veganfan21 wrote:
I agree with RFDC's take on LBJ vs Kawhi. Though they have around the same PER ranking on ESPN (LBJ ahead by less than a point),
Kawhi is beating LeBron in Win Shares, VORP, Box +/-, Offensive and Defensive Rating. Lebron is slightly ahead in PER. The advanced stats have both players similar, but Kawhi gets the edge.
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LBJ's skills I think make him more of a problem for opposing defenses than Kawhi. Kawhi is the better defender at this point, but when he's forced to turn it on LBJ can be a very effective defender. Just ask the ghost of Derrick Rose. I don't see many SA games, so not too sure about this, but Kawhi seems to be a Luol Deng on steroids. That's not meant to denigrate him in anyway, or suggest he's not an All NBA talent, etc. Just trying to summarize his game by using a model. From what I remember he could dribble drive a bit, but it's not like his ability to penetrate is on par with folks like LBJ or KD. Perhaps that has changed recently, not sure. LBJ is more like Magic, of course, so there's a dynamism that's still there with James that you don't have (yet) with Kawhi, and again that's not a knock. I'd probably rank Kawhi ahead of Curry just because of Kawhi's defensive prowess, but in the end I think Davis will be the perennial number one player in the league just because of his versatility on both ends of the floor.
LeBron really isn't close to the defender that Kawhi is at this point. I don't know that anyone is, but LeBron isn't. The stats and eye test both back this up. He's as efficient a scorer almost as Steph Curry, and he's also by far the best defensive player in the league. He's a perimeter defender who's about to win back to back DPOY awards and is still getting better on both ends of the floor. Honestly, the Luol comparison is way off base. Kawhi is 10x better at driving, passing, shooting, defense. The only thing Luol probably has over him is mid range shot, the most useless shot in the game.
I think you're taking my Luol comparison the wrong way. Obviously Kawhi is 10x better at everything you listed, hence why I said he's Luol on steroids. Why I used Luol here is to represent the type of player Kawhi is - a SF who can give you 18-22 ppg, 7-9 rbg, and 1-2 steals, like Luol, only enhanced. Then there's the awesome D and whatnot. Where LBJ gets the edge in my opinion, and will continue to get the edge until he's clearly no longer an elite player, is what he brings transcends positions. He can be simultaneously all five positions on the court on both ends of the floor. The versatility is off the charts. He can be a distributor if you need him to do that, he can score if you need him to, and he can play down low if you need that as well. He's a walking triple double and since he reached the prime age of his career his teams haven't finished anything less than second best overall. That's total dominance and big shoes for anyone, let alone Kawhi, to fill.