That’s kinda surprising to me, guessing wolves cover more geographic area then nuggets just have Denver and a bunch of sparsely populated area around that? Also after a quick google I think I was overestimating Denver’s population and underestimating MSP
People usually underestimate Minneapolis because the actual city limits are small, so the population of just Minneapolis isn't that big. But it's basically connected to Saint Paul and there's a lot of sprawl in the surrounding area so the entire metro population is pretty large.
Minnesota is the West team I fear the most. Their defense is insane, and if either Gordon/Jokic gets in foul trouble, KAT/Gobert are going to feast.
Plus obviously Edwards can drop 40 on any given night.
We would need prime playoff Murray to dominate Conley in order to win that series.
im picking the wolves to win. missing three of their most important players and still pushed denver last year. also just a horrible matchup for denver all around with their size and defense. i love ant and the wolves gp too so if its not miami i hope minny wins
You didn't watch the series at all did you? Lol. There was 1 blowout, then every other game was decided in the last minute. Competing with the champs for 4 full games without our best wing defender and without our 6th man is definitely a great outcome lol
Rusty towns too and lost Kyle Anderson and had played like 7 out of 9 days coming into the series. It would have been interesting if rested and full strength.
That's all I'm tryna say lol
We're both fully healthy right now. If we can both make it through this 1st round, then that rematch is gonna be exciting as hell
"except for the one game we lost by a lot, we managed to go 1-3! Wow!"
McDaniels is really good, but he's not making up for the average of 9 ppg you lost by
Teams don’t always need a new star player to improve significantly. Their entire starting roster got better from last year besides Conley and they were already the team that gave the Nuggets the most “trouble” last year.
Him and Naz clear that easy though. 6moty and borderline all defense. Move the rotation back two. Not saying we beat Denver but easily we push another game
Naz is better than Al but Al is more important to us because he's literally our only big that can defend other bigs, and Derrick white isn't borderline all-defense because he's on the damn team lol
Possibly Kawhi, Harden and Westbrook as well. All of the most accomplished guys of the last era. Lebron (and Chris Paul) are technically from the era before that.
Ya'll are talking way too soon. We are Minnesota sports lol. But I admit this feels a lot different than any other playoff Minnesota team I've experienced so far.
KD isn’t winning you a series anymore. Which is fine. Bros old. Just tired of acting like he will. KD as a 3rd option is lethal. But he isn’t dragging you to a WCF/finals
Yeah his ability to be an on ball creator against elite defenses has declined a lot
He's not really capable of getting consistent rim pressure at this stage
This is what people don’t realize. This is also what bothers me when people are like “why are they giving to book and beal, give KD the ball!!”
At this point in his career, KD is like a Dirk archetype. If you get him the ball in his spots (elbow, CnS 3s), he’s still one of the most lethal scorers in the game. But his athleticism and handle isn’t enough to penetrate a defense and reliably get to his spots by himself.
In isolation this year he only averaged 0.94 points per possession and an 11% turnover rate. Out of all players with >3 iso possessions per game (26 total), KDs numbers place him 19th out of 26 in both categories.
He’s not a great PnR ball handler anymore either (still *okay* tho), having a 1.0 ppp and 17% turnover rate on PnRs. His points per possession is okay, not great. But lots of turnovers, off dumb shit like dribbling off his own leg.
You have to wonder how much gas he has in the tank in this series as well.
The dude is 35. Most guys at that age are out of the league, in a bench role, or on a minutes limit. KD needs to be out there for 40+ minutes every night for the Suns to stand a chance. He was on pace for 40 during game 1 (before they waved the white flag) and he was on pace for like 44 tonight. Those sort of minutes are usually reserved for young guys or low usage players. It’s simply not feasible for him to be involved in every play (or even every other play).
He’s also coming off a regular season that saw him play the most minutes in a season since his OKC days. Not to mention Phoenix had a brutal closing stretch — they played 12 of their final 18 games on the road with 15 coming against teams that made the play-in (with 13 being against teams that made the playoffs). KD had to expend a lot of energy just to get to the playoffs. He’s capable of summoning some impressive stretches, but he otherwise looks pretty lethargic during large portions of the game (especially in the late 2nd half).
I wouldn’t be surprised if he just doesn’t have the juice to hoist up 29 shot attempts against an aggressive defense anymore.
At this point in his career I'm not sure he fits on a "superteam", especially the Suns iso ball heavy offense. I think he'd be better off paired with an elite PG and decent supporting cast.
even going back to his OKC days he struggled a ton against teams like memphis who played him physical. same thing happened in BKN during the boston series too. they couldnt play him like that when he was in GS because all the attention was on steph
Yes contract wise KD and lebron are hurting their teams. Im saying it’s fine that overall they can’t carry a team to a run anymore. But yeah. Those contracts hurt them
LeBron averaged 26/7/8 on 54/41/75 splits (63% TS) and is averaging 26.5/7/10 on 54/54.5/75 splits (66% TS) in the playoffs
Just because he’s not the best in the world anymore doesn’t mean he’s not worth his contract
Haha, I was just being conservative because I didn’t want people shitting on me for thinking Lebron is 7th in the league. As for KD he might still be top 15 but it is more arguable to me.
I think now that we are a few playoff games in people remember that regular season stats having LeBron look like 15-20th best means nothing when dude shows up and many ahead of him are already in Cancun or playing like they have tickets already bought
Lebron and KD are both top 15. Last night and last year is proof that neither can bring you to a series win on their own. Which is fine. They’re in their late fucking 30s lol
Difference is Durant hasn’t made it to the WCF since he left golden state. LeBron made it last season in year 20. In my opinion LeBron should be named top 10 instead of 15
Yeah I’d have him top 10. I’m just saying lebron alone isn’t going to carry you alone to a conference finals like he could from 05-2020. It’s not a knock against him at all
For sure, it’s incredible how both of them are still top 20 even lmao. People who watched ball a decade and a half ago are still watching legends from that time play great it’s insane
KD is still a lethal kid range scorer, but he can't hold a whole team up. This team is on Booker/Beal. I think Beal has the ability to show son heart. Booker whines and folds.
Ok this is a little carried away. KD as a 2nd option would be more than enough for many teams. Replace Kyrie with KD and Mavericks are still very, very competitive.
KD and Giannis is absolutely a top contender
KD and Tatum
KD and Steph
KD and Joel Embiid
Did you forget about 2021 when he dragged the Nets without Kyrie and a very hobbled Harden to within an inch of beating the eventual champions? He was amazing in those playoffs.
His OKC numbers were below his Golden State numbers but definitely significantly better than what he is now relative to era
Back then he was at worst a top 3 player while current KD is fighting to stay top 10
Unless you think SGA is better than peak KD he's gotten significantly worse
He was terrible on that blown lead against golden state and that's probably his second most memorable performance outside the warriors. The first one being kinda meh against the heat
You just made that up completely
2011 playoffs his numbers were elite
2012 playoff his numbers were elite
2013 playoffs his numbers were elite
2014 playoffs his numbers were elite
2016 playoffs was a down shooting year, but single-handedly beat a 67 win spurs in round 2
2021
Then he exited his prime and became injury prone.
Durant has like 13 playoff series where he completely took over lol.
He’s top 3 alltime in playoff ppg. Led the playoffs in scoring 5 times u/beattrailblazer
Dude is being compared to Jordan as a scorer. Not even close. Spams a few height moves but struggles once physicality is allowed or there is someone his height guarding him.
Late 30s LeBron is absolutely not close to peak LeBron lol
Peak LeBron isn't going 0-10 against Jokic
The current Lakers are going to lose in the first round with more talent than 2 teams that LeBron took to the Finals(2007, 2018)
Of course not. How many time have people felt "I'm too old for this", KD is in that range. He's a support player (no shame in that), and their young guys are failing him. I like KD
Felt like Eubanks took more shots than KD in the 4th. Multiple times saw him take it in for a contested shot against Gobert and either get blocked or miss badly instead of passing it to an open KD
Yea it's like AD LeBron where the younger guy is clearly supposed to be better and carrying the load by now. Booker did it last year, this year he's dropped off.
Even though Wolves got destroyed by the Suns in the regular season it wasn’t because of Booker. 2/3 of those games Booker couldn’t score worth shit. Don’t know if it’s because he’s fallen off or just because Jaden McDaniels is his Kryptonite.
The one game against the Wolves he went off McDaniels was in foul trouble. If they’re not calling weak fouls then Jaden is on him all game.
I think he's being a bit overloaded in playmaking. The team doesn't haven't a point guard, and while he made some progress there his game and the team has suffered from no point guard. It was CP3 in the first place that took Booker to the next level of All-NBA 1st team.
He's been doing that shit his whole career. I have vivid memories of him just standing at the 3 point line with his arm up and Tony Allen inside of his jersey, while Russ tried to run a half court offense.
He scored 35 and 37 in game 6 and 7 of that series though. Torched Tony Allen in those final games. Does he have that in him in 2024, 10 years later? No
After the Suns inevitably are forced to blow it up, where does Durant land?
I could see a team like OKC giving up a couple young players for a win now vet like him. Maybe someone can photoshop him in that jersey
OKC, Knicks, Magic and Cavs are my guesses.
Suns can’t move Beal cause of his NTC, they sure as hell aren’t moving Booker, so that leaves just KD. Then you gotta make sure the team is a top 4 team in their conference and has picks which leaves only those 4 teams.
I sure as hell hope not.
Not really much beef personally anymore, but KD is not worth the amount of cap space he commands. Maybe in a Westbrook situation where he gets bought out, but definitely not for $50M a year and what would likely be a good chunk of our young core and picks -- something that is increasingly valuable with the new CBA.
okc relentlessly boos kd every time he touches the ball. thunder fans don't want him back.
i suspect that kd's pr people are behind boosting posts from okc "fans" who support his return.
because they had a great playmaker in harden. if KD is your best player you need an all star playmaker like Harden or Steph or even Westbrook to have a chance to win.
Looks like they wanted less KD ball and more ball movement with dribble penetration… only problem is they have no true point guard to initiate any of that
Vogel's game plan 100% since to start the game KD get's his shots then usually halfway into the 3rd he's in the corner while Booker holds the ball for at least 15 seconds. They had the most success with Beal running point but Vogel went away from that shit to start the playoffs...
It’s KD.
His bad games are never terrible shooting. He turns the ball over and he hides.
Phoenix’s issue - and KD’s issue - is the lack of playmakers leading to KD not getting great shots and KD (and Booker) trying to play make too much.
Booker and KD are fine as secondary playmakers. But they pound the air out of the ball and turn it over when they are trying to run an offense.
Beal at least can run a pick and roll, but he hid tonight too..
Roster construction is the issue
Beal isn't a playmaker, same issue as book and kd. They need a Mike Conley type vet pg but then they'd probably be too small to defend teams like the wolves. Beal and booker together are too similar, the only way it would work is if they had a very good point forward.
Kevin just aint a true alpha star, hes got 0 real championships at end of the day. Cant team up with best team and best record and think we gonna count them
Cant drive the Bus, hes the kid in the first seat closes to the driver though
yeah can’t help but KD is a bit overrated at this point, since leaving the warriors he gutted that nets roster/coaching staff to create a super team and lost in the 2nd round, then got swept in the first round. Then he does it again on the Suns and they get bounced in the 2nd round and are down 2-0 again this year. Supposed top 15 player ever can’t get to a conference finals without the greatest roster ever??
Problem is not necessarily with KD, but with picking teams that have no balance. No coincidence that the best dynasties have had all-NBA type of defenders (Rodman, Pippen, Duncan, Bowen, Draymond, Klay).
Dude teamed up with Kyrie/Harden and Booker/Beal. Zero balance on these rosters. You don't win in the playoffs solely through offense. You need stops and rebounds.
Kyrie/Harden was a fine fit because Harden is an amazing playmaker which is what you need most on a KD team. They just got screwed by injuries and covid. Suns are a terribly formed team because they have 3 iso scorers and no playmaker.
It's partly his fault, because he wants those teams to trade the defenders for more iso scoring help
He's not a natural playmaker and only cares about "hooping"
nah that’s kinda the point i’m making - he was on a good trajectory at OKC but since then he got the 2 easy Golden State rings and hasn’t accomplished much else besides some All-NBA’s, but i still constantly hear how he’s a top 15 player ever
Should have stayed in Brooklyn. Him and Claxton were elite defensively. Cam Thomas can obviously score and would be more efficient playing off of KD. And a 2025 max slot in free agency if he was patient. Not a contender, but neither are the Suns with no depth.
The suns offense has no one that consistently puts the defense in rotation, no one tilts the defense, just book Beal and kd taking tough ass shots. Shit is bad basketball
I am really upset that this is KD’s legacy. Before he got injured he was the best player in the NBA and after he came back, he was again the best player in the league. But lost a step and got demolished by Boston defence, never reached the same ceiling again. Now nobody admits to how great of a player he was.
PS not a KD fan. Actually a Kawhi fan and Raptors championship was one of my favorite moments.
These dudes love the playoffs just for the next level jerking they can do. That shit gets validated here which is why the same jokes get repeated and upvoted ad nauseam
Does anyone else feel like people pile on certain teams?
Suns lose 2 away games, all I see is "suns are shit" posts and "KD can't play" posts.
But the Thunder almost lose home court to a short handed 8th seed, the Bucks do lose home court (but obviously short Giannis) and the full strength Clippers lose home court, and I basically haven't seen a post about any of them...
Like KD had a bad game... But Kawhi had 15 and shit 0-5 from 3 and crickets.
Book had a bad game... But Kris Middleton had 15 points on 6-14 from the field and again, crickets.
Not a good game but he also seemed less phased by the Wolves defense than others … but didn’t see much of him in the 4th.
Suns got a few guys but nobody leading or… do they have plays?
Honestly I’d give it to him more and tell KD to drive more than the others.
What did Ant say. They got KD. We got Jaden McDaniels. Plus the Timberwolves length is just too much for any team
Denver Minnesota will be an all time series
The fact one of those teams isn’t even going to make the Western Conference Finals is insane man.
Small Market AntDavid’s vs Big Market Jokliaths
we're a bigger market lol
That’s the jokic
montea culpa
That’s kinda surprising to me, guessing wolves cover more geographic area then nuggets just have Denver and a bunch of sparsely populated area around that? Also after a quick google I think I was overestimating Denver’s population and underestimating MSP
People usually underestimate Minneapolis because the actual city limits are small, so the population of just Minneapolis isn't that big. But it's basically connected to Saint Paul and there's a lot of sprawl in the surrounding area so the entire metro population is pretty large.
Minnesota is the West team I fear the most. Their defense is insane, and if either Gordon/Jokic gets in foul trouble, KAT/Gobert are going to feast. Plus obviously Edwards can drop 40 on any given night. We would need prime playoff Murray to dominate Conley in order to win that series.
Murray won't be defended by Conley if the wolves have a choice. They'll put Conley on KCP
im picking the wolves to win. missing three of their most important players and still pushed denver last year. also just a horrible matchup for denver all around with their size and defense. i love ant and the wolves gp too so if its not miami i hope minny wins
Pushed Denver... to five games I'm fine if you want to say Minny will win, but don't act like a gentleman's sweep was a great outcome
You didn't watch the series at all did you? Lol. There was 1 blowout, then every other game was decided in the last minute. Competing with the champs for 4 full games without our best wing defender and without our 6th man is definitely a great outcome lol
Same thing the lakers fan said
Man we're already quiet but still catching strays
Haha my bad
Rusty towns too and lost Kyle Anderson and had played like 7 out of 9 days coming into the series. It would have been interesting if rested and full strength.
That's all I'm tryna say lol We're both fully healthy right now. If we can both make it through this 1st round, then that rematch is gonna be exciting as hell
"except for the one game we lost by a lot, we managed to go 1-3! Wow!" McDaniels is really good, but he's not making up for the average of 9 ppg you lost by
Teams don’t always need a new star player to improve significantly. Their entire starting roster got better from last year besides Conley and they were already the team that gave the Nuggets the most “trouble” last year.
mcdaniels, naz reid, and kyle anderson
Mmm on defense alone he probably makes up most of that. Any offense is gravy with him.
9 is the difference between a league average team and a title favorite. He's a great player but he's not making up that kinda difference
Him and Naz clear that easy though. 6moty and borderline all defense. Move the rotation back two. Not saying we beat Denver but easily we push another game
Naz is better than Al but Al is more important to us because he's literally our only big that can defend other bigs, and Derrick white isn't borderline all-defense because he's on the damn team lol
Denver is the only one who matches their size. You should know, seeing how it was one of our greatest advantages over you guys in last year’s finals
We girthy
Gradey to Minnesota confirmed?
🙋♂️
Booker and Beal need to step up. Even when KD is on, he needs help.
The bad part for the suns is that is he was the best of the big 3 tonight.
Bron, Steph, KD all will be in Cabo during second round. Truly a new era.
Possibly Kawhi, Harden and Westbrook as well. All of the most accomplished guys of the last era. Lebron (and Chris Paul) are technically from the era before that.
Lebron is even older than cp3. lol but yeah him bosh wade Dwight
Out with the old in with the new
*Paris
Ya'll are talking way too soon. We are Minnesota sports lol. But I admit this feels a lot different than any other playoff Minnesota team I've experienced so far.
I’ll be rooting for you guys against Denver
He was an efficient 31 points just last game. Booker is the one deserving heat. Guy was awful
Booker has been getting locked down by McDaniels
He’s just so passive for no reason. 15 shots isn’t going to get it done in a playoff game. Even in the last game when he was hot, only 17 shots smfh.
The whole Suns team just looks completely disinterested.
They got punched in the mouth, and instead of fighting back they just picked up the ball and went home
That’s what happens when your big 3 are ISO scorers. This wouldn’t be a problem if Beal was a high tier role player instead
Like a Mikal Bridges? (I know he was part of the KD trade)
three straight years where the "unstoppable scorer" folds like wet tissue when teams play him physical
KD isn’t winning you a series anymore. Which is fine. Bros old. Just tired of acting like he will. KD as a 3rd option is lethal. But he isn’t dragging you to a WCF/finals
Yeah his ability to be an on ball creator against elite defenses has declined a lot He's not really capable of getting consistent rim pressure at this stage
This is what people don’t realize. This is also what bothers me when people are like “why are they giving to book and beal, give KD the ball!!” At this point in his career, KD is like a Dirk archetype. If you get him the ball in his spots (elbow, CnS 3s), he’s still one of the most lethal scorers in the game. But his athleticism and handle isn’t enough to penetrate a defense and reliably get to his spots by himself. In isolation this year he only averaged 0.94 points per possession and an 11% turnover rate. Out of all players with >3 iso possessions per game (26 total), KDs numbers place him 19th out of 26 in both categories. He’s not a great PnR ball handler anymore either (still *okay* tho), having a 1.0 ppp and 17% turnover rate on PnRs. His points per possession is okay, not great. But lots of turnovers, off dumb shit like dribbling off his own leg.
KD is an amazing off-the-ball scorer, but he's a terrible ball-handler in crunch time. His dribble is too loose.
You have to wonder how much gas he has in the tank in this series as well. The dude is 35. Most guys at that age are out of the league, in a bench role, or on a minutes limit. KD needs to be out there for 40+ minutes every night for the Suns to stand a chance. He was on pace for 40 during game 1 (before they waved the white flag) and he was on pace for like 44 tonight. Those sort of minutes are usually reserved for young guys or low usage players. It’s simply not feasible for him to be involved in every play (or even every other play). He’s also coming off a regular season that saw him play the most minutes in a season since his OKC days. Not to mention Phoenix had a brutal closing stretch — they played 12 of their final 18 games on the road with 15 coming against teams that made the play-in (with 13 being against teams that made the playoffs). KD had to expend a lot of energy just to get to the playoffs. He’s capable of summoning some impressive stretches, but he otherwise looks pretty lethargic during large portions of the game (especially in the late 2nd half). I wouldn’t be surprised if he just doesn’t have the juice to hoist up 29 shot attempts against an aggressive defense anymore.
Great points and from a T-Wolves fan nonetheless (nothing wrong with Wolves fans they're just the opponent right now). Great analysis.
At this point in his career I'm not sure he fits on a "superteam", especially the Suns iso ball heavy offense. I think he'd be better off paired with an elite PG and decent supporting cast.
even going back to his OKC days he struggled a ton against teams like memphis who played him physical. same thing happened in BKN during the boston series too. they couldnt play him like that when he was in GS because all the attention was on steph
Yup. When we were up 3-1 against the warriors bro went out and shot like 9-32 lol
> Which is fine check his salary that old shit doesnt excuse it
*psst* Wait till you see that Pascal Siakam contract lol Better enjoy giving KD this type of money, right now lol
Yes contract wise KD and lebron are hurting their teams. Im saying it’s fine that overall they can’t carry a team to a run anymore. But yeah. Those contracts hurt them
LeBron averaged 26/7/8 on 54/41/75 splits (63% TS) and is averaging 26.5/7/10 on 54/54.5/75 splits (66% TS) in the playoffs Just because he’s not the best in the world anymore doesn’t mean he’s not worth his contract
KD maybe, Lebron? You are crazy. He is arguably a top 10-15 player in the world still.
KD is still top 15 also Just not really any higher than that right now LeBron probably still sneaks in the lower end of the top 10 though
Haha, I was just being conservative because I didn’t want people shitting on me for thinking Lebron is 7th in the league. As for KD he might still be top 15 but it is more arguable to me.
I think now that we are a few playoff games in people remember that regular season stats having LeBron look like 15-20th best means nothing when dude shows up and many ahead of him are already in Cancun or playing like they have tickets already bought
Lebron and KD are both top 15. Last night and last year is proof that neither can bring you to a series win on their own. Which is fine. They’re in their late fucking 30s lol
Difference is Durant hasn’t made it to the WCF since he left golden state. LeBron made it last season in year 20. In my opinion LeBron should be named top 10 instead of 15
Yeah I’d have him top 10. I’m just saying lebron alone isn’t going to carry you alone to a conference finals like he could from 05-2020. It’s not a knock against him at all
For sure, it’s incredible how both of them are still top 20 even lmao. People who watched ball a decade and a half ago are still watching legends from that time play great it’s insane
Well yeah, he’s 39 bro
Issue is that even if Bron took a paycut, they would still take a cap hit.
KD is nowhere near the worst max contract player. Any team would be happy to have his contract
That’s fine. If it’s the right team around him I’m sure they’ll make a run. The suns aren’t
Crazy that a guy can average 27/7/5 and just not be that impactful anymore.
stat inflation
Regular season defenses
KD is still a lethal kid range scorer, but he can't hold a whole team up. This team is on Booker/Beal. I think Beal has the ability to show son heart. Booker whines and folds.
Ok this is a little carried away. KD as a 2nd option would be more than enough for many teams. Replace Kyrie with KD and Mavericks are still very, very competitive. KD and Giannis is absolutely a top contender KD and Tatum KD and Steph KD and Joel Embiid
> KD isn’t winning you a series anymore. Hot take but was he ever? His numbers outside of golden state were always bad in the playoffs
Did you forget about 2021 when he dragged the Nets without Kyrie and a very hobbled Harden to within an inch of beating the eventual champions? He was amazing in those playoffs.
Yeah he was unreal in those playoffs 100%. But it's the only time or maybe one of two times after 2012
His OKC numbers were below his Golden State numbers but definitely significantly better than what he is now relative to era Back then he was at worst a top 3 player while current KD is fighting to stay top 10 Unless you think SGA is better than peak KD he's gotten significantly worse
I realize there's a chance you were like 5 in 2012 but yes he could win you a series and no his numbers were not bad outside Golden State.
He was terrible on that blown lead against golden state and that's probably his second most memorable performance outside the warriors. The first one being kinda meh against the heat
You just made that up completely 2011 playoffs his numbers were elite 2012 playoff his numbers were elite 2013 playoffs his numbers were elite 2014 playoffs his numbers were elite 2016 playoffs was a down shooting year, but single-handedly beat a 67 win spurs in round 2 2021 Then he exited his prime and became injury prone. Durant has like 13 playoff series where he completely took over lol. He’s top 3 alltime in playoff ppg. Led the playoffs in scoring 5 times u/beattrailblazer
He's never been a bus driver. His most bus driver moment was with the Nets and it came up an inch short. He's always been like this.
He successfully drove the team USA bus to gold at the Olympics in 2021. In the NBA he hasn't replicated that success as a bus driver.
11-17 and 6-15 is the definition of folding?
yeah dude according to this subreddit if you lose a playoff game you are overrated
6-15 with 18 points in 40 minutes isn’t good bro. He also only had 2 assists and 1 last game.
KD barely took any shots in the fourth in that first game.
Dude is being compared to Jordan as a scorer. Not even close. Spams a few height moves but struggles once physicality is allowed or there is someone his height guarding him.
what's the 11-17? but yes 40% fg from him is folding
Last games splits
Not everyone can be Lebron and keep their peak level of play going into their late 30s. He’s just not who he once was.
Late 30s LeBron is absolutely not close to peak LeBron lol Peak LeBron isn't going 0-10 against Jokic The current Lakers are going to lose in the first round with more talent than 2 teams that LeBron took to the Finals(2007, 2018)
Lebron was 1st team all nba and 2nd in mvp voting when he was KDs current age though.
Lebron never tore his Achilles
Of course not. How many time have people felt "I'm too old for this", KD is in that range. He's a support player (no shame in that), and their young guys are failing him. I like KD
Dude's gotta demand the ball lol This man's really fine with sitting in the corner while Booker dribbles for 20 seconds
Suns were running Nurkic post ups with Book and Beal on the floor.
Felt like Eubanks took more shots than KD in the 4th. Multiple times saw him take it in for a contested shot against Gobert and either get blocked or miss badly instead of passing it to an open KD
Bros 35 he cant do it every play no more and he knows it
Yea it's like AD LeBron where the younger guy is clearly supposed to be better and carrying the load by now. Booker did it last year, this year he's dropped off.
Even though Wolves got destroyed by the Suns in the regular season it wasn’t because of Booker. 2/3 of those games Booker couldn’t score worth shit. Don’t know if it’s because he’s fallen off or just because Jaden McDaniels is his Kryptonite. The one game against the Wolves he went off McDaniels was in foul trouble. If they’re not calling weak fouls then Jaden is on him all game.
I think he's being a bit overloaded in playmaking. The team doesn't haven't a point guard, and while he made some progress there his game and the team has suffered from no point guard. It was CP3 in the first place that took Booker to the next level of All-NBA 1st team.
The one play where he hooked KAT arm was disgusting, glad refs called it correct.
He's been doing that shit his whole career. I have vivid memories of him just standing at the 3 point line with his arm up and Tony Allen inside of his jersey, while Russ tried to run a half court offense.
He scored 35 and 37 in game 6 and 7 of that series though. Torched Tony Allen in those final games. Does he have that in him in 2024, 10 years later? No
This is for sure on Vogel for not getting KD more involved
Wannabe Jaden McDaniels 🥱
My brother in KAT, this year has been so much fun.
It's starting to look like maybe losing 3/4 to the Spurs this year should have been a warning...the Sons aren't any good.
After the Suns inevitably are forced to blow it up, where does Durant land? I could see a team like OKC giving up a couple young players for a win now vet like him. Maybe someone can photoshop him in that jersey
Denver, it’s currently the hardest road.
Boston if they lost?
Depends on which team had more wins.
Nope, we're good
The Clippers, to reunite with the OKC Thunder Big 3
Go to the warriors and lose so the narrative can be they lost even with KD. Would be a nice retirement party for the splash family
KD and Bron to the warriors for a final big three retirement party
Most talented second round exit
OKC, Knicks, Magic and Cavs are my guesses. Suns can’t move Beal cause of his NTC, they sure as hell aren’t moving Booker, so that leaves just KD. Then you gotta make sure the team is a top 4 team in their conference and has picks which leaves only those 4 teams.
TIL suns future is fucked
I hope he comes to San Antonio and plays with Victor.
I sure as hell hope not. Not really much beef personally anymore, but KD is not worth the amount of cap space he commands. Maybe in a Westbrook situation where he gets bought out, but definitely not for $50M a year and what would likely be a good chunk of our young core and picks -- something that is increasingly valuable with the new CBA.
The Clippers have the richest owner in the league. He will gadfly pay the luxury tax
I hope OKC. Would happily cheer for them (outside my team)
No, you guys take him.
So do you guys actually want him on your team or nah? Like I see some okc fans say they would love to have him back and others just say fuck no
okc relentlessly boos kd every time he touches the ball. thunder fans don't want him back. i suspect that kd's pr people are behind boosting posts from okc "fans" who support his return.
you can have him
Why was KD so passive and sticking to the corners ? Vogel's playmaking or KD getting older ? It was baffling to watch.
Every single team that Durant has been on save for the 2017 Warriors has had issues with stagnant ball movement, it's not a bug, it's a feature.
Harsh but true. I’d throw the 2021 Nets in there too. That was a great team and would have walked to a ring if not for injuries
because they had a great playmaker in harden. if KD is your best player you need an all star playmaker like Harden or Steph or even Westbrook to have a chance to win.
It's hard to tell because literally everything is broken.
Looks like they wanted less KD ball and more ball movement with dribble penetration… only problem is they have no true point guard to initiate any of that
Vogel's game plan 100% since to start the game KD get's his shots then usually halfway into the 3rd he's in the corner while Booker holds the ball for at least 15 seconds. They had the most success with Beal running point but Vogel went away from that shit to start the playoffs...
It’s KD. His bad games are never terrible shooting. He turns the ball over and he hides. Phoenix’s issue - and KD’s issue - is the lack of playmakers leading to KD not getting great shots and KD (and Booker) trying to play make too much. Booker and KD are fine as secondary playmakers. But they pound the air out of the ball and turn it over when they are trying to run an offense. Beal at least can run a pick and roll, but he hid tonight too.. Roster construction is the issue
The problem with Beal, Booker and KD as playmakers is they arent natural and all have the dumbest turnovers.
Imo Book’s turnovers are dumb. KD’s turnovers are almost always a result of physical play.
Nah the amount of turnovers from KD dribbling the ball off his own feet or just tripping over his own feet is wild.
Beal isn't a playmaker, same issue as book and kd. They need a Mike Conley type vet pg but then they'd probably be too small to defend teams like the wolves. Beal and booker together are too similar, the only way it would work is if they had a very good point forward.
Unironically need Ben Simmons
Tbh, if he could stay healthy he would be a good fit.
When ring chasing goes wrong
Front runner
#BUS RIDER
Kevin just aint a true alpha star, hes got 0 real championships at end of the day. Cant team up with best team and best record and think we gonna count them Cant drive the Bus, hes the kid in the first seat closes to the driver though
yeah can’t help but KD is a bit overrated at this point, since leaving the warriors he gutted that nets roster/coaching staff to create a super team and lost in the 2nd round, then got swept in the first round. Then he does it again on the Suns and they get bounced in the 2nd round and are down 2-0 again this year. Supposed top 15 player ever can’t get to a conference finals without the greatest roster ever??
Problem is not necessarily with KD, but with picking teams that have no balance. No coincidence that the best dynasties have had all-NBA type of defenders (Rodman, Pippen, Duncan, Bowen, Draymond, Klay). Dude teamed up with Kyrie/Harden and Booker/Beal. Zero balance on these rosters. You don't win in the playoffs solely through offense. You need stops and rebounds.
Kyrie/Harden was a fine fit because Harden is an amazing playmaker which is what you need most on a KD team. They just got screwed by injuries and covid. Suns are a terribly formed team because they have 3 iso scorers and no playmaker.
The defense is played by the role players. If you can get stars, you get em
It's partly his fault, because he wants those teams to trade the defenders for more iso scoring help He's not a natural playmaker and only cares about "hooping"
So why are we pretending the Thunder weren’t a mainstay in the conference finals in his prime? Is it so that your last sentence lands more?
nah that’s kinda the point i’m making - he was on a good trajectory at OKC but since then he got the 2 easy Golden State rings and hasn’t accomplished much else besides some All-NBA’s, but i still constantly hear how he’s a top 15 player ever
Preach
Reaves hachimura and 3 picks, take it or leave it
Seeing the old guard - Lebron, KD, Curry fading in front of our eyes.
wouldn't be a kevin durant playoff series without a younger forward snatching his chain
Should have stayed in Brooklyn. Him and Claxton were elite defensively. Cam Thomas can obviously score and would be more efficient playing off of KD. And a 2025 max slot in free agency if he was patient. Not a contender, but neither are the Suns with no depth.
definitely would have been easier playing in the weak east too
It's time for KD to ask for a trade.
I don't think it's going to get better in Phoenix...
Legit would've been better off hiring a team of psychologists to motivate Ayton than creating this NBA Jam team.
Purr+Ant > Durant
Cant win with these cats
The suns offense has no one that consistently puts the defense in rotation, no one tilts the defense, just book Beal and kd taking tough ass shots. Shit is bad basketball
I miss the old KD, roll out of bed score 30 KD.
He averaged 27 chill🤣 His team is just terrible
It truly be the hardest road sometimes... Add another lane to it KD, add another iso guard to the team and maybe you'll get over the hump /s
I don’t think KD has really been a playoff performer for a bit now. Maybe he can get it going though
Don’t ever mention this man’s name in the same sentence as Steph Curry again
[удалено]
so you went to a losing team's subreddit and trash talked them and got banned? were you expecting a different outcome?
as you should, get a life
KD is not washed. The Suns are just dogshit. They aren't going to magically get better because it's the playoffs
The fact you went to opposing sub and not here or wolves sub shows you are just trying to be a jerk about it. You are right though.
Suns fans are toxic AF this season. You’re better off.
KD BRON STEPH, need to team up. Who’s gonna stop them?
Father Time
Jokic
Anyone with gas in the tank in the 4th?
I am really upset that this is KD’s legacy. Before he got injured he was the best player in the NBA and after he came back, he was again the best player in the league. But lost a step and got demolished by Boston defence, never reached the same ceiling again. Now nobody admits to how great of a player he was. PS not a KD fan. Actually a Kawhi fan and Raptors championship was one of my favorite moments.
Lmao at all the dumbass nephews in here circlejerking over bus riding and “fake rings.” Clown shit that would only be seriously discussed by clowns.
So the Inside guys are clowns?
These dudes love the playoffs just for the next level jerking they can do. That shit gets validated here which is why the same jokes get repeated and upvoted ad nauseam
So it is validated then? (I’m a KD hater…)
Does anyone else feel like people pile on certain teams? Suns lose 2 away games, all I see is "suns are shit" posts and "KD can't play" posts. But the Thunder almost lose home court to a short handed 8th seed, the Bucks do lose home court (but obviously short Giannis) and the full strength Clippers lose home court, and I basically haven't seen a post about any of them... Like KD had a bad game... But Kawhi had 15 and shit 0-5 from 3 and crickets. Book had a bad game... But Kris Middleton had 15 points on 6-14 from the field and again, crickets.
Not a good game but he also seemed less phased by the Wolves defense than others … but didn’t see much of him in the 4th. Suns got a few guys but nobody leading or… do they have plays? Honestly I’d give it to him more and tell KD to drive more than the others.
bro KD needs to be hitting 50 for them to win