And Greene doesn't have short arms by any means. From what I have heard, having a wingspan greater than one's height is already above average, as it is in Greene's case. Just that Durant has freakishly long limbs (wingspan 6+ inches longer than height!)...
Or maybe a wingspan that is above average in the outside world is considered very average in the NBA? In college -> When enters NBA Superhuman -> Very Athletic Very Athletic -> Good Athlete Good Athlete -> Average Athlete Average Athlete -> Mike Harris Above average wingspan -> Average wingspan
What's wrong with Mike Harris? He's got a thirst to win, i wish i could say that about most other nba players.
I concur, Donte is built similarly to Durant (6'9" long limbed wing), smooth jump shot with high release and extended range, poor shot selection, moves well around screens and quick release, quick moves in post, though he also tends to hang out along the baseline just waiting for an open 3 or an opening to run around a screen, Durant did this during college a lot and disappeared during games as a result, though like Durant, Donte will explode and score in bunches. Biggest difference is Durant has a killer instinct and Donte seems more, it pains me to say it the aloof demeanor of T-Mac.
He a KD-type player as in a tall guy that takes too many perimeter shots instead of using his size and attacking the rim. But WHEN he takes it in, nice things can happen. Problem is, hes more likely to take the long jumper than to drive in the paint. Fans think T-Mac has bad shot selection, well wait until you see Greene's shot selection. I would say its worst. Even in his 40 point performance, the majority of his shots he made, would be bad shots if he missed.
NBA Law has hit the difference on the spot IMO. KD will play with intensity and confidence,Donte appears to be behind on that score. KD is a good but not a great ball handler but Donte's ball handling skills are subpar for the NBA level right now. We are going to see a lot of turnovers from him right now. Donte is an interesting project while KD is on his way to becoming a solid pro in this league.
Durant shot a lot more efficiently too. 1.19 PPS to 1.09. Of course he isn't the overall player Tmac, but anyone who thinks Durant didn't have an exceptional season for a 19 year old rookie hasn't watched the NBA much. Now maybe you also think Maggette, Rudy Gay, Al Jefferson and Wade all suck too, because these guys also played on teams who won one in the 20s or less (and yes when Wade played Miami was still on this kind of win pace).
But even if you take into account the wingspan measuring two arms, Donte still "makes up" some of the difference. The wingspan difference is 6.75", but the standing reach diff is 2". So even if you cut the wingspan in half to 3.38, Donte still gets a boost to his standing reach. Not a big deal to quibble over an inch and a half, but I thought it was kind of interesting.
Hah, found it - http://www.nbadraft.net/node/1556 For more "insight", read Basketball Genius' comment at the bottom on DeeGee.
Similar style, perhaps. Even close to as good? Doubt it. Just compare Greene's freshman season to Durant's. Not really close. It's like comparing Paul Pierce with Ricky Davis.
I agree with you that my original theory doesn't make up the whole difference, so I propose my complementary "neck" theory: Donte must have a neck that's 2 inches longer than KD's
Wingspan is measured across the chest from fingertip to fingertip so if these measurments are accurate, Durant is about 4.25 inches broader across his frame. Without shoes, Durant was measured at 6'9 and Greene at 6'8.25. Wingspan of 7'4.75 to 6'10(6.75 differential), but only a standing reach difference of 9'2 to 9'0(2 inches). Standing reach is a better indicator of how long the actual arm is in comparison to the player's height. From these measurements, if correct, it would appear that Durant's arm is approximately 1.25 inches longer than Greene when you factor the .75 difference in height to the 2 inch difference in reach. Multiply that by two in the wingspan and you have 2.5 inches that can actually be attributed to the arms. The rest is across the chest which comes out to Durant having 4.25 more inches there. Compare that to Shane Battier who measures out to be the same height as Greene without shoes at 6'8.25, has shorter arms than Greene as shown by the fact that his standing reach is a puny 8'9, but he still manages to have a longer wingspan at 6'10.5 because he measures broader across the chest. Basically, Donte Greene has long arms and no chest. I compared him to some other 1st round guys and there really is nobody I could find with a standing reach like his with such a short wingspan. He is unique. Of the 6'8 and taller guys they have listed(1st rounders), only Mike Dunleavy had a shorter wingspan. I found it interesting to compare some of these guys wingspans to their standing reach. Here are all the small forwards that have been drafted in the first round in recent years that DX has info on. Good stuff. http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre...age=&year=All&sort2=DESC&draft=30&pos=3&sort=
Great analysis from D Berri from wages of wins: http://www.wagesofwins.com/LasVegas08.html Posting here, since I'm new and not allowed to start threads. Hope you all don't mind. Interesting that Dorsey did not get talked about by Thorpe (other than his pre-Vegas comment); and continues to be in the 40s in the Thorpe rookie rankings. I assume since Joey only played 2 games that he fell off people's radar. Funny note: seems the ejection made the game count for Joey (even though he didnt suit up), so his stats on most sites are averaged for 3 games instead of two. Wish we saw more of him, but I think he'll find a 5-10 min role pretty quick.
thanks for that link, pentajigga. If JD's not on the radar right now, he will be by the end of this season. He's got the kind of personality to make a big splash in the NBA. Good post, welcome aboard.
Nice find. I guess this clearly shows that Donte does have great length despite less than impressive wingspan. The difference for him is that all his length is in his arms and not in his shoulders and chest. So at least from a physical standpoint, he shouldn't have any trouble getting his shot off. But I guess the knock on him isn't his physicals, but what's between his ears and in his chest. So we'll just have to wait for the season and see what Donte is made of in order to know if a comparison to Durant is warranted.
