Knicks · Ot: anyone else finding it hard to root for Durant on team USA (page 2)
EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:not watching the games until there's some actual competition, but durant made the right decision. he knew he could not win a title playing alongside westbrook, who for all his numbers, doesn't make others around him better. in fact, he made durant worse because a point guard should never have the usage rate that westbrook had-- well over 30%. no chance of synergy or team chemistry with that sort of player. similar to iverson in this regard, but really he's the wilt chamberlain of guards-- incredible numbers, but is not really team first, and not much to show for it.durant, a heady pragmatist in recognizing this, went to a team where he will be able to expand his game, becoming the playmaker a la paul george and paul pierce that he was meant to be-- but could never be-- with westbrook.
for those who hate durant's guts, you have to ask yourself the question: would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
He was one win from the finals. His team choked. Then he goes to the team that beat him. They also won an nba record of games that season.... "heady pragmatist"? Can't give him any credit for simply going to the best team in the nba.
He tattooed a picture of Tupac with the words "all eyes on me" on his calve right after signing... so this guy is clearly a douche.
you may not be aware that durant is an advanced stat player that prizes efficiency, and efficiency is best represented by TS%. just google "justin zormelo." the issue in okc has been that his teammate is the anti- efficient player. in fact westbrook is a volume shooter and essentially a gambler. and you just don't win titles that way. moreoever, westbrook is a point guard whose usage hovers around 32% while taking about 20 shots a game. he detracts from his teammates, especially durant. in that series i believe durant had had just about enough of westbrook:
game 1 he shot 7-21 , missing 14 shots. TS% is 49.7 W
game 2 he shot 5-14 , missing 9 shots. TS% is 49.4 L
game 3 he shot 10-19, missing 9 shots. TS% is 62.9 W
game 4 he shot 12-27, missing 15 shots. TS% is 59.0 W
game 5 he shot 11-28, missing 17 shots. TS% is 48.5 L
game 6 he shot 10-27, missing 17 shots. TS% is 44.6 L
game 7 and shot 7-21, missing 14 shots. TS% is 48.5 Ldurant's "team" didn't choke so much as westbrook was just being the whole show, wherein he was 1-4 in games where his TS% was below 50, and 2-0 where his TS% was closer to 60.
All those stats and facts that you want to put out there still puts Durant on the best team in the nba after he lost to them in the playoffs... I don't even get why you have to reach so far just to make a point. What are you his cousin?
the answer to your question is "no." now can you answer my question: if you're durant, would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
The answer to that question should have been answered by management... they never put the correct mix around the two players... that's why Durant should move to a different team. The franchise had proven that is more concerned with saving money than building a championship team.
If I were Durant I would have left too. You can't really fault him for going to the surest thing especially since he could sign there outright.... as a man and a competitor, I would not have went to Golden State. I would have went to the eastern conference to a team like Boston, Wizards or even Toronto. As a fan I could respect that. If I was a player I could respect myself better with that decision
the warriors play a beautiful brand of basketball, just like the spurs. just so happens that beauty in basketball correlates closely to pure teamwork and synergy, and pure teamwork and synergy correlate closely to efficiency. durant prizes efficiency so he went to a team that best embodies that.
beautiful basketball = pure teamwork and synergy = efficiency
if there were other teams out there that embodied these attributes then durant might have considered going elsewhere. as it is, you have agreed that he should have left okc. what you object to is where he decided to go. ok i get that.
however, as a competitor, he wants to win. he's no less of a competitor if he goes to a place that gives him a better chance to do so, while allowing his game to blossom. your position doesn't make sense, ie. he should go to a lesser team and try to lead that team to a title. again, as a competitor and a man, he wants to win.
Vmart wrote:I have no problem with him. This is a different time. Players join forces to form super teams. It started with Miami and Cleveland if you want to blame someone for this its LeBron he set the precedence for this. Durant wants to win a title and that's fine by me. Besides if you guys haven't figured it out by now NBA=WWF.
well actually the root cause is free agency. so if one prefers that players continue to be free agents then one should happily accept these sorts of decisions that they are free to make. what you should have problems with is collusion, which durant did not do and lebron james did do.
anyway, i happen to think that durant grew tired of playing with an inefficient sidekick, and this alienated him. it'll be interesting to see how westbrook fares now. my guess is we'll see iverson/sixers 2.0, essentially the polar opposite of the warriors.
dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:not watching the games until there's some actual competition, but durant made the right decision. he knew he could not win a title playing alongside westbrook, who for all his numbers, doesn't make others around him better. in fact, he made durant worse because a point guard should never have the usage rate that westbrook had-- well over 30%. no chance of synergy or team chemistry with that sort of player. similar to iverson in this regard, but really he's the wilt chamberlain of guards-- incredible numbers, but is not really team first, and not much to show for it.durant, a heady pragmatist in recognizing this, went to a team where he will be able to expand his game, becoming the playmaker a la paul george and paul pierce that he was meant to be-- but could never be-- with westbrook.
for those who hate durant's guts, you have to ask yourself the question: would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
He was one win from the finals. His team choked. Then he goes to the team that beat him. They also won an nba record of games that season.... "heady pragmatist"? Can't give him any credit for simply going to the best team in the nba.
He tattooed a picture of Tupac with the words "all eyes on me" on his calve right after signing... so this guy is clearly a douche.
you may not be aware that durant is an advanced stat player that prizes efficiency, and efficiency is best represented by TS%. just google "justin zormelo." the issue in okc has been that his teammate is the anti- efficient player. in fact westbrook is a volume shooter and essentially a gambler. and you just don't win titles that way. moreoever, westbrook is a point guard whose usage hovers around 32% while taking about 20 shots a game. he detracts from his teammates, especially durant. in that series i believe durant had had just about enough of westbrook:
game 1 he shot 7-21 , missing 14 shots. TS% is 49.7 W
game 2 he shot 5-14 , missing 9 shots. TS% is 49.4 L
game 3 he shot 10-19, missing 9 shots. TS% is 62.9 W
game 4 he shot 12-27, missing 15 shots. TS% is 59.0 W
game 5 he shot 11-28, missing 17 shots. TS% is 48.5 L
game 6 he shot 10-27, missing 17 shots. TS% is 44.6 L
game 7 and shot 7-21, missing 14 shots. TS% is 48.5 Ldurant's "team" didn't choke so much as westbrook was just being the whole show, wherein he was 1-4 in games where his TS% was below 50, and 2-0 where his TS% was closer to 60.
All those stats and facts that you want to put out there still puts Durant on the best team in the nba after he lost to them in the playoffs... I don't even get why you have to reach so far just to make a point. What are you his cousin?
the answer to your question is "no." now can you answer my question: if you're durant, would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
The answer to that question should have been answered by management... they never put the correct mix around the two players... that's why Durant should move to a different team. The franchise had proven that is more concerned with saving money than building a championship team.
If I were Durant I would have left too. You can't really fault him for going to the surest thing especially since he could sign there outright.... as a man and a competitor, I would not have went to Golden State. I would have went to the eastern conference to a team like Boston, Wizards or even Toronto. As a fan I could respect that. If I was a player I could respect myself better with that decision
the warriors play a beautiful brand of basketball, just like the spurs. just so happens that beauty in basketball correlates closely to pure teamwork and synergy, and pure teamwork and synergy correlate closely to efficiency. durant prizes efficiency so he went to a team that best embodies that.
beautiful basketball = pure teamwork and synergy = efficiency
if there were other teams out there that embodied these attributes then durant might have considered going elsewhere. as it is, you have agreed that he should have left okc. what you object to is where he decided to go. ok i get that.
however, as a competitor, he wants to win. he's no less of a competitor if he goes to a place that gives him a better chance to do so, while allowing his game to blossom. your position doesn't make sense, ie. he should go to a lesser team and try to lead that team to a title. again, as a competitor and a man, he wants to win.
Hes going to win no matter where he goes. He puts the Knicks, Boston, Toronto and Boston in th6 eastern conference finals. Golden state probably would be in the finals with our without Durant. That'swhat makes this argument different. I was a durant fan but after this is could care less like the title of the thread says
How can you feel sour about Durant going to a super team while watching him on the most super of superteams?
Bonn1997 wrote:yellowboy90 wrote:Nopeexactly
Sign me up too
EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:not watching the games until there's some actual competition, but durant made the right decision. he knew he could not win a title playing alongside westbrook, who for all his numbers, doesn't make others around him better. in fact, he made durant worse because a point guard should never have the usage rate that westbrook had-- well over 30%. no chance of synergy or team chemistry with that sort of player. similar to iverson in this regard, but really he's the wilt chamberlain of guards-- incredible numbers, but is not really team first, and not much to show for it.durant, a heady pragmatist in recognizing this, went to a team where he will be able to expand his game, becoming the playmaker a la paul george and paul pierce that he was meant to be-- but could never be-- with westbrook.
for those who hate durant's guts, you have to ask yourself the question: would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
He was one win from the finals. His team choked. Then he goes to the team that beat him. They also won an nba record of games that season.... "heady pragmatist"? Can't give him any credit for simply going to the best team in the nba.
He tattooed a picture of Tupac with the words "all eyes on me" on his calve right after signing... so this guy is clearly a douche.
you may not be aware that durant is an advanced stat player that prizes efficiency, and efficiency is best represented by TS%. just google "justin zormelo." the issue in okc has been that his teammate is the anti- efficient player. in fact westbrook is a volume shooter and essentially a gambler. and you just don't win titles that way. moreoever, westbrook is a point guard whose usage hovers around 32% while taking about 20 shots a game. he detracts from his teammates, especially durant. in that series i believe durant had had just about enough of westbrook:
game 1 he shot 7-21 , missing 14 shots. TS% is 49.7 W
game 2 he shot 5-14 , missing 9 shots. TS% is 49.4 L
game 3 he shot 10-19, missing 9 shots. TS% is 62.9 W
game 4 he shot 12-27, missing 15 shots. TS% is 59.0 W
game 5 he shot 11-28, missing 17 shots. TS% is 48.5 L
game 6 he shot 10-27, missing 17 shots. TS% is 44.6 L
game 7 and shot 7-21, missing 14 shots. TS% is 48.5 Ldurant's "team" didn't choke so much as westbrook was just being the whole show, wherein he was 1-4 in games where his TS% was below 50, and 2-0 where his TS% was closer to 60.
All those stats and facts that you want to put out there still puts Durant on the best team in the nba after he lost to them in the playoffs... I don't even get why you have to reach so far just to make a point. What are you his cousin?
the answer to your question is "no." now can you answer my question: if you're durant, would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
The answer to that question should have been answered by management... they never put the correct mix around the two players... that's why Durant should move to a different team. The franchise had proven that is more concerned with saving money than building a championship team.
If I were Durant I would have left too. You can't really fault him for going to the surest thing especially since he could sign there outright.... as a man and a competitor, I would not have went to Golden State. I would have went to the eastern conference to a team like Boston, Wizards or even Toronto. As a fan I could respect that. If I was a player I could respect myself better with that decision
the warriors play a beautiful brand of basketball, just like the spurs. just so happens that beauty in basketball correlates closely to pure teamwork and synergy, and pure teamwork and synergy correlate closely to efficiency. durant prizes efficiency so he went to a team that best embodies that.
beautiful basketball = pure teamwork and synergy = efficiency
if there were other teams out there that embodied these attributes then durant might have considered going elsewhere. as it is, you have agreed that he should have left okc. what you object to is where he decided to go. ok i get that.
however, as a competitor, he wants to win. he's no less of a competitor if he goes to a place that gives him a better chance to do so, while allowing his game to blossom. your position doesn't make sense, ie. he should go to a lesser team and try to lead that team to a title. again, as a competitor and a man, he wants to win.
Hes going to win no matter where he goes. He puts the Knicks, Boston, Toronto and Boston in th6 eastern conference finals. Golden state probably would be in the finals with our without Durant. That'swhat makes this argument different. I was a durant fan but after this is could care less like the title of the thread says
In the finals? OK, but they probably weren't going to win 4 or 5 championships. If they do and he plays like a superstar, he deserve credit.
tj23 wrote:The NBA is very different from other sports as it is always top heavy. You can't force players to be loyal and the league doesn't allow the original team enough to entice their prize free agents. The league has had plenty of time to adjust and hasn't. At least Durant didn't make a spectacle on TV, have a party talking about winning it all every year for the next decade...
Really? The current team already can offer more money and years just because they were the team that drafted the player or had him on their roster. And they can offer an extension, which is a lot of guaranteed money in order to avoid free agency. You could already say that's too lopsided and a more level playing field that allows other teams a chance to get players would be fairer. I don't have any problem with the way it is now. I don't want to the economic forces to just motivate every player to stay on their current team forever. That would be so boring.
EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:EnySpree wrote:dk7th wrote:not watching the games until there's some actual competition, but durant made the right decision. he knew he could not win a title playing alongside westbrook, who for all his numbers, doesn't make others around him better. in fact, he made durant worse because a point guard should never have the usage rate that westbrook had-- well over 30%. no chance of synergy or team chemistry with that sort of player. similar to iverson in this regard, but really he's the wilt chamberlain of guards-- incredible numbers, but is not really team first, and not much to show for it.durant, a heady pragmatist in recognizing this, went to a team where he will be able to expand his game, becoming the playmaker a la paul george and paul pierce that he was meant to be-- but could never be-- with westbrook.
for those who hate durant's guts, you have to ask yourself the question: would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
He was one win from the finals. His team choked. Then he goes to the team that beat him. They also won an nba record of games that season.... "heady pragmatist"? Can't give him any credit for simply going to the best team in the nba.
He tattooed a picture of Tupac with the words "all eyes on me" on his calve right after signing... so this guy is clearly a douche.
you may not be aware that durant is an advanced stat player that prizes efficiency, and efficiency is best represented by TS%. just google "justin zormelo." the issue in okc has been that his teammate is the anti- efficient player. in fact westbrook is a volume shooter and essentially a gambler. and you just don't win titles that way. moreoever, westbrook is a point guard whose usage hovers around 32% while taking about 20 shots a game. he detracts from his teammates, especially durant. in that series i believe durant had had just about enough of westbrook:
game 1 he shot 7-21 , missing 14 shots. TS% is 49.7 W
game 2 he shot 5-14 , missing 9 shots. TS% is 49.4 L
game 3 he shot 10-19, missing 9 shots. TS% is 62.9 W
game 4 he shot 12-27, missing 15 shots. TS% is 59.0 W
game 5 he shot 11-28, missing 17 shots. TS% is 48.5 L
game 6 he shot 10-27, missing 17 shots. TS% is 44.6 L
game 7 and shot 7-21, missing 14 shots. TS% is 48.5 Ldurant's "team" didn't choke so much as westbrook was just being the whole show, wherein he was 1-4 in games where his TS% was below 50, and 2-0 where his TS% was closer to 60.
All those stats and facts that you want to put out there still puts Durant on the best team in the nba after he lost to them in the playoffs... I don't even get why you have to reach so far just to make a point. What are you his cousin?
the answer to your question is "no." now can you answer my question: if you're durant, would you prefer and enjoy being stuck playing alongside russell westbrook the majority of your career?
The answer to that question should have been answered by management... they never put the correct mix around the two players... that's why Durant should move to a different team. The franchise had proven that is more concerned with saving money than building a championship team.
If I were Durant I would have left too. You can't really fault him for going to the surest thing especially since he could sign there outright.... as a man and a competitor, I would not have went to Golden State. I would have went to the eastern conference to a team like Boston, Wizards or even Toronto. As a fan I could respect that. If I was a player I could respect myself better with that decision
the warriors play a beautiful brand of basketball, just like the spurs. just so happens that beauty in basketball correlates closely to pure teamwork and synergy, and pure teamwork and synergy correlate closely to efficiency. durant prizes efficiency so he went to a team that best embodies that.
beautiful basketball = pure teamwork and synergy = efficiency
if there were other teams out there that embodied these attributes then durant might have considered going elsewhere. as it is, you have agreed that he should have left okc. what you object to is where he decided to go. ok i get that.
however, as a competitor, he wants to win. he's no less of a competitor if he goes to a place that gives him a better chance to do so, while allowing his game to blossom. your position doesn't make sense, ie. he should go to a lesser team and try to lead that team to a title. again, as a competitor and a man, he wants to win.
Hes going to win no matter where he goes. He puts the Knicks, Boston, Toronto and Boston in th6 eastern conference finals. Golden state probably would be in the finals with our without Durant. That'swhat makes this argument different. I was a durant fan but after this is could care less like the title of the thread says
win what?
But he won me over with his play on the court.
Durant don't bother me. Lets see what he does on the court.
Lets see if other teams can beat them.
IN the end, its about basketball.
He's on the team, so you should root for Durant and team USA to succeed no matter what. That even includes rooting for Melo to succeed. 
So he left for Golden State that beat his team, who cares! He'll probably be back in OKC in a year, and they'll welcome him back with open arms.