[Beck] Why Durant left, what it took to snag him (and what it means wrt Harden)

We don't have to worry about Harden leaving then. Just have to worry about everyone else leaving.

 

Harden and Westbrook together. Sticky swag champs.

 

This confirms more that the ballhogs were Harden and Westbrook.

Durant enjoys not having the ball in his hands most of the time, and moving off the ball.

 

Westbrook had KD and bunch of other capable role players, yet still played "sticky ball."

Harden never even had a chance to share the ball with another superstar caliber player in Houston (Dwight's first year here was as good as it got), and role players around him can't even knock down wide open shots (BTW, when they did, like in 14-15 season, we didn't hear a beep about how Harden is this selfish player)

That's a huge difference. I've watched probably hundreds of games of Harden and WB, and I still can't believe some ppl think Harden hogs the ball just as much as Westbrook. WB routinely takes 30 + shots a game, while dishing out 10 + assists just because he holds the ball so god damn much. I don't know what other people are watching, but Harden sometimes has an opposite issue, meaning he's a bit passive at times. You never feel that way about Westbrook. Ever.

 

Durant is dead to me.

Not going to read

 

Do not let the door hit you on the way out.

 

The whole being frustrated by contested shots thing tells me a lot KD that I never figured was his thing.

When you're one of the two or three best players in the league, contested shots should be expected.

 

I am impartial because I am a fan of neither, Harden or WB

Sure WB is even a worse ballhog but he is also more athletic and aggressive.

Sometimes, the laid back attitude of Harden will have its perks but I can tell you being aggressive is not a bad attribute at all.

It can win you regular season games, and at least get you to the 3rd round.

You need a system, I do not think Westbrook can switch back to cool Westbrook sharing the ball more.

Harden's problem are turnovers more than anything and his game is easy readable for the opponent in the playoffs and in the waning moments of games.

He can still eurostep and draw fouls but that will not work as much in the playoffs or close games.

Essentially he will rely more on his jumpers and 3 pt shots which is not effective all the time.

OKC's problem were that they could function alright but in the playoffs there was no real leader.

Durant is not the best leader either.

All those flaws they had could not be overcome, even with this amount of talent.

 

this is a crap take. Durant realized he wasn't good enough to be the robin to westbrook's batman and that oklahoma city wasn't going to be able to bring the players needed to create a superstar greased avenue to the finals either via cap restrictions or by recruitability so he took the easy road.

he has already developed as a player and has arguably already moved beyond his peak (still in prime though). He had a new coach that took the season to learn the roster and then did an outstanding job in the playoffs. Westbrook had ascended to otherworldly status and had moved past him as the primary star. He even had a GM that knew how to make moves.

will be interesting when the fact that one ball is not enough to share between players and klay's true role as alpha dog is further stinted.

 

Beck is a fantastic sports writer. Whether I agree or not, he doesn't just fling **** on the wall and hope it sticks. Thanks for the post. Repped.

 

No pecking order, no harmony.

 

Durant's camp in spin-control. Durant has always gone out of his way to defend Westbrook and let the world know how much he believes in Westbrook. This wasn't about Westbrook or contested shots.

Let's just call it what it is...Durant wanted an easy path to a ring, and he's going to get it. Good for him.

 

If the league stays as it is why would someone from Utah or Milwaukee even want to watch the NBA? Hopefully this gets enough ire from the NBA front office and they can finally start calling those moving screens.

 

Athleticism is part of the reason why Harden struggles in the playoffs. It's the same thing with Curry or KD, when the defense intensifies, your shooting naturally suffers. What you need is a LeBron type player, who can just bulldoze his way towards the basket no matter what. Unfortunately Harden can't do that, but his ability to draw fouls is actually just as effective in the playoffs (7.6 FTA during regular season vs 7.3 FTA in the playoffs; career average). His playoffs TS% is 59%, which is really good and not far off from his regular season average. Where Harden suffers is in his jump shots and ability to finish at the rim, but many players go through similar decline in efficiency during the playoffs simply due to the intensity of defense.

As for Westbrook, his aggressiveness is a double-edged sword, but given his low efficiency I would say it's actually unwarranted. He has too many of those 10/25 shooting nights, he's just not a very effective scorer to be given that much reign on offense. I mean there is absolutely no justification for WB taking 25~30 shots a game when you're playing alongside with one of the best pure scorers in the history of basketball in KD. Absolutely none.

 

If we are talking KD and WB is like the Houston Rockets, Harden is more WB and Dwight is more KD. Ya'al are reading into crap and seeing the answers that fit your already made conclusions here.

 

Don't give me that crap. What has Presti done to earn praise? His roster moves, over years, have fallen flat. He got a decent return on the pick of Adams and was willing to pay Kantor. Kantor, who played fewer minutes due to Adams.

Two seminal stars and running in the mud for a few years. Presti is just flat-out overrated. He effed up royally w/his stewardship of Durant/Westbrook.

Maybe he can build, rebuild, OKC II if he swings a Jimmy-is-desperate-trade of Russ to Buss and let the new guys be the new coming of they who are now gone.

 

I'm sure Westbrook was frustrated with Durant choking in the playoffs against GSW.

 

This is damage control from a posse member who talked him into GSW. This article is about leaving OKC. This sentiment to blame someone on your way out isn't about why choose GSW over Boston or Chris Paul.

He could have gone to Boston or chose LA/Paul as well.

The article works equally well with any of his chooses...SAS too.

But no, he chose a 73 Win championship team that almost repeated and who beat him in the playoffs. Quit changing the subject to Westbrook...makes me think of him even less to knock OKC/WB on his way out.