::::NBA:::: 2016-2017-2018 Season

I didn't think Durant was upset as much as he thought Screamin' was talking out of his ass and didn't get it from him.

Like Neil said, it didn't wasn't rocket science that the probability of Durant leaving was high. Screamin' A also thought Durant would "go home" and play for the Wizard's.

 

Smith's so called source didn't just say Durant was leaving OKC, he said Durant was going to the Lakers.

Durant once called Bosh a fake tough guy, but if you ask me, Durant is the fake tough guy. Durant thought he would get away with talking smack to Stephen A Smith and Smith put Durant in his place. Russell Westbrook ran Durant out of OKC because Russ was too alpha for Durant and Durant knew Russ was never going to ceed the crown to a guy he felt didn't have that dawg in him. Draymond Green got in Durant's face and cursed him out and Lebron yelled at him too. Punking KD on camera seems to be all the rage these days. Meanwhile Durant continues to walk around with his hair unbrushed and nappy because he wants to keep it like he still in the hood. That's some fake tough guy shit right there.

 

Steph Curry should save the league. He should go sign with the Charlotte Hornets.

 

Stephen A is a bigger fake tough guy.

If Durant ran up on him alone and said, "Nigga talk that shit now!" Stephen A would say, "Heeeyyyyy, I was just saying it for ratings. I got nothin but love for you brotha! Let's sit down and talk."

 

Well as pointed out simmons would need to drop cuz he's a australian. Otherwise he's your pass first big guard who can play defense

 

xplosive wont be pleased with this

Kevin Durant Says Kyrie Irving Is Better Than Allen Iverson, Has 'More Skill'

 

Kyrie isn't better than Iverson. No fuckin way. He's great as Lebron's ROBIN, but he'd fall apart if he had to be Batman.

Irving never in a million years carries that 01 Sixers team to 56 wins and the finals, while single handedly stealing a game over the 01 Lakers. They wouldn't have made it out the East with Irving. And this was the era of TOUGH DEFENSE and HAND CHECKING!

Iverson was overrated when he played, and as such, has become hated to the point where he's now very UNDERRATED.

He was a level above Kyrie Irving...possibly two levels.

Skill be damned.... Irving doesn't put anywhere near the pressure on the defense as Iverson did.... as the ONLY offensive option.

The pressure he puts on the D is generated because of Lebron.

For the record, a Lebron/AI duo easily could have won MULTIPLE rings. I actually think they would have meshed really well. And both had/have non-stop stamina.

 

Actually, I'll concede that Kyrie might have more skill than AI, if we're talking about shooting and handles, but that doesn't translate to better.

AI's athleticism and relentlessness trumps Irving's skill. And Irving might have better pure handles by a BIT, but let's be real.... AI had ridiculous handles his damn self.

AI was also a far better passer/playmaker.... and that is a skill. Irving's a horrible facilitator.

 

irving better ball handler, better 3 point shooter, better mid range shooter. better finisher with the left hand. able to into the lane and finish at the rim over big men just as well as iverson despite being slower and not as athletic.

 

Read my follow-up post.

Skill doesn't always translate to actually better.

Kevin McHale was more "skilled" than Shaq. Who was better?

Irving would fall flat as a first option. His world would be completely different if he had defenses game planning for HIM and ONLY HIM the way AI had it his entire career.

 

i agree that irving is more skilled. its yet to be seen how he does as a #1 option. he's only 25 and hasnt hit his prime or had the opportunity since he matured into an all star player

 

Neil, would you agree with me that AI/Bron would be a great duo?

AI is better off-ball than Irving, and he's a better playmaker than Irving.... by a lot!

Lebron can't depend on Irving for any playmaking.... Kyrie's job is purely score.

He and AI could have alternated scoring/playmaking, similar to Bron/Wade.

 

Im skeptical whether iverson would have ever been able to take a back seat to anyone

 

It's hard to measure him against Iverson due to the eras.

We don't know how effective Irving would have been in the early 00s, and we don't know what this guard friendly era would have been like for a prime Iverson.

That overrated midget IT is putting him incredible numbers in this era, and nobody can tell me with a straight face that Thomas is better than Iverson.

Iverson came along in the wrong era.

 

He accepted the role of being co-star with Melo pretty well. Knowing that Lebron is a completely different level than Melo, I think he'd defer.

AI had an ego, there's no doubting that. But people underestimate how much of a competitor he was.

 

Kyrie's overrated by the mainstream. He's a VERY VERY talented scorer, no one can deny that. But Lebron covers up how one dimensional he is.

It's not like Kobe, who could score as well as anyone, yet still do other things like play D and faciliate.

Kyrie Irving's a horrible defender, and a subpar playmaker.

I think he's best suited to play second option to a better player.

 

by then he had physically declined and that version of iverson aint winning a title with james. he was also a complete turnstyle with denver defensively and that team went nowhere winning 1 playoff game. and as soon as they dumped iverson they went to the conf finals

 

Not a big fan of AI, but yes, he would be loads more efficient in this era, then he was in his own. He also averaged about 9 Free Throws a game during his career. He'd likely have several seasons where he'd average about 11-13 in today's game, plus the lanes would open up for him, because they call a much closer game now.

He would still have to be a Robin to somebody elses Batman to win a title though. His size and his efficiency on his own, pretty much dictates that.

 

There's no proof whatsoever that AI wouldn't be willing to take a backseat or a co-starring role. The only proof is that late in his ac

Yeah, but how does that prove he'd never be willing to take a backseat? The only other evidence is that he didn't wanna come off the bench late in his career, but that's not proof that he would never defer or share a role.

It's not like AI was telling the Sixers front office to turn down stars and leave him role players. The Sixers were incompetent, and the best they could ever manage was paring him with a TOTALLY shot Chris Webber.

 

throughout his prime iverson was taking 25+ shots a game. pairing him with another perimeter player that is better/more efficient than him wouldnt have worked imo. maybe if you put him with a guy like oneal or a bigtime post player

 

Yeah, but takeaway Lebron, and Irving probably hoists up 25+ shots a game. It's not like he ever passes.

 

Yeah, I agree he'd have to be a Robin to win a title.

My point is, a team would be more successful with AI as their Batman, than Irving as their Batman.

Don't underestimate how many minutes AI could handle, and how much punishment he could take.

For all we know, Irving would fall apart having to shoulder an entire offense on all those minutes.

 

Number of playoff appearances for Kyrie sans Lebron...

ZERO

In fact, the Cavs had the #1 overall pick two out of the three years prior to Lebron coming on board. The other year they had the #4 pick (when they got Tristan Thompson I believe).

For as good as Irving is offensively, he didn't prove to be a franchise building type player. AI absolutely was that.

 

neither proved to be franchise building players at age 21. at age 22 irving was already playing with james.

 

Recency bias is a beautiful thing.

Recency bias is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

Are we even 100% convinced that Irving is better than Lillard?

 

You have a point, but 25 is age AI won MVP and took the Sixers to the finals.

Tell me, if Aaron McKee was Irving's second offensive option, do you think he carries any team out of a conference?

 

i think iverson got to the finals cuz it was a weak ass conference. and the team built around him was excellent defensively

 

Minus the Cavs, the East is currently a weak ass conference. And don't give me the Raptors, cause DeRozan and Lowry are both playoff frauds.

The 01 Raptors and the 01 Bucks would have eliminated the Sixers with Irving running the show.

 

Steph Curry could care less about our opinions, since he's gonna be making 41 mil a year for the next 5 years.

 

Is KD's move to Oakland a bigger bitch move than Floyd getting the Nevada State Athletic Commission to sanction a McGregor match?