After watching that game I FEEL FUCKING ILL

[Karl Malone's Elbows]

Hmm. There is always the chance that any decision is wrong. I wouldn't call that subconscious...at every point since the draft, I've consciously understood that Durant may end up the better and more impactful player. The possibility has always existed. I just don't think it's the likeliest possibility right now.

Nor is there much reason to believe that Durant was the better pick at the time..

 

[TripTango]

Hasn't everyone figured MIXUM out already? His posts are pure and unadulterated fan fear. Every little nagging concern or question-mark about the team becomes absolute fact to MIXUM. Judging from his dire "our season is a failure if we don't make the playoffs" posts, one would think that the season is already over and we ended up in 9th place. In fact, this is just a possibility (an unlikely possibility, but a real one nonetheless) that he fixates on out of angst-ridden fear.

In my own very unprofessional opinion, I'd say that MIXUM is in strong need of support and encouragement. He focuses on all of these fears and concerns that most fans simply consider and discard, and can't let go. Desperately wanting to be proven wrong, he posts all of the worst possibilities and harshest criticisms that he can think of and then sits back to let the counter-arguments roll in and soothe his troubled mind. However, like an optimism junkie, it isn't long before he needs another fix and we see things like "KP HAS FALLEN!!! THIS TEAM MUST BE DESTROYED AND REBUILT FROM THE GROUND UP!!!!!"

So be kind. He's just fishing for some optimistic opinions

 

[Minstrel]

Nor is there much reason to believe that Durant was the better pick at the time..

I agree.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Do you think KP and MB were sitting there watching Durant smash the rookies while making excuses for Oden at the same time?

 

[Nets2]

bro i can't blame u for feel shitty. Durant looks like he's gonna be a superstar, and oden more like a bust. Greg said it best tonight: he's always injured at the important times of his career: rookie season, first game, first all-star weekend.

looks like well be enjoying sam bowie pt 2

 

[EGame]

Amazing. I give up with about 95% of the people on this forum.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I have found watching this game for over a decade that the most exceptional players stick out no matter what. Call it a glorified whatever, it's far more telling than say the McDonald's All American Game or the Jordan Brand All-American game that attracts multiple scouts from every college and NBA team.

So, Boobie Gibson was the best player on the court last year? He scored 10 more points than Durant in last year's game and almost twice as many point as Brandon Roy. Better pencil him is as a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Michael Beasley had 29 points to Derick Rose's 4. Does that mean Chicago should regret taking Rose over Beasley? Hell, Beasley scored more points than Rose, Mayo and Westbrook combined - the three leading candidates for ROY.

Rather than reach conclusions based on a game where NOBODY plays any defense, how about watching these guys play in a few REAL games over the course of a season, or two.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

bro i can't blame u for feel shitty. Durant looks like he's gonna be a superstar, and oden more like a bust. Greg said it best tonight: he's always injured at the important times of his career: rookie season, first game, first all-star weekend.

looks like well be enjoying sam bowie pt 2

Yeah, because we all know that the Rookie-Sophomore game is MUCH more important than the play-offs. If tonight was one of the most important times of Oden's career, then you're right, we're screwed. Thankfully, it wasn't. It was a meaningless pick-up game where anyone who can hit a wide open jump shot looks like a superstar.

BNM

 

[BalancedMan]

It isn't the numbers, but it's what you watch. Durant moves so naturally on the court, opposite to the awkward play of Oden who looks lost.

Roy is great. LMA is good. Oden will be good. Durant will likely be a "Top-5" player in the league for 6-8 years. That's the category that guys like LeBron, Wade, Kobe, Duncan, Garnett have occupied over the last few years (I realize some of those players have dropped off...I'm just saying they were "The Best" for a significant period). Roy is darn good, like 8th in PER I believe. He'll be up there, but I don't know if he ever gets in that discussion. I think that Durant will, especially given the way his shooting numbers have improved in his second year.

I'm just saying that I would prefer (right now) a combination of Blake/Roy/Durant/LMA/Pryz over Blake/Roy/Batum/LMA/Oden. Realize that either way we would have Rudy, Outlaw, Webster, and could have made pieces to trade for Bayless.

I'm just not sold on Oden. Watching him in college he would make crazy blocks and he dominated the opposition like in the National Championship game. I thought he was going to be that once-in-a-generation type of center. Now I really don't think so. I don't see the fire in Oden's eyes, the love of the game or the competitiveness.

Maybe in a year or two I'll feel different. Oden already took a year off AFTER the surgery to recover. Compare this to Amare. Granted, he essentially took a year off, and his numbers didn't completely recover, but they were pretty darn decent and two years after his MF surgery he was 1st team all-NBA. I know that Oden is young, but that means within two years after his MF surgery he should be playing like we expected him to as the rookie from Ohio State.

Right now I wish we had Roy + Durant. That's pretty impossible to guard. Exactly who do you put your "defensive stopper" on? Even if they do happen to miss a shot, Pryzbilla is there for the garbage.


I don't mean to be negative because I usually hate when people are, but it's truly how I feel at this point.

 

[Ed O]

Amazing. I give up with about 95% of the people on this forum.

Amazing that you just signed up Feb 13 and are willing to give up on 19 of every 20 people on this forum.

Ed O.

 

[MickZagger]

I have found watching this game for over a decade that the most exceptional players stick out no matter what. Call it a glorified whatever, it's far more telling than say the McDonald's All American Game or the Jordan Brand All-American game that attracts multiple scouts from every college and NBA team.

Oden has a sore knee and didn't play as a precaution. He didn't get a chance to stick out, but if he was playing I'm sure he would of done a number on Luis Scola and Al Horford. I guess if you can't bring anything to the table, might as well join that group of posters who go against the grain and say outlandish things with the goal of being bashed for the sake of being talked about.

 

[Rip City Revelator]

I think we made the smart choice in choosing Oden. Unfortunately, it looks like we made the wrong choice as well.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

So, Boobie Gibson was the best player on the court last year?

Of course YOU would say that.

But you beat me to it. If your view of Durant is formed by this game, then you are officially a sorry-ass loser.

And here's a thought: all of you who think Durant is now the Second Coming, were you thinking that last year when everyone was giving up on him as a one-dimensional (bad) gunner? Let's give Oden the same grace period. I think if you can read anything out of this game, it's that the Sophomores have a very shallow pool of talent (and are ready to defer to a gunner). Scoring a lot in one of these games is not necessarily a sign of talent (you think Brandon Roy had less talent than Gibson last year)? It's willingness to jack up the ball every time you get it. Roy could've done that last year, but he's not an asshole.

The other point worth making is, who was supposed to defend Durant? The Rookies were all guards and centers - too short or too slow. Put Batum in there on Durant and he'll still score a fair bit but I bet you he doesn't break the record.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

bro i can't blame u for feel shitty. Durant looks like he's gonna be a superstar, and oden more like a bust. Greg said it best tonight: he's always injured at the important times of his career: rookie season, first game, first all-star weekend.
looks like well be enjoying sam bowie pt 2

I know you're trolling, but you're right. If only Oden could be healthy all season, every season - like your boy Bynum. Now there's an iron man!

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I think we made the smart choice in choosing Oden. Unfortunately, it looks like we made the wrong choice as well.

Why does it look like that?

 

[anonymous gambler]

Maybe in a year or two I'll feel different. Oden already took a year off AFTER the surgery to recover. Compare this to Amare. Granted, he essentially took a year off, and his numbers didn't completely recover, but they were pretty darn decent and two years after his MF surgery he was 1st team all-NBA. I know that Oden is young, but that means within two years after his MF surgery he should be playing like we expected him to as the rookie from Ohio State.

Right now I wish we had Roy + Durant. That's pretty impossible to guard. Exactly who do you put your "defensive stopper" on? Even if they do happen to miss a shot, Pryzbilla is there for the garbage.


I don't mean to be negative because I usually hate when people are, but it's truly how I feel at this point.

The year to recover that everyone refers to is after you start playing. They say that it takes one season back before you regain your athleticism.

Stoudemire is considered to have had the best recovery- but for McCants, Randolph, Kidd and others it took some time playing to come back to form.

 

[Rip City Revelator]

Why does it look like that?

Because the guy we passed on is shooting 48% from the floor, 43% from 3, and draining 26 points a game, as a 20 year old. He also has no injury history.

Oden, despite the whining on this board, has done very well for a rookie in limited minutes, and I think he'll turn into a stud, if he can get his explosiveness back. But Kevin Durant he is not.

 

[Rip City Revelator]

I know you're trolling, but you're right. If only Oden could be healthy all season, every season - like your boy Bynum. Now there's an iron man!

Or his boy Brook Lopez, who's been healthy his whole career.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Durant is a great scorer. This is what we expected he would be when he came out of college. Good for him. When was the last time a player who lead the league in scoring won an NBA title? It was 11 years ago. His name was Michael Jordan. In the meantime Allen Iverson has won 3 scoring titles and ZERO NBA championships. Tracy McGrady: 2 scoring titles, ZERO rings and has never advanced past the 1st round of the play-offs.

Defense and rebounding wins championships. When Jodran won his rings, he was a great defender, and also played with two other great defenders (Pippen and Horace Grant, followed by Pippen and Rodman) and a great rebounder (Grant, Rodman). Plus, Jordan and Pippen were also great rebounders for their positions. Greg Oden was drafted to help the Blazers win championships, not to win individual scoring titles. Kevin Pritchard even said so at the time of the draft.

Durant may eventually win multiple scoring titles, but unless they surround him with great defenders and at least one top flight rebounder, he will be the next TMac - lots of points, ZERO rings.

Young Big men take time to develop - especially young big men coming off microfracture surgery. As inconsistent, foul prone and out of shape as Oden has been this year, he still has excellent stats for the minutes he's played. His per 36 minute numbers compare favorably to Dwight Howard's rookie season - and look at Howard now (and Howard didn't have microfracture surgery).

Is Durant's fantastic scoring helping OKC win more games? A few, but they've only won 13 all season. They are in last place in the NW Division and tied for 2nd to last in the Western Conference. Oden is already helping the Blazers win games. His team is currently the 4th seed in the Western Conference. I'll take team success over individual glory any time. Durant can have his scoring titles and Rookie-Sophomore MVP. When all is said and done, I still believe Greg Oden will win multiple NBA titles and Durant will be luky to win one - unless he gets a whole lot of help (or gets traded to Portland).

BNM

 

[PapaG]

I don't agree with the original poster at all, but I also don't see how the posters criticizing Durant in this thread are any more correct or above being called out for their views. Durant is a heck of a talent and looks to be a future superstar; that doesn't really mean much compared to Oden since they don't play the same position. Bashing him for losing as a young player isn't fair at all. Durant can't control the players around him. Kobe Bryant missed the playoffs a few years ago because he had garbage around him.

The criticism of Durant seems to be very emotional, which is to be expected because Oden simply has not performed as we all thought he would after he was drafted. There are reasons for this, of course, but the easy way to justify the pick is to pick apart Durant's game. Durant is 21 years-old right now. I think that has to be remembered when piling on him. It is possible to say that Durant looks like a Hall of Fame talent and to still think that Oden was the correct pick.

I saw that Durant is averaging something like 29/8 over the past month and the team is playing .500 ball. That's impressive for any player on a bad team.

 

[Karl Malone's Elbows]

LOL, this is the most volatile online community ever. You can tell all of these people getting mad at me only read a sentence or two and came to their own conclusion about what I said without actually reading my post.

 

[Karl Malone's Elbows]

So, Boobie Gibson was the best player on the court last year? He scored 10 more points than Durant in last year's game and almost twice as many point as Brandon Roy. Better pencil him is as a first ballot Hall of Famer.

No.

Michael Beasley had 29 points to Derick Rose's 4. Does that mean Chicago should regret taking Rose over Beasley? Hell, Beasley scored more points than Rose, Mayo and Westbrook combined - the three leading candidates for ROY.

I've always thought Beasley was a better player than Rose. I've yet to see anything this year that changes my mind.

Rather than reach conclusions based on a game where NOBODY plays any defense, how about watching these guys play in a few REAL games over the course of a season, or two.

BNM

Pretty silly to assume I don't.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Durant didn't look so hot in the last game we played against them. I also notice that OKC's style seems to be a bit of a seven-seconds-or-less style now that Brooks has taken over. This works nicely to Durant's advantage as he rarely has to face a defense that is set up.

Durant is a very nice player. Sort of a SF version of Dirk Nowitzki.

 

[PapaG]

Durant didn't look so hot in the last game we played against them. I also notice that OKC's style seems to be a bit of a seven-seconds-or-less style now that Brooks has taken over. This works nicely to Durant's advantage as he rarely has to face a defense that is set up.

Durant is a very nice player. Sort of a SF version of Dirk Nowitzki.

So he has MVP talent. I agree with that assessment.

 

[mgb]

It isn't the numbers, but it's what you watch. Durant moves so naturally on the court, opposite to the awkward play of Oden who looks lost.

Roy is great. LMA is good. Oden will be good. Durant will likely be a "Top-5" player in the league for 6-8 years. That's the category that guys like LeBron, Wade, Kobe, Duncan, Garnett have occupied over the last few years (I realize some of those players have dropped off...I'm just saying they were "The Best" for a significant period). Roy is darn good, like 8th in PER I believe. He'll be up there, but I don't know if he ever gets in that discussion. I think that Durant will, especially given the way his shooting numbers have improved in his second year.

I'm just saying that I would prefer (right now) a combination of Blake/Roy/Durant/LMA/Pryz over Blake/Roy/Batum/LMA/Oden. Realize that either way we would have Rudy, Outlaw, Webster, and could have made pieces to trade for Bayless.

I'm just not sold on Oden. Watching him in college he would make crazy blocks and he dominated the opposition like in the National Championship game. I thought he was going to be that once-in-a-generation type of center. Now I really don't think so. I don't see the fire in Oden's eyes, the love of the game or the competitiveness.

Maybe in a year or two I'll feel different. Oden already took a year off AFTER the surgery to recover. Compare this to Amare. Granted, he essentially took a year off, and his numbers didn't completely recover, but they were pretty darn decent and two years after his MF surgery he was 1st team all-NBA. I know that Oden is young, but that means within two years after his MF surgery he should be playing like we expected him to as the rookie from Ohio State.

Right now I wish we had Roy + Durant. That's pretty impossible to guard. Exactly who do you put your "defensive stopper" on? Even if they do happen to miss a shot, Pryzbilla is there for the garbage.


I don't mean to be negative because I usually hate when people are, but it's truly how I feel at this point.

So we should be expecting him to have problems with staying in games because of fouls? Right now, since he's got in better shape which he wouldn't have had to do if not for sitting out a year, he's doing pretty much what you would expect as a rookie, except for not being a 100% from the knee surgery which we should see by next year. He does lead all rookies in double doubles which isn't that bad considering the problems he's had this year and the few mins he plays compare to how many he would play on a bad team.

Amare had the benefit of playing in the NBA before his injury so it's hard to compare them.

 

[Nikolokolus]

bro i can't blame u for feel shitty. Durant looks like he's gonna be a superstar, and oden more like a bust. Greg said it best tonight: he's always injured at the important times of his career: rookie season, first game, first all-star weekend.

looks like well be enjoying sam bowie pt 2

Says the Nets fan. thanks for sharing.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I know you're trolling, but you're right. If only Oden could be healthy all season, every season - like your boy Bynum. Now there's an iron man!

That wasn't Darizzle, this Nets2 guys "stole" his avatar.

 

[Nets2]

hey bro i grew up in new jersey but i follow the whole league. im not a big nets fan believe it or not.

 

[The Professional Fan]

I honestly don't have a clue what the intent of this thread is.

Durant is a good player! Totally agree! Am I missing something?

 

[TripTango]

hey bro i grew up in new jersey but i follow the whole league. im not a big nets fan believe it or not.

Dude named "Nets2" (who is not a big Nets fan) posting on the Blazers forum with a Lakers avatar. Curious.