Kevin Durant or Dirk Nowitzki

[DAF86]

lol not understanding they play at different positions.

lol not understanding than Durant and Dirk also play different positions.

[Findog]

That's exactly my point, Durant and Nowitzki play different positions, Durant is a perimeter player therefore he dribles the ball a lot more and usually the guy that has more the ball in his hands tends to make more turnovers, is not that difficult to get.

Dirk is a 7'0 PF, Durant is a 6'11 SF. Neither set up shop in the low post with their backs to the basket for a majority of their offense. Their roles are not that different.

[DAF86]

Dirk is a 7'0 PF, Durant is a 6'11 SF. Neither set up shop in the low post with their backs to the basket for a majority of their offense. Their roles are not that different.

Yes, they are. You'll never see Dirk getting the ball at the top of the key to attack the basket and try to create for himself or others, nor taking the ball from defense to offense on fast breaks or half court sets.

[sefant77]

Last time i saw some Mavs games Dirk had to catch always the ball 7"+ high with an ellow hammered in his back pushing him offbalance. Then during posting up more ellbows in the back constantly pushing him offbalance...

So thats not a indicator for ballhandling skills?

No the wing player dribbling wild has in general better ball handling skills because he dribbles more...

[JamStone]

Neither Durant nor Dirk are point guards or primary ball handlers. It's a far more fair comparison than comparing any player who is not a point guard and not a primary ball handler to point guards or guys like LeBron, Kobe, Wade who aren't point guards but are primary ball handlers. Guys like Dirk and Durant have better turnovers rates than most point guards, not just Nash.

Durant does probably handle the basketball more than Dirk but not significantly more.

Usage rate does not take into consideration when a player is the primary ball handler, who brings the basketball up the court or facilitates the offense. It takes into consideration FGA, FTA, assists, and turnovers. Usage rate doesn't take into consideration that a point guard might dribble the shot clock down to 3 seconds, pass the ball, and then that player swings the ball again. The point guard had possession of the basketball for 21 seconds of that possession but it has no affect on his usage rate. That's why it's tough to compare turnover rates between point guards and primary ball handlers and non point guards and non primary ball handlers.

[jason54858]

Right now, Garnett.

I disagree and Willing to bet if the Celtics didn't have Rondo they would swope Garnet for John Wall in a heartbeat.

[mystargtr34]

Dirk, because he is a proven playoff performer.

[jason54858]

Every team has a wingman or perimeter player that is either a defensive specialist or a spot up three point shooter, you'll always get a chance of hiding Dirk by guarding those kind of guys, while as a bigman even if you put him on a below average offensive player he will still present liabities, for ex. not beign a defensive presence for the rivals that attack the basket and in the offensive end preventing his team from getting 2nd chance oportunities 'cause he always plays in the perimeter, leaving his team a man short under the basket.

Ok, again you cannot play Dirk at the 3 because he would be a liabilty defensively. Lets say the Mavs play Oklahoma City who guards Durant? Your logic would say let Dirk guard I guess Jeff Green. Then i am guessing you would move who ever is playing the 4 to guard Durant creating an even worse mismatch.

[Smooth Criminal]

No, this is not tough. Yeah Dirk has had a hall of fame career. But why would anybody take a 32 year old aging PF over a 21 year star. Yes, Durant has already reached supers om.

Reread the OP

[jason54858]

Reread the OP

Your right I didn't read it. I officially change my vote to Dirk

[Venti Quattro]

dirk nowitzki

[TinTin]

After what dirk did against the spurs in the playoffs, I would be hard pressed not to pick him

[HarlemHeat37]

It's really a toss-up, I would take Dirk, but I'm biased against Durant..

DAF is actually correct here, it wasn't even close this past season, in regards to the types of plays..Dirk had around 400 isolation plays all year, while Durant had around the mid 600s, obviously a sigificant margin..Durant also isos more at the 3-point line by a huge margin, while Nowitzki's 1 on 1 plays usually come from the top of the key and lower..

Dirk had over 500 post-up plays this season, while Durant had around a 100, so there was a massive difference there too..Dirk also rarely handles the ball on a pick&roll, while Durant handles it a ton, and Dirk catches a lot on the p&r, while Durant never does..

Durant had around 400 screen plays this year, one of the highest in the NBA, while Nowitzki was around 150..

They really aren't that similar in regards to their roles in the offense, almost completely different..

Durant is a slightly better isolation player this year, his main advantage comes with his 3-point shooting and his ability to draw fouls..he's obviously the better p&r facilitator as well..

Nowitzki is a much better post up player, a much better pick&roll finisher, a much better spot-up shooter..

The rest of their offense is about the same, in regards to coming off screens, cutting, passing the ball and all of that..

So offensively, you take Durant if you need somebody to create for himself, but if you need a finisher, whether it's on the pick&roll or for a jump shot, you take Nowitzki..

Defensively, Nowitzki is about average and Durant is slightly above average IMO..the main difference is that Durant is a good 1 on 1 defender, while Nowitzki was really bad this past season..

Also, while Dirk gets a bad rap for his playoff performances, he's actually a good playoff performer and has had plenty of great/dominant series' and games in the playoffs..Durant has only had 1 series, and played horribly, so he's still unproven there..