That's not the point. We're talking about point guards who played on championship teams. So all that matters are Harper's numbers in those years. Blake is beter than he was in those years.
So what does Durant do that players like Carmelo and Granger don't do? I think Roy is better than both of those players.
Gee, here's a surprise... the Blazers are KILLING OKC on the glass 53 - 32 and stomping them by 32 points. I don't care how good Durant is, until OKC gets some big men that can rebound and play defense they aren't going anywhere. Take that Ric Bucher! You know NOTHING about what it takes to win in the NBA. BNM
All night long we played Durant straight up, mostly with Batum, and he has a pretty terrible night. While the Thunder are doubling, rotating bigs, and even trying ball denial like fronting etc etc. and Roy still has a pretty solid night... and because of all the attention he draws they have to single cover Aldridge... MISTAKE. They have no one in the paint, on both offense and defense, who right now makes an impact. I'll take Portland all day every day.
Final tally... Portland outrebounds OKC 57 - 32, holds them to 36.5% FG% and stomps them by 35 points. Note to Ric Bucher: Defense and rebounding wins backetball games and most importantly wins championships. Portland has it, OKC doesn't. Durant may be a talented offensive player, but even if he leads the league in scoring for the next 10 years, OKC will not be a contender without a great big man to provide rebounding and interior defense. Learn the game, then post. BNM
But they, unlike the Blazers, have a surplus of cap room and draft picks they can use to get that big man. While the Blazers have all their ingridients, and all they can do now is 'bake it' (and that phrase goes against everything I stand for). Portland is a lot farther ahead than OKC in their rebuilding project, because they started earlier. I don't why some of you guys think tonight or anything this season dictates who will be the better team in the future.
Well, one reason may be because Bucher basically said Durant was a "superstar" and didn't give Roy the same stature. OKC doubled Roy out top. A Blazer rookie shut down Durant straight up. So that's why.
The same argument about our lack of cap room can be made about their's... but later. If Durant, Westbrook, and Green are so good, well, there's a ton of cap room gone. And don't think OKC can afford to go over the cap like Paul Allen can.
There's more than just players that make a winning franchise. Coaches, GM, owner. Portland has the edge in all of these, and probably will in the future.
I'm not talking about Bucher. He's a dipshit. If I happen to agree with him, its entirely by accident and we probably took two very different routes of reasoning toward our conclusions. Durant is not a superstar. Right now, he's one of the very top offensive players in the game, and is a real contender for next year's scoring champion. On defense, he is horrid. But I don't think he will always be horrid. LeBron was a shitty defender when he came into the league, and look at him now. One of the top perimeter defenders in the game. I have no reason to think that Durant won't pick up a defensive game somewhere along the way. When he does, look out.
This thread is about Bucher and his opinion on why OKC will be better than Portland. If you want to give your own opinion that differs from his, I'm all eyes.
