Track the NBA basketball season. March

[dolamite]

How can you say he didn't put in work? How would you know that? TMac had one of the worst backs in the history of the league, I don't see how that is on him. Dude played through that for much of his career & it took alot of his explosiveness away. He hurt his shoulder and destroyed his knee, though he was about 29 when he had microfracture that's probably too old to recover from it, as few do anyway. I don't see how any of those injuries are on TMac, especially when he tried to play through each injury & tried to hurry back from each injury.

 

TMac was one of the 3 best scorers I got to see from the beginning of their careers IMO (along with Kobe & Allen Iverson), and to be honest with you as far as just putting up numbers & doing it in multiple ways he was almost as good as Kobe I felt. Now, he didn't have the complete game that Kobe did, but the man could put it in the hole. Sound familiar? Who knows how good TMac would have been if he would have been paired with someone like Jason Kidd at a young age. Now he never got out of the 1st round, but there really weren't alot of years that he should have with the exception of the one that made him famous agains the Pistons (3-1 lead, said it was over).

 

I know the injuries hurt, but I'm talking about evolving his game, he didn't do that. You look at Kobe in his fourth or fifth year in the league and then look at him now, any major Kobe fan will more than likely tell you the same thing. Kobe developed a pure jumper, fader, and a multitude of other shots and scoring options that has still allowed him to be very successful in this league. T Mac never did any of that, he just thought he was going to be T Mac forever. Again, injuries may have played a part, but it is obvious T Mac did not evolve his game to prepare himself for the end of his career and he is paying for it now. Durant IMO will be more in the Kobe mode being when his natural gifts run out he will still find ways to be able to score.

[CatsCatsCats]

I know the injuries hurt, but I'm talking about evolving his game, he didn't do that. You look at Kobe in his fourth or fifth year in the league and then look at him now, any major Kobe fan will more than likely tell you the same thing. Kobe developed a pure jumper, fader, and a multitude of other shots and scoring options that has still allowed him to be very successful in this league. T Mac never did any of that, he just thought he was going to be T Mac forever. Again, injuries may have played a part, but it is obvious T Mac did not evolve his game to prepare himself for the end of his career and he is paying for it now. Durant IMO will be more in the Kobe mode being when his natural gifts run out he will still find ways to be able to score.

 

I don't think that's fair at all. With TMac's body right now, no one in the history of the league would be good on a nightly basis. TMac didn't have as many moves as Kobe, but you're acting like he only went in and tried to dunk every play which is far from the truth. He had a nice jump shot, he had multiple ways to get the jumpshot, and did so in ways that would carry over deep in his career IMO. He just has the body for 45 year old right now. He's not quick enough to do anything, Kobe has an old body, but still has a quick first step to get to where he wants to go. MJ was 37 or 38 at the end of his run with the Bulls but was still athletic enough to beat up on defenders. TMac would struggle to get to the hole in a game with 9 members of BGP.

 

If any youngster in the league ends up with similar injuries to TMac you'll see a similar decline. The way KD plays when he has the ball looks exactly like TMac to me. Watch KD on his pull ups, outside of the fact TMac leaned back a little further they couldn't be more alike. They approach scoring the exact same way IMO. Lots of pull ups, lots of trips to the foul line, occassional monsterous dunks. Durant is more likely to be what TMac could have been healthy than he is to be the next MJ, Kobe or even LeBron IMO. Top 25 player sure, top 10 or so all-time I don't see it, unless his game changes alot. JMO.

[bugatti]

TMac does not posses near the winner type intangibles of Kevin Durant. He may very well not ever do anything but score, but I think it is a bit premature to label him in the TMac category.

[CatsCatsCats]

TMac does not posses near the winner type intangibles of Kevin Durant. He may very well not ever do anything but score, but I think it is a bit premature to label him in the TMac category.

 

How has Durant show winner intagibles? This is the 2nd year they've made the playoffs, & their going to be the 4th seed. They're one of the four most talented teams in the West, so that's not that big of a deal to me. They've never won a playoff series, & it wasn't like he dominated against the Lakers last year in the playoffs. I think he will be a winner, but labeling him as such right now is more premature to me than saying he's the next TMac. JMO.

[PurplePride92]

I would take Melo over Durant 8 days a week.

[CatsCatsCats]

I would take Melo over Durant 8 days a week.

 

They're about the same guy to me, Durant is probably a better teammate IMO. I've always felt KD got overestimated because of how much people hate Kobe & LeBron. He's a safe, conservative choice, never going to be too controversial.

[SSC]

I would take Melo over Durant 8 days a week.

 

Give Durant another summer when he's not carrying team USA and you'll eat those words. KD will be even better next year and I think last year he had a better year than Melo has ever had.

[bugatti]

Let's get April going.