Kevin Durant is a beast!

[The Regime]

They showed this on ESPN a couple days ago, pretty amazing stuff.

 

PPG in October: 25

PPG in November: 27.7

PPG in December: 29.7

PPG in January: 32.1

 

I highly doubt his average will continue to go up, but what he has done this season is MVP worthy. If I remember correctly he was anywhere from 5th-7th in the league in scoring by the end of November, but now he is tied with Carmelo averaging 29.7 ppg.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Confidence

[moeroadkill]

this is beast worthy also

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWW3ZtkeQH8

[Sun Tzu]

Durant has just been unbelieveable this season, but coming into the season I expected it from him.

[crabbylion]

This guy is quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the league. So humble, versatile, and so much upside. The man is a beast and I can only hope he stays out of trouble and becomes the best athlete and role model he can be. Oh, I can't wait to see him play in person. I'd fly out to OKC if I had to! Oh, good look on the video, MoeRoadKill

Edited February 5, 2010 by crabbylion

[Check my Stats]

I can't believe how he became a top 10 player so fast.... I tried to rationalize the Oden selection last year being alright still, but after he has become such a complete player already this early in his career, it is hard to argue Oden will be close to the player KD has become.

 

I thought he might have a Carmelo type of 2nd year, but he got better. Thought he might be the same player in his 3rd year as he was in his 2nd, nope he managed to get better again. Not only is he putting up huge stats his team is winning. Durant will be in the same group as Kobe/LeBron/Wade at this rate.

[CaptainGreenGanja]

Glad he played his rookie year here in Seattle. As a rookie he was a chucker but boy has he came a long way. I'm very excited to see if the Thunder make the playoffs this season, they could use some playoff XP.

 

If you guys didn't know Kevin Durant has scored 25 points in 23 or 24 straight games. Thats a feat that Kobe, Lebron, Wade and Melo have failed to reach.

[ChosenOne]

this is beast worthy also

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWW3ZtkeQH8

 

lol that was nice.

[kingfish]

Cant put his name into MVP discussion.

 

 

someone averaged 35 PPG in 05-06, and finished FOURTH in MVP voting due to his team being the 7th seed, I wont use any names so people dont get upset.

 

With that said, I agree Kevin Durant is a beast.

Edited February 7, 2010 by kingfish

[moeroadkill]

^^ u can put his name in the discussion and it should be in there however his not going to win it he has none to zero chance

[bravenewworld]

^^ u can put his name in the discussion and it should be in there however his not going to win it he has none to zero chance

 

Of course he is not going to get it.

MVP is nothing more then a popularity contest.

07-08 Chris Paul should have gotten it over Kobe.

08-09 Chauncey Billups should have gotten it over LBJ.

09-10 Durant should get it over LBJ.

Edited February 7, 2010 by bravenewworld

[KurbyFX]

The fact that CP3 didn't get voted into ASG is... disappointing.

[Poe]

The fact that CP3 didn't get voted into ASG is... disappointing.

He got voted in. He's just injured and can't physically play in it.

[Hero]

Kevin Durant is my second favorite player next to Kobe. The moment I saw him I knew we were going to be in for a treat. The things that Durant does is so amazing. He's a great guy. I've been thinking to myself, there is life after Kobe after all.

[Flash]

That way he's playing right now he's at that Wade/Kobe/LeBron status. He's definitely an MVP candidate even though LeBron will get it.

 

Call me crazy, but I think he's going to be the best player in the L within the next 2/3 years.

[Hero]

The fact that CP3 didn't get voted into ASG is... disappointing.

CP3 doesn't get the media support that other superstars have. Yes, this is utterly disappointing.

[Real Deal]

25 consecutive games with 25 or more points.

 

The Thunder are 17-8 during that streak, and Durant is averaging 32 PPG, 8 RPG, 52% FG.

 

If he keeps that up, he better get the MVP award. Yes, even over Kobe and James.

[Check my Stats]

Of course he is not going to get it.

MVP is nothing more then a popularity contest.

07-08 Chris Paul should have gotten it over Kobe.

08-09 Chauncey Billups should have gotten it over LBJ.

09-10 Durant should get it over LBJ.

 

 

Lol...

[Newman]

You're kidding right. Billups over LBJ?

 

Anyway, if the Thunder end up as at least the 4th seed and Durant continue to put up those monster stats, give him the MVP. He'll be the one most deserved.

[Kobe24]

I would be okay with him getting MVP. He is an absolute scoring machine. Might have to improve his defense a tad bit but he is a beast.

[xx.]

At this point, I would give him my MVP vote.

[Real Deal]

Of course he is not going to get it.

MVP is nothing more then a popularity contest.

07-08 Chris Paul should have gotten it over Kobe.

08-09 Chauncey Billups should have gotten it over LBJ.

09-10 Durant should get it over LBJ.

If the MVP was mostly about the individual and given to the best player in the NBA, Bryant would've gotten it numerous times over the last decade, and it would be warranted by his play.

 

I'd say both LeBron and Durant are playing better than Bryant right now, but if all three were healthy, Kobe is still the more complete player.

 

Billups was never the best player on that Denver squad. Value is related to individual play and talent. Every GM in the league would take Carmelo Anthony over Chauncey Billups, and that defines value.

 

Right now, the award is a three-man race, and there isn't a fourth involved. LeBron, Durant and Kobe...in that order. Once Bryant becomes healthy, he'll overtake what Durant is doing on the floor and will be side-by-side with LeBron in the race.

 

With that said, I still hope Durant wins it, if Bryant doesn't grab another. Wishful thinking, though.

[bravenewworld]

Billups was never the best player on that Denver squad. Value is related to individual play and talent. Every GM in the league would take Carmelo Anthony over Chauncey Billups, and that defines value.

 

No he was never the best. But he was the most valuable.

Before Billups that team was a questionable 8-10 seed in the West. Hardly anyone had them in a play-off bracket and the ones that did had them losing in the first round. When he went to this team he proved the leadership, skillset and knowledge to create an elite western team that quickly went from 8th to 2nd.

 

Even more you could see the change in his teammates. In Melo, Nene, KMart, JR Smith. These guys' mental and physical developments were not random acts of basketball, they happened because they now had a positive influence on the floor, a true leader, a floor general.

Even after this trade many highly underestimated what the one time champion, two time western conference finalist, six time eastern conference finalist could do.

 

So if the Denver Nuggets wanted to dump Marcus Camby's contract then why bring in Chauncey Billips and Antonio McDyess? If the Denver Nuggets got players good enough to make them contenders then who cares if they brought in expensive players, but they aren't contenders with this lineup. The Denver Nuggets might have just set themselves back even further.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1176391/did_the_denver_nuggets_or_the_detroit.html?cat=14

 

 

But to many's dismay, Billups ended up changing the face of the franchise.

 

The players to benefit most from Chauncey's arrival were J.R. Smith and Nene Hilario.....

 

.....Smith averaged 15 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, all career highs. He became a bona fide second option behind Carmelo while shooting nearly 45 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three-point range. He improved dramatically as the season wore on, averaging 17.8 and 22.4 points per game in March and April respectively.....

 

....Offensively, Denver finished the season sixth in the league in scoring and fifth in field goal percentage. While those numbers were comparable to the season before, their defensive numbers with Billups took a giant step forward.

 

During 2007-08, Denver gave up 107 points per game, good for second worst in the NBA. Their rebounding was atrocious, as they allowed the third most offensive and total rebounds per game.

 

This season they reduced their points allowed per game to 100.9, improving to 19th overall and giving them a plus-3.4 margin—eighth best in the NBA.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/162139-the-reacquisition-of-chauncey-billups-denvers-return-to-relevance

 

 

After the trade, Denver went from a team with two thirty point scorers, to a team that cares about winning. Every team needs a Chauncey Billups type of player, unfortunately there’s not enough to go around. In the end, LeBron is probably going to win the award, because it’s his turn, but don’t think that undermines the great year Chauncey Billups has had in Denver. The only numbers that really count are wins and rings.

http://www.streetball.com/forum/topics/should-chauncey-billups-get

 

The real question is: When is the NBA going to start awarding the true MVPs?

 

Also that little bit about "Every GM in the league would take Carmelo Anthony over Chauncey Billups" i am going to call bollocks on. Melo is a molding player, meaning he takes the shape of what is around him. Don't get me wrong he is an astonishing player, just not a leader of any kind and his NBA career (you can really see a difference in his personality and play with AI vs Billups) proves this and GMs are not stupid, they realize this. Billups on the other hand is a man you bring in to contend and lead and any GOOD GM would pick up a PG of his stature over Melo.

[Real Deal]

You quote this article, which says:

 

The only numbers that really count are wins and rings.

And that's your argument as to why Billups should've gotten it over LeBron, right?

 

Well, why did you say this nonsense?

 

Of course he is not going to get it.

MVP is nothing more then a popularity contest.

07-08 Chris Paul should have gotten it over Kobe.

08-09 Chauncey Billups should have gotten it over LBJ.

09-10 Durant should get it over LBJ.

Kobe had more wins AND rings over Chris Paul in 2008.

 

And, as you know, LeBron has more wins than Durant...and he's also been in the Finals once, has more individual achievements, and he's the better defensive player.

 

So, really, you're contradicting yourself here. If Billups should win an MVP because of his "wins and rings" at that time, why doesn't that apply to everyone else?

 

The fact is, Billups came into Denver when Chris Andersen and Nene BOTH returned to the Nuggets' lineup, and they added a very good defensive player in Dahntay Jones.

 

What happened? Well, Denver added just four wins to their previous season's total, and lost to the same exact team that beat them in 2008.

 

I don't see the difference, really. I think Denver's bigs (Nene and Birdman), and Jones' defense, was a huge factor that many Billups fans are overlooking.

[bravenewworld]

You quote this article, which says:

 

 

And that's your argument as to why Billups should've gotten it over LeBron, right?

 

Nay, did you read my post at all? Did i highlight the part about winning rings or did i highlight a different sentence?

No, i am not contradicting myself.

It is because Billups actually makes his team better.

Because he took a questionable 8th seed (who even after receiving him was questionable simply because people did not realize his true impact to teams) and turned them into consistent yearly Western contenders. If you really want to sum up my post to one of those quotes then use this one:

After the trade, Denver went from a team with two thirty point scorers, to a team that cares about winning.

Billups gets ignored simply because people love to look at the three basic numbers of basketball (which imo is pretty damn stupid) but if you take a look at Denver before and after Billups you see extreme changes and if you look at Detroit with Billups and without Billups you see extreme changes and there is no way to deny his impact of being a true leader; Almost Jordan-esk, nor deny his true value on a team.

 

Detroit 07/08 - W/Billups. 59/23 - 2nd seed, Eastern Conference Finalists for six years. Two finals appearances, one ring.

Nuggets 07/08 - W/O Billups. 52/32 - 8th seed, knock out first round (sweep). Zero team balance, zero leadership.

 

Detroit 08/09 - W/O Billups. 39/43 - 8th seed, first round knock out (sweep). Zero team balance, zero leadership.

Nuggets 08/09 - W/Billups. 54/28 - 2nd seed, Western Conference Finalists.

 

Nuggets 09/10 - W/Billups. 35/18 - 2nd seed, Western Conference Finalists (predicted). Billups has missed 9 games this season, of those 9 games the Nuggets are 3-6. With Billups this team is 32-12.

 

It is ignorant to deny this mans impact on a team and to suggest that he is not the most important piece to the puzzle because i can promise you this: If you take Melo off this team and replace him with Tayshaun Prince (big time numbers difference) then this team would be just as successful with Billups. The same cannot be said if they took Billups off the team.

Edited February 14, 2010 by bravenewworld

[Real Deal]

because i can promise you this: If you take Melo off this team and replace him with Tayshaun Prince (big time numbers difference) then this team would be just as successful with Billups. The same cannot be said if they took Billups off the team.

You can't be serious.

 

And your examples are bad. You can't compare those two Detroit teams, because they had a logjam at the two-guard position and they were experimenting with too many lineup changes, and you also failed to mention they were coached by a rookie head coach who lasted just one year (and probably won't coach in the NBA ever again).

 

And you ignored the part about Denver getting Nene and Birdman back, and bringing in Dahntay Jones (who is doing very well in Indiana now). You can't just hand over team record comparisons without giving the details. That's like me saying Derek Fisher was the MVP of the Lakers in 2007-08 because, when he returned to our team, we went from 42 wins to 57.