see it. i saw lebron's first game and i know he was gonna be a truly great player. u know it. when tmac got his minutes in toronto, i knew he was going to be a great player. same with kobe.

those guys just had to improve physically. they already had the necessary skillset to dominate. the only thing is get an NBA body and dominate.

durant does not have the complete skillset yet going into the NBA for me to say that. if he did, i would slurp all over him b/c he's a great humble hard-working kid.

 

what the hell are u talkign about? first you say that high school players are now taken seriously, then you say you don't believe in hype. stop contradicting yourself. t-mac and kobe would NOT have killed durant at ages 19. durant will average 24-25 ppg THIS YEAR. honestly, did you just start watching basketball? i know people have their opinions but your opinions are ridiculous.

 

hmm, looking at durant makes me think lewis, big fellow that can score but still alot to work on other parts of his game.

1 more aspect that people forget, durant is still young, he could still easily grow another 2-3 inch. That would be scary, how someone that big could play the way he is.

 

i would also say it's easily Battier. he actually has real NBA experience playing the 4 in Memphis, and although not ideal, he's better than most 2nd string PFs.

 

24-25 points this year?

This guy is nowhere near as physically ready as Lebron and Carmelo were, and neither of those two were able to do that well their first years.

 

Now, thats ridiculous.
based on his performance during preseason games, he'd be uber lucky if he average 16-18ppg per game with around 40-42%fg.