#3 player of the league

[Cleveland's Finest]

Averaged 25 points and 8 rebounds in the series (while shooting 88 percent from the line) and came within a Gasol layup of taking the defending NBA champions to a game 7.

 

Durant is what, 5 years younger than Wade?

 

He's in the MVP discussion so is it that far out to say he's number two?

Edited November 22, 2010 by Cleveland's Finest

[Check my Stats]

Durant isn't even a top 5 player at this point, get out of here with that BS, seriously, the MVP talk last year was bad enough. I am genuinely annoyed with how idiotic some of you are, putting him in the same breathe as Kobe, LeBron, etc is absurd. He might get there, but he isn't there yet.

 

So far this year Durant hasn't even been the undisputed best player on his own damn team.

[Nitro]

Averaged 25 points and 8 rebounds in the series (while shooting 88 percent from the line) and came within a Gasol layup of taking the defending NBA champions to a game 7.

 

He shot 35% from the field, 29% from 3, and had 8 more turnovers than assists. From an OKC perspective, Westbrook was easily the best player in the series, averaging 21/6/6 on 47% shooting, 42% from 3 and he had 10 less turnovers for the series than Durant did.

 

Not coming up short in your first playoff series is what LBJ, Paul and Wade did in their first series'. Durant came up short individually, didn't even have the best series on the team, and his team lost. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but he still came up short.

[Cleveland's Finest]

Durant isn't even a top 5 player at this point, get out of here with that BS, seriously, the MVP talk last year was bad enough. I am genuinely annoyed with how idiotic some of you are, putting him in the same breathe as Kobe, LeBron, etc is absurd. He might get there, but he isn't there yet.

 

So far this year Durant hasn't even been the undisputed best player on his own damn team.

 

LEBRON??? He's probably the most talented, gifted athlete the NBA has ever seen, but get of of here with that. He has to play with Dwayne Wade to win a title, he has to play second fiddle. He gets a ZERO in clutch, and a ZERO in confidence. Durant's play on Team US showed a lot. He's tired right now so obviously he's not looking as good to start this season. Seriously though, if you think it's absurd to put him over LeBron, think again.

[Cleveland's Finest]

He shot 35% from the field, 29% from 3, and had 8 more turnovers than assists. From an OKC perspective, Westbrook was easily the best player in the series, averaging 21/6/6 on 47% shooting, 42% from 3 and he had 10 less turnovers for the series than Durant did.

 

Not coming up short in your first playoff series is what LBJ, Paul and Wade did in their first series'. Durant came up short individually, didn't even have the best series on the team, and his team lost. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but he still came up short.

 

LBJ faced the Wizards, and look what happened to that team. The Hornets beat a Mavs team which comes up short every year, and Wade beat the Hornets in 7. He scored 2 points and 11 points in two of those games.

 

My point is, while those were impressive, just admit that the competition Durant faced in his first series is head and shoulders above the competition LBJ, Wade, and CP3 dealt with.

 

What Durant did last year is a huge sign looking forward. His combination of length and quickness is unparalleled.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Cleveland's Finest

[Nitro]

LEBRON??? He's probably the most talented, gifted athlete the NBA has ever seen, but get of of here with that. He has to play with Dwayne Wade to win a title, he has to play second fiddle.

 

Durant hasn't even been out of the first round yet. If he leads his team to the Finals this year like LeBron did with the Cavs his 4th season, you still won't have much of a case. LeBron is right there with Durant in the scoring department, a FAR superior passer, equal rebounder, better defender and statistically was FAR more clutch than Durant last season (who was disappointing in those situations).

 

Give me a break.

 

Durant's play on Team US showed a lot.

 

So did Wade's in 2008, but no one was claiming he was the best player in the league after he led the team in points, shot 67% from the field, was playing incredible defense and he scored 19pts in the first half of the Gold Medal game, which help lead up to he and Kobe icing it.

[MainEv3nt]

kevin love and then rajon rondo.

[Nitro]

My point is, while those were impressive, just admit that the competition Durant faced in his first series is head and shoulders above the competition LBJ, Wade, and CP3 dealt with.

 

Yes, and no one expected the Thunder to beat the Lakers. But Durant came up flat individually, and wasn't even the best player on his team that series. Therefor, to say he didn't come up short is ridiculous.

 

What Durant did last year is a huge sign looking forward. His combination of length and quickness is unparalleled.

 

Yes...huge sign looking forward. Right now it is laughable to call him a better player than Kobe, Wade, LeBron or Paul. I'd even say it's pushing it to call him a better player than Dwight.

[Cleveland's Finest]

Durant hasn't even been out of the first round yet. If he leads his team to the Finals this year like LeBron did with the Cavs his 4th season, you still won't have much of a case. LeBron is right there with Durant in the scoring department, a FAR superior passer, equal rebounder, better defender and statistically was FAR more clutch than Durant last season (who was disappointing in those situations).

 

Give me a break.

 

 

 

So did Wade's in 2008, but no one was claiming he was the best player in the league after he led the team in points, shot 67% from the field, was playing incredible defense and he scored 19pts in the first half of the Gold Medal game, which help lead up to he and Kobe icing it.

 

 

It's all statistics with LeBron, isn't it? Can you see Durant losing at home by 30 points in a playoff game in the next few years like LeBron did? No. Durant's athletic superiority and height puts him over CP3 for me. Then, his ability to play with teammates and character puts him over LeBron. His height puts him over Wade.

 

If I'm a GM, I'm taking Kobe first, and Durant 2nd.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Cleveland's Finest

[Cleveland's Finest]

Yes, and no one expected the Thunder to beat the Lakers. But Durant came up flat individually, and wasn't even the best player on his team that series. Therefor, to say he didn't come up short is ridiculous.

 

 

 

Yes...huge sign looking forward. Right now it is laughable to call him a better player than Kobe, Wade, LeBron or Paul. I'd even say it's pushing it to call him a better player than Dwight.

 

It's a joke that you think it's laughable. I can understand it being an argument, though. I guess we'll see come playoff time.

[Check my Stats]

Not sure where this BS about LBJ being a choker is coming from. He put in great performances yearly for the Cavs. Kobe can shoot 6/24 and get 10 boards and be called a hero, but LBJ gets a triple double but has a bunch of to's and is crucified (even before he leaves).,

[Nitro]

It's all statistics with LeBron, isn't it? Can you see Durant losing at home by 30 points in a playoff game in the next few years like LeBron did? No.

 

It's not just statistics with LeBron. You don't have to look at the stat sheet to show that LeBron is right there with Durant in the scoring department, a FAAAAAAAAAARRRR superior passer (which makes him useful when he's not scoring, something Durant isn't), a far superior ballhandler, a superior help AND on-ball defender, an equal rebounder, and he has done a LOT more in clutch situations the last few years than Durant has. He also has an experience edge and has proven he can lead teams deep into the post-season as the undisputed #1 option...Durant still has to prove he can get past the 1st round.

 

Durant's athletic superiority and height puts him over CP3 for me. Then, his ability to play with teammates puts him over LeBron. His height puts him over Wade.

 

This is a joke, right? Durant is pretty athletic, but he is not some explosive freak like you are making him out to be. I won't look at their combine numbers, but I'd bet Paul was both faster (much) and had a higher vertical leap than Durant did, who I remember had disappointing combine numbers. And who cares if Durant has height over a POINT GUARD?!? Paul scores even more efficiently than Durant, averages about 8 more assists while averaging LESS turnovers than Durant, grabs only about 2 boards less per game than Durant, plays better defense, is more clutch and is more experienced.

 

His ability to play with teammates puts him ahead of LeBron...lol.

 

See the Chris Paul arguement for my rebuttal for Durant's height making him a better player than Wade.

 

If I'm a GM, I'm taking Kobe first, and Durant 2nd.

 

That's crazy. For 1 season, there is no way Durant goes 2nd. For the next 10 years, yeah, Durant maybe first or second, but it doesn't make him a top 3 player right now.

[Real Deal]

Wade. He's almost #2. CP3 gets the nod at four. Wade is just a better overall player. He defends better than Paul, and if I need someone to drop 40, I know which player (of the two) I'm going with.

[Cleveland's Finest]

Durant is at least as good as LeBron. Easily a better jump shooter, free throw shooter. Honestly, you might look at the stats but I believe Durant is an elite player. He had his breakout year last year. LeBron has had plenty of series in the playoffs which make you question his consistency. From the finals to Game 6 of the Magic series to Games 5 & 6 of the Boston series.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Cleveland's Finest

[Nitro]

Durant is at least as good as LeBron. Easily a better jump shooter, free throw shooter. Honestly, you might look at the stats but I believe Durant is an elite player. He had his breakout year last year. LeBron has had plenty of series in the playoffs which make you question his consistency. From the finals to Game 6 of the Magic series to Games 5 & 6 of the Boston series.

 

Ok, he's a better jumpshooter and FT shooter...what does Durant do better than LeBron besides scoring (even though we are completely ignoring LeBron is arguably the best finisher at the rim in NBA history)? The answer is nothing. The difference between their passing and ballhandling abilities is astronomical. LeBron is clearly a superior defender who makes a far bigger impact on that side of the ball. They are equal rebounders. LeBron is a better clutch performer. LeBron is more experienced, has more accolades and has proven he can take a team deep into the post-season as the undisputed #1 guy...Durant hasn't proven he can even get out of the first round.

[Real Deal]

(even though we are completely ignoring LeBron is arguably the best finisher at the rim in NBA history)

Well, among non-centers. Not much to argue if we're talking Shaq.

[Nitro]

Well, among non-centers. Not much to argue if we're talking Shaq.

 

Well yeah, I meant out of perimeter players Even if we are talking Centers, stopping LeBron when he is at full-speed heading to the rim is pretty much as impossible to stop as anything in NBA history besides a Shaq dunk underneath the rim.

[Real Deal]

Well yeah, I meant out of perimeter players Even if we are talking Centers, stopping LeBron when he is at full-speed heading to the rim is pretty much as impossible to stop as anything in NBA history besides a Shaq dunk underneath the rim.

Or a Shawn Bradley Dream Shake, but yeah.

[Newman]

Chris Paul, he is Jason Kidd in his prime.

[Dash]

Dwayne Wade for reasons already posted.

[Abro]

Dwayne Wade 100% of the time. All day everyday. Durants not close to tht 3 spot. "Clevelands finest" must be outta yo mind!

[Big Penny]

if LeBron never left Cleveland then people would be arguing for him to be #1. signing a contract in Miami does not make him a worse player, despite what you may believe.

[Newman]

^ Just out of interest, how many players are you doing this for?

[Rog]

I agree, which I acknowledged in my first post. He's the only one who is close to the level of Kobe/LeBron/Wade. Still, as great as Paul is playing right now, just two years ago Wade was averaging 30/8/5/2/1.5 on nearly 50% shooting, and led a D-league team to the playoffs and a near-upset of the Hawks. He has proven he can win a championship, and did so in dominant individual fashion. Last year, after a slow start, he was once again dominant, led that Heat team to 47 wins, and I've never seen anyone torch the Celtics as badly as he did in that series (even though they lost in 5 games).

 

I just think that people have very, very short-term memories, just like they did over the summer when I was one of the only people to put CP3 in a top 5 list, or back in summer 2008 when I was one of the only people to put Wade as a top 3 player in the league.

I had CP3 as my #1 in 2008, and I think with the stats he has now, you can make an argument that CP3 is the best player in the league. Statistically speaking he is doing something that VERY few people have ever done. He had 2 straight seasons where statistically the only other 2 players to do what he did were Isaiah Thomas and Oscar. Hes a truly amazing player.

 

LEBRON??? He's probably the most talented, gifted athlete the NBA has ever seen, but get of of here with that. He has to play with Dwayne Wade to win a title, he has to play second fiddle. He gets a ZERO in clutch, and a ZERO in confidence. Durant's play on Team US showed a lot. He's tired right now so obviously he's not looking as good to start this season. Seriously though, if you think it's absurd to put him over LeBron, think again.

You mad??? You seem really bitter and have developed extremely short term memory if you say he has a ZERO in clutch because if I remember correctly he took a team that had zero players that would start on another team to the NBA championship because of his CLUTCHNESS. You are going to look at Team USA to rank players, seriously? He doesn't even play against the best players in the NBA, how can you use that to determine how good he is? And why is everyone deranking Lebron because of where he went, sure it was a dick move how he did it, sure the guy is a dick, but he is still the most talented player in the NBA, not the best but the most talented.

 

 

Durant is at least as good as LeBron. Easily a better jump shooter, free throw shooter. Honestly, you might look at the stats but I believe Durant is an elite player. He had his breakout year last year. LeBron has had plenty of series in the playoffs which make you question his consistency. From the finals to Game 6 of the Magic series to Games 5 & 6 of the Boston series.

 

 

Ok, he's a better jumpshooter and FT shooter...what does Durant do better than LeBron besides scoring (even though we are completely ignoring LeBron is arguably the best finisher at the rim in NBA history)? The answer is nothing. The difference between their passing and ballhandling abilities is astronomical. LeBron is clearly a superior defender who makes a far bigger impact on that side of the ball. They are equal rebounders. LeBron is a better clutch performer. LeBron is more experienced, has more accolades and has proven he can take a team deep into the post-season as the undisputed #1 guy...Durant hasn't proven he can even get out of the first round.

Read this Clevelands Finest

 

Chris Paul, he is Jason Kidd in his prime.

But better

 

if LeBron never left Cleveland then people would be arguing for him to be #1. signing a contract in Miami does not make him a worse player, despite what you may believe.

This

[Rog]

keep it going, its way too close.