Durant looked really good in the 4th quarter. He dominated that quarter like he used to in college. I wasn't impressed with him through most of last season, but he obviously improved the last few months. And it looks like he'll be very good this year. OKC at least has that to look forward to.
to all those who is concerned about brooks' shooting too much and not passing: its important to note our PG has a different role to those of other PGs, we don't need a Steve Nash type PG, we need a SG who can perform some PG duties. McGrady will handle the ball and create most of the offense, so the PG only has to be a deadeye shooter when our stars are getting doubled. If he does that well then we shouldn't have much of a problem.
I'm so glad I couldn't care less about preseason standings. As a UT grad I was actually happy watching Durant's monster finish.
First of all get you're facts straight. everyones been saying tracy has been showing a great deal of woth ethic this offseason. he hasnt missed a training session and is doing everything possible. were just not gonna take chances on his knee. do you want our best player to re-aggrivate his knee in a meaningless preseason game?
Durant is gonna be a great player. what impressed was his ability to play on both ends. i knew he was a terrefic offensive baller, but his defense was very impressive.
Imagine him in a few years, once he has put on 15+ lbs of muscle. He has the length of a center, the quickness of a guard, the ballhandling skills of a PG and the shooting touch of a SG. His potential is through the roof. He could be better than McGrady.
McGrady is not that good a ball handler. If your theory works why we always struggle when Head is playing 1? He's definitely a better shooter than Rafer, in regular season at least.
I doubt he'll ever reach the level tracy was in orlando. but i can see him being better the current version.
Actually the last month or so of the season last year he looked really good. There was one particularly dominant game against Denver that he looked like a superstar in training. Very clutch. I only watched four or five games, but he did look impressive then.
many. 1) he easily doesn't have the ballhandling of tracy, even the toronto tracy. tracy came into the league renowned for his great ballhandling skills (as indicated by the info of players being drafted). durant can't never play PG, even for a few possessions. 2) he's nowhere near as athletic as the orlando tracy. durant is taller and has more length and that's something he has over tracy. but athleticism? no way. tmac was regarded as either #1 or #2 in terms of athleticism when he was in orlando. durant is nowhere close to the best of the L. 3) the orlando tracy had arguably the quickest first step during his prime (you can argue kobe then too). let's be real, durant doesn't have a quick first step. he uses his length to score more. 4) he doesn't have the passing ability and court vision of tracy. that's something that is kind of innate. lebron, tracy... those guys just were born with it. durant is more of a scorer, but he doesn't have that passing game to complement it. 5) scoring-wise, you can argue durant can be better b/c he's still very young. but tmac's 02-03 season was one of the best offensive season ever for a guard, on par with michael jordan in terms of statistical dominance. will durant reach that? we'll see. again, durant will be an all-star. he may even be a superstar. but in tracy's prime (which we are talking about orlando), durant won't be close. he just doesn't have the all-around game.
Yeah, that's what I meant by "last few months" -- for last season. I just noticed the wording was ambiguous.
durant will be a stud no doubt. but he's a scorer and that's basically it. he could be a carmelo anthony but with more heart (though no inside game). BTW, OJ Mayo looks very promising too.
You might be right. But it's possible that Durant compensates with his superior length and more consistent shooting stroke. He may add a post up game as well, something McGrady never really developed that much.
i doubt durant will EVER develop a post up game. dude is a stick. i haven't seen any improvement in his body. but again, you just never know. offensively, durant may be just that good (we'll see how hard he works). but you just can't teach ballhandling and court vision. durant will never have tracy's complete game.
I would still take McGrady over him because T-Mac gets his teammates involved better than KD because of his superior passing and court vision. KD can develop that maybe, but still not to Tracy's level. KD also has a lot of work to do defensively. If he's not scoring, can he find other ways to help the team win? Sadly, I don't see him being in the playoffs for awhile, or even being involved in a playoff chase. It may be a real long time for him to get out of the 1st round, unless he gets traded (to the east).
