K.durant and R.gay
No, u are wrong Durant is definitely one of the closest players to Jordan. I live in NY and i went to see him play against the Knicks (Russell Westbrook's breakout game) and he was a silent scorer. Durant is not the type to raise the cloud and get u out of your seats but he will score 40 on you. He never misses in the paint his ball handling is great he repertoire of moves to get to basket are endless and he can shoot the lights out from 3. His team is so bad he might get kobeitis and go for 40 every game.
i want rudy gay to go to a different team...honestly. if he wants a big payday, i dnt think he'll get it in memphis (due to their owner being very cheap).and Durant getting 30 ppg? Its possible but i dnt think he'll get 30 lol...didnt mj average 30+ in his career?? Not saying durant is mj or anything lol....
I agree with the Mcgrady comparison but vince carter was just a highlight real player as i see it where Mcgrady makes the game easier for his teammates. I also like to say that through observation i see that Durant plays better with better players unlike those who get lost when other stars are added
haha cus yea i think durant is great too! i wish they still played in seattle though :/ see, people in washington state are very cheap even though washington is a very wealthy state (im having a summer job and im making $8+ an hour! Min. Wage! thats great for a 16 year old like myself!). We have nothing to really look forward to...mariners arent as good as they should be, seahawks are on and off, and now the sonics are gone. We just have the storm...wtf? Thanks alot OKC. :/
Just a few years into the league, Durant has blossomed into one of the top scorers last season. He even made it into the Top 10 league leaders in the scoring category. Just like you all mentioned, 27ppg, that's really a superb scoring average for someone who came in just a few years ago. I believe two years ago if i'm not mistaken. He proved that he is a natural leader with a young team. He did not have a big star teammate to help him out, only good role players (Westbrook, Green, etc.). Durant is a great player.
On the other hand, just like d-grizzly mentioned, Gay is a good defender. That's his advantage over Durant. He is consistent. Produces on each night. He can score on the court. In addition, I believe that he will be fine in the next few years.
Good comparison, I haven't thought of that match up.
Carter is just a highlight real have you watched any of his games with the Nets he doesn't drive to the hoop as much. He's been averaging about 5 ast a game with the Nets. Durant is going to be an elite player he could've been most improved player in the league, Gay has All-star potential Rockets stupid to trade him.
so glad the Rockets traded Gay because he wouldn't be the player he is now with us and I'd take Shane any day of the week over Gay. He'll shut him down and Shane was already a proven player in which Gay could have become a bust. Durant is said to be a hybrid of T-Mac and K.G. so the comparisons of T-Mac are good, but I think he is better then McGrady due to his drive and willingness to get better and he wants to be great. McGrady lost his passion, but supposebly he has found it once more, but eh...McGrady has said stuff like this before. Durant will be better then Gay and I don't see Gay with the Grizzlies for more then 2 more years...
D-Wade, D-Howard, Lebron, Durant, Mello, and CP3 are all going to compete for MVP's over the nxt 10 years so saying that Durant will not be in the top 3 in MVP voting is nonsense because one or two of those players are bound to have a down year on a year that durant lights it up. I trully believe that if OKC has a good draft this year then Durant will win a scoring title, MVP, and possibly a Championship during his career.
i honestly think it would be wise to trade rudy gay as well
if anybody ever seen a game you would understand y
rudy is a ball hog, and he crumbles under the double team
so teams can contain him
mayo was a rookie last year and played better under double pressure
mayo is the future of the franchise and they gotta build the team around him
if we can get a defensive SF who dont need alotta touched to put points on the board
and a banger down low...Marc is bigger than pau but he's still a gasol a finesse big
NO MORE RAIL THIN PFs
recent players-darrell arthur, hakim warrick, stromile swift, pau gasol
man we need a beast down low BAD
He is the next no one, he is the next Kevin Durant, his game is nothing like Dirk, just like Lebron is nothing like Magic, its pointless to do these comparisons because the skill sets are so different. Bill Walton was supposidly the next Kareem...I don't think so...
I think you have something there. I believe Gay is very underrated.
Here is my projected numbers and stats for both KD and RG
Durant- 26-32ppg, 6-10rpg and 3-5 apg. 2 scoring titles, 1-3 MVP's and a couple Rings ( different team)
Gay- 24-27ppg, 4-6rpg and 1bpg and 1spg. 2 D MVP and maybe a ring (again with another team)
I think Gay is gone in 2010 because he could get a huge payday to be a #2 option. So if a team (ill use NYK) get a superstar like a Wade, they may call Gay and give him like 5 years, 45 mil to be a #2 if he improves this season.
Durant on the other hand will be improving this season. He has that T-mac in his game except he could be a better rebounder. I think he leaves as well in 2011. He could to a team like the Clippers (no joke) and run that team to a title.
Knicksboy and D-Grizzly you do realize that if either of them were to average 27ppg they would be above A.I., Kobe Bryant, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Shaq, Karl Malone in career scoring average. Maybe one of those players will average those stats as a career high, but I don't believe that either will be all time greats like the players I listed. I don't think it is fair to expect them to average those numbers.
idk man he isn't even 21 yet...and as long as he can avoid a Grant Hill or Penny Hardaway type situation i don't see him getting anything other than better...he can slash and shoot and he was 11th in the league at getting to line converting 85 percent....
I agree that he won't average 30 a game, but I think he will average more than 27. It was only his 2nd year, and he almost averaged 26 a game.. I'd say that his average will be around 28.6 or something like that.. to average almost 26 a game at the age of 20 is friggin rediculous.. He's going to be really good in the years to come
That was not what I was saying at all. My point was that he will NEVER put up those career numbers. You(D-Grizz) stated that he would average 27-30ppg for his career in your first post. Im saying that that is rediculous and if he were to average those numbers like you are suggesting that would give him the third highest ppg average ever. He is good but he is not MJ and Wilt good.
Is there anything Durant can't do? I wouldn't at all be surprised, given his skills, if he averaged over 30 for a few seasons in his prime. Also, people are way overrating Gay on here. He's good, don't get me wrong, but he'll never be close to Durant, at least offensively. I think Durant still needs to add strength, and once he does he will be a much better defender. If the Thunder can keep Durant and the rest of their core intact, I think them and the Blazers will be meeting in multiple conference finals not too far down the road.
I was so interested this discussion that I just registered so I could comment.
I think the predictions at the beginning are interesting. I think you're really high on Gay's numbers. I don't see him ever developing into a franchise guy, as your numbers suggest but I could be wrong. I'd like to focus on your numbers for Durant.
If you look at his shooting percentages (FT %, FG %, and 3PT %) he had a better year last year than the middle of your career averages. Thus, you assume he'll likely not do any better, efficiency wise, than he did his second year in the league. Imagine if we assumed the same thing for Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, or Garnett? Look at how efficient they were in there second year--or when they were 20-- all of them improved, as do most players, after their second year in the pros.
The thing that makes Durant so amazing is that, although he's young, he flat out understands that jacking up loads of shots just to attain high per game averages isn't going to win games. That's something that Iverson and McGrady never understood. In fact, to see Durant's potential greatness compared to McGrady, check this out.
McGrady's highest shooting percentages:
FG% in 00/01 .457
FT% in 08/09 .801
3PT% in 02/03 .386
Durant's percentages from LAST YEAR
FG% . .476
FT% .863
3PT% .422
As you can see, even if you cherrypick the highest percentages from TMac's career, he is not even close to Durant.
I did a statistical analysis on the points per possession of each of the dominating young players from our generation--I know, I'm a nerd, forgive me I'm studying for the CPA exam--and I found something that really shocked me. Kevin Durant was not just on par with most of the guys you'd think were at the top of the pack, he actually was ahead of most of them:
Here's the list of the top 6 20 year olds with their accompanying points/possession:
Magic Johnson 1.175 Points per possession
Shaq O'neal 1.137
Kevin Durant 1.133
Dwight Howard 1.095
Lebron James 1.084
Kobe Bryant 1.077
This was especially shocking because of the way Durant plays--lots of jump shots. The guy is a freak. When I computed rebounds and assists--assists and rebounds are equally weighted so the metric clearly favors big men-- on a per minute basis into the model I found the following metric on a per minute basis for 20 year olds:
Shaq O'neal . .768 --- Shaq increased for another 2 years after he turned 20 but then decreased yearly for the rest of his career, unlike most players
Magic Johnson .705--- Strangely, like Shaq, Magic decreased yearly after his first 4 years in the league.
Lebron James .692
Kevin Durant .617
Dwight Howard .615
Chris Paul .597
Kobe Bryant .523
In the end, what does this prove? Nothing. It does however show that Kevin Durant, at 20 years old, has the statistics to compete with any other 20 year old in the history of the NBA. All I'm trying to say is that you can't say the guy isn't going to be the type to win a few rings or MVP's. He's not even 21. We have no idea how good he's going to be.
I think Durant's scoring will peak in the next few years as the Thunder try to get better. He will probably end up having most of his 30 ppg seasons in the next 5-7 years. Assuming he gets on a team with more balanced offense (perhaps a big man averaging Pao Gasol like numbers and a third scorer in the 15 ppg range), his scoring should level out at 22-25 ppg for the last 8 years of his career.
As for Rudy Gay, he would probably max out at 24-25 ppg for a couple of years, but have a career average in the 18-20 ppg range. He has the potential to be a better rebounder and defensive player, but Durant will be a better scorer and will have a better floor game.
don't get the wrong idea. i'm simply looking at two young players. Durant obviously has the best potential to be one of the best offensive players to step the floor. Rudy gay plays above average defense. I think he has the potential to outdo durant in defense...which is very likely.
rudy gay getting 22-23ppg, 6-7rpg, 2-3apg, 2spg, 2bpg, 2-3TOpg isn't such a reach for this guy. Gay is young too. people forget that.
I'm a bigtime grizzly fan. I think durant will have a more successful career than gay. As far as defense, i think rudy gay will outdo durant.
Both teams have young amazing talent and are getting better each year that goes by. both teams could easily be in the playoffs in the next 2-3 years depending on the next few draft moves/trades/free agent pickups.
I think okc could make it much sooner than memphis though.
Durant's 20 and is incredibly difficult to guard. He will be able to create unstoppable go-to moves, and by the time he's 25, he could easily be the most unstoppable scorer in the league.
Gay will continue to improve his jumpshot and make smarter decisions off penetration.
career averages:
Kevin Durant: 27-30ppg, 6-7rpg, 3-4apg, 1bpg, 1-2 spg, 2-3TO'pg Fg-46-48%, 3pt-38-41%. Ft's-80-84%
I expect durant to achieve a few scoring titles and maybe 1-2 mvp awards. 1-2 nba titles.
Rudy Gay: 22-25ppm, 6-7rpg, 2-3apg, 2bpg, 2spg, 3TOpg. Fg-45-47%. 3pt-38-44%. Ft's-78-82%.
I expect rudy to find ways to disrupt teams offenses as well. I don't think he'll be a #1 option for the grizz ever again..with the addition of mayo. He'll become more mature about his shot selection and decisioning off penetration. Defensively, I give rudy the edge. no scoring titles, playoff runs, western conference finals...YEARS from now. nba title - i'm biased to be hopeful...but i need a few more years to see how he turns out. if rudy becomes a force in the league, doesn't he have just as much a chance as the other dominant SF's in the league?