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RIC BUCHER: The prevailing wisdom is that LeBron James will win this year's MVP and could win the next five, short of voter-fatigue prompting the panel to go in another direction. I can't fault anyone for thinking that way. But I'm going to join Kenny Smith in what I'm sure is a small minority and say three years from now Kevin Durant will be the Alpha Dog of the NBA.
CHRIS BROUSSARD: As much as I love Durant, he will not be a better player than LeBron. He will likely emerge as James' true rival. We've tried to make it Kobe Bryant, but the age difference is probably too great. We tried Carmelo Anthony when they were drafted, but that's not panning out. Durant could fit the bill as a rival, but LeBron is, and always will be, the superior player.
RB: Here's why I'm with KD: He's already the better all-around shooter and he's a better defender now than LeBron was after three seasons. LeBron could create an insurmountable advantage by utilizing his superior size on the block, but after seven seasons I'm not convinced he sees a need to have a post game as lethal as his face-up one.
CB: The thing is that LeBron is not yet a finished product either. He's already the hands-down best player in the world and he's still probably just 85-90% of what he can be. I believe he will add a post-up game within the next few years and his shot selection, which is sometimes poor, will continue to improve. He's also made strides at the foul line and judging by his work ethic and his improved J there's no reason to think he won't top 80% within the next two years. And with all that said, I haven't even begun to argue yet.
RB: I have no doubt LeBron still has room to grow. Actually, his problem -- if it can be called that -- is his talent and ambition extend beyond basketball. He's not playing for USA Basketball because he has too many other projects this summer, right? No shame in that. Strike while the iron is hot, I say. But KD is no actor/global icon/entertainer. He will be with Team USA and in his OKC incubator, same as he was last summer, because he has one single, solitary goal -- to be the best player he can possibly be and win championships.
CB: None of that means Durant's going to be better than LeBron. Patrick Ewing didn't have the outside interests that Shaq had, but that didn't help him become a better player. The difference between LeBron and all the other great scorers today -- Kobe, Durant, D-Wade, Melo -- is that he has the court vision and passing skills of a point guard. In fact, I'll argue day and night that LeBron would easily be the best point guard in the league if he played the position. The league has never seen a player who was its best scorer and also its best passer. At least not since Oscar Robertson.
RB: Calling LeBron the league's best passer and best scorer is, well, I'll be kind: groundless. He's one of the best in both categories, and balances them extremely well, which is what makes him so great. But you have absolutely no statistical or anecdotal way to claim he's the best at both. His dime-ability isn't greater than Nash's or CP3's and he's never, ever, topped Kobe as a go-to scorer with the game on the line. Right now, in a last-shot situation, I'd take KD over LeBron. LeBron would still rather be the playmaker. Again, nothing wrong with that, but with his skill/size/speed, he should be creating and taking the shot or getting to the line -- and too often, for me, he still doesn't. Any GM/coach will tell you, the most valuable and rare commodity is an assassin. And KD, not LeBron, looks ready to take Kobe's throne in that department.
CB: Groundless? I can't believe you said that. I'll give you arguable, but it's closer to obvious than groundless. How are these for grounds? 1) LBJ's career scoring average of 27.8 ppg is second only to MJ and Wilt and easily the highest among active players. 2) He's the only scorer in this year's top eight who shot 50% from the floor. Among the guys you could argue are better scorers (Durant, Kobe, Melo, Wade), Durant and Wade were closest at 47%. And LeBron shot better from 3-point range (33%) than Kobe, Melo and Wade. 3) By averaging 8.6 assists this year, he became the first forward ever to average 8 or more apg. 4) His court vision is on par with that of Steve Nash, D-Will, CP3, yet at 6-foot-8, he can see over the defense like none of them can.
RB: KD's combined shooting is better than LeBron's and KD led the league in scoring, even though it was no more of an objective for him than it was for LeBron. So LeBron being the best scorer is neither arguable nor obvious. And leading all forwards in assists doesn't make LeBron the best all-around passer in the league. What is indisputable is that no one is more aggressive and creates more foul trouble for the opposition than Durant. And that's for a third-year guy who is still earning the full respect of the officials. The other element that weighs in Durant's favor is the talent around him. The Thunder are built for the long haul, with talent perfectly suited to complement Durant for years to come. LeBron certainly doesn't have that going for him -- and while it's not necessarily fair, we both know the guy playing for a championship three years from now will have a leg up on being considered the best player.
CB: Durant will never be able to impact a game in all the ways LeBron can. Durant is primarily a scorer, while LeBron is a natural playmaker -- and then he still gives you 30 points to boot. Durant may become a better rebounder than LeBron and he may one day become just as good of a defender. But while LeBron will always be able to score just as much as KD, Durant will never have the court vision or passing skills to impact or dominate a game in that way.
RB: I'm not so sure about that, but I'll give you that KD is not likely to match LeBron's passing and playmaking. That doesn't mean he can't be the more valuable, or superior, player. An assassin, a guy who can get his shot against any defense and will run over his mother to take that shot, is the most valuable commodity an NBA team can have. How many playmakers without an assassin-minded closer have won titles? It's why, prior to this season, in spite of LeBron's physical advantage and playmaking and superior all-around statistics, the vast majority of coaches/GMs/players in the league feared Kobe more, rated Kobe higher. LeBron has evolved in accepting the closer role, but it doesn't come naturally to him. Not the way it does to Kobe, Wade -- and KD.
CB: What's up with this "assassin" stuff? As if Durant has proven to be more of an assassin than LeBron. Scoring 25 straight points in the hostile environment of Detroit to lead your team to a crucial playoff W against a superior team in the Eastern Conference Finals isn't an example of being an assassin? Averaging 39, 8 and 8 in the EC Finals against Orlando isn't an assassin? LeBron scores more fourth-quarter points than Kobe. For all his assassin-like qualities, Kobe wouldn't have those four rings without outstanding teammates like Shaq and later Pau, Lamar Odom, etc. Most GMs -- and I think you know this -- would take LeBron in a heartbeat if given the opportunity to start a team with a prime LeBron, Kobe or KD. GMs have told me LeBron could wind up being the GOAT.
RB: Don't throw numbers at me to argue that LeBron -- or anybody else -- has an assassin's heart. It's not something that numbers define. It's the guy who has the talent and the desire to take that game-winning shot. Kobe, Jordan, D-Wade, Manu, Chauncey Billups all have, or had, both. Dirk and LeBron, to name two, have improved in accepting that responsibility, but it doesn't come naturally and their desire/confidence/hunger to take that shot doesn't equate to their ability to take it. LeBron can, in any end-of-game situation, either get a shot or get to the free-throw line. That's why GMs talk about him as a potential GOAT -- and yet he doesn't always fully utilize his advantage. For me -- and maybe only me -- that's why the GOAT remains just that, talk. As for KD not being in that conversation, well, neither was LeBron after three years. Nor Bill Russell. Nor Jordan. I certainly like KD's chances of being in that conversation three years from now.
CB: Those weren't just numbers, they were proof. I'd also add that many were viewing LeBron as the potential GOAT after three years. He's certainly not the GOAT now, but he has that potential. I don't want this to sound like I don't like Durant (I'm a huge fan), but when has he proven he's such an assassin-like winner? All we can do at this point is give him the benefit of the doubt. But the track record, team-wise, is lacking. At Texas, his team got bounced in the second round of the NCAA tournament. That same team finished just third in the Big 12. Don't give me this season as proof that he's going to lead a team to a title, because Carmelo has done the same things. Melo took Denver from 17 wins to 43 as a rookie and has made the playoffs every year, but that hasn't translated to title contention yet.
RB: I don't want this to sound like I don't like LeBron, because he's one of a kind. But killer instinct can't be proved by facts or statistics and if you want to believe LeBron is a better closer than Kobe because he averages more fourth-quarter points, you go right ahead. There's not a coach or player in the league who would back you. If you don't see the distinction between KD's leadership and work ethic and Melo's, go with that, too. The best harbinger for the future (other than at 21 he still could grow an inch or two and assuredly will get stronger) is that he's willing to do whatever it takes to win. Shot not falling? He went out and got 19 rebounds versus the Lakers. Need someone to check Kobe? "I got him." LeBron operates that way now, too. But he didn't this early in his career. KD has never, ever shied from taking the big shot or the biggest challenge. No matter how great LeBron is or will be, you can't say the same about him. And maybe that won't make KD better than LeBron, when all is said and done. But it gives him a chance to be better.
CB: First of all, I'm not saying LeBron is a better closer than Kobe. If I've got a last shot, I'm giving the ball to Kobe. I'm just pointing out that this idea that LeBron shrivels in the clutch has no basis whatsoever. Did he run from taking the last shot against Orlando in Game 2 last year? No -- he demanded the ball in the huddle. Yes, he's made passes instead of shooting some potential game-winners, but who hasn't? What if John Paxson and Steve Kerr had missed those jumpers? Would we be saying MJ was afraid to take the shot? And if memory serves me correctly, it was Robert Horry and later Derek Fisher who hit buzzer beaters to get Kobe two of his rings. Does that mean Kobe didn't want the ball? Of course not. So why does LeBron have to take every single potential game-winning shot to be considered an assassin? As for KD, you've got no argument other than your gut or the fact that you like him. The only thing he does better than LeBron is shoot, and that will always be the case. That's not an insult. KD is awesome. But he won't be better than LeBron.
_________________ spanky wrote: Elmhurst Steve wrote: In the grand SCEME (not scope, Dumbass) pf things Awesome.
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I think you and me agree.