Eh I think his "unstoppable" reputation is a bit overrated/lacking context.
Outside of 2021, he's dropped in either ppg/efficiency, or both in the playoffs practically every year or series where he doesn't play next to an all time great point guard. He's able to be exploited due to the fact he struggles passing out of doubles, struggles making anticipatory reads, and you can load up on his dribble which, while for his size is good, is generally overrated.
Outside of 2021, he's dropped in either ppg/efficiency, or both in the playoffs practically every year or series where he doesn't play next to an all time great point guard. He's able to be exploited due to the fact he struggles passing out of doubles, struggles making anticipatory reads, and you can load up on his dribble which, while for his size is good, is generally overrated.
Not really his health, KD has always had issues breaking through double teams, he's a bit stagnant. He lacks the complete control over an offense that Steph and LBJ have. KD is a pure scorer, the other two run entire offenses. KD 1v1 all day every day, but there's more to the game than that.
KD left OKC for that reason, we got a glimpse of this last year again when he didn't have the spacing Curry and Klay provided him (make no mistake he still had talent offensively, Kyrie, Seth, Dragic Patty Mills, he has always historically had issues with doubles). Celtics absolutely embarassed him, they got destroyed by Steph, there is no defense for what he does, he forces defenses to step out too far to defend him, either he eats or there are free layup lines for the rest of the team.
KD left OKC for that reason, we got a glimpse of this last year again when he didn't have the spacing Curry and Klay provided him (make no mistake he still had talent offensively, Kyrie, Seth, Dragic Patty Mills, he has always historically had issues with doubles). Celtics absolutely embarassed him, they got destroyed by Steph, there is no defense for what he does, he forces defenses to step out too far to defend him, either he eats or there are free layup lines for the rest of the team.
Ridiculous. Ofc, they were gonna sub Bam when they needed a basket. He wasn't there to defend the rim
Also, preach for Holiday over Harden in the all-star game (even though I like Jrue and there were also a couple players that went in over him)
Also, preach for Holiday over Harden in the all-star game (even though I like Jrue and there were also a couple players that went in over him)
missed all nba team selection in 2016
(No 3rd team but Lowry did?)
Had by far better stats than Haliburton on a winning team but hali makes the all star team over him
Yea lmfao, cause they dared Curry to beat them, and he actually started doing it. They became completely unsure of themselves cause of that.
Celtics completely took Draymond out of the game, that was smart. They realized "why would we let Draymond to remain on the floor" with a 4v3 advantage everytime off the screen (where he gets those hockey assists for Curry). By playing drop they made it 5v4 instead of 4v3. Unfortunately Curry is very capable of single handedly beating you that way as well. It's a pick your poison, there's a reason more teams don't do it, but it was worth a shot.
Celtics completely took Draymond out of the game, that was smart. They realized "why would we let Draymond to remain on the floor" with a 4v3 advantage everytime off the screen (where he gets those hockey assists for Curry). By playing drop they made it 5v4 instead of 4v3. Unfortunately Curry is very capable of single handedly beating you that way as well. It's a pick your poison, there's a reason more teams don't do it, but it was worth a shot.
Yeah game 4 shook them, but tbh, it had won them 2 out of 3 games, and while steph is unreal, i dont know if i wouldve bet that he wouldve recreated that game 4 masterclass over and over again. especially given how steph played in game 5. theres a significant chance celtics win it all last year if they stuck to it
Nah individual defense is highly overrated. Team defense and overall team build is what matters.
When assessing a star, impact is the only thing that matters. If someone is lapping another 2 way player in impact, the lack of defense is hardly an issue.
If individual defense were as important as some people pretend, then Tony Allen would be a first ballot HOFer, and James Harden wouldn't be in the NBA top 75. The fact of the matter is on an individual level offense >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> defense.
So the two way play is definitely a bonus, but even Kawhi will tell you when he became a superstar how he stopped focusing on defense as much as offense. Only in spurts has Kawhi played defense, he's still living off of his Spurs rep.
When assessing a star, impact is the only thing that matters. If someone is lapping another 2 way player in impact, the lack of defense is hardly an issue.
If individual defense were as important as some people pretend, then Tony Allen would be a first ballot HOFer, and James Harden wouldn't be in the NBA top 75. The fact of the matter is on an individual level offense >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> defense.
So the two way play is definitely a bonus, but even Kawhi will tell you when he became a superstar how he stopped focusing on defense as much as offense. Only in spurts has Kawhi played defense, he's still living off of his Spurs rep.
Yeah. Because he's the smartest player on the floor and game 7s has never really been about clean and efficient games. It's like a dog fight and usually teams struggle to score because of gitters, etc. and he's just the guy that's the best at creating offense.
For me, it's the idea that he might be the most talented scorer ever at almost 7 ft. that could do everything well, especially defense. Like his game 5 vs MIL was like the best game I ever saw from someone since LeBron's game 1 vs GSW and it was on the level. He also feels a little more trustworthy in crunch time than with Curry although I won't push back too hard if you think Curry is better since he just won the freaking title.
For me, it's the idea that he might be the most talented scorer ever at almost 7 ft. that could do everything well, especially defense. Like his game 5 vs MIL was like the best game I ever saw from someone since LeBron's game 1 vs GSW and it was on the level. He also feels a little more trustworthy in crunch time than with Curry although I won't push back too hard if you think Curry is better since he just won the freaking title.
100%
This is why Rim protection will always be >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> perimeter defense, and no guard ever should have, or ever should in the future win DPOY. They will never come close to the impact that best rim protector will have in this league.
It's why I cringe when I see people say MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Pippen, Kawhi. etc. are top 10 defenders of all time
This is why Rim protection will always be >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> perimeter defense, and no guard ever should have, or ever should in the future win DPOY. They will never come close to the impact that best rim protector will have in this league.
It's why I cringe when I see people say MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Pippen, Kawhi. etc. are top 10 defenders of all time