I'm not gonna call anyone an idiot or anything for thinking KD gets some free calls, but when someone suggests KD is maybe not even an all-star caliber player without hand check calls from the refs, that's just complete horse .
That's absolutely absurd and you basically lost all credibility with that ridiculous statement.
I'm not gonna call anyone an idiot or anything for thinking KD gets some free calls, but when someone suggests KD is maybe not even an all-star caliber player without hand check calls from the refs, that's just complete horse .
Maybe because you didn't qualify your statement when you said that KD is the focus of the defense? So is Parker. So is LeBron. So are a ton of other guards and forwards that don't get nearly the freebies that Durant does.
This is pretty damning, tbh.
You said KD gets fouled because of his intelligence at his position. That implies that LeBron does not have similar intelligence.
Nice try of you to backpedal without admitting anything though.
I get your point, but the fact is you'll see fewer at rim attempts from KD because the whistle is often blown before he can get there. Surely noone will argue that point. lol There's SOME truth to the fact that if KD does get a step or two on a guy, he's gonna get hacked. If you let KD get within 8 feet of the basket, it's an automatic 2. He's more automatic than anyone in the league if he gets that close.
To many fouls are called in the NBA period at this point. The most notorious in my opinion are the body contact fouls that lead to And 1s. These are usually caused by the offensive player initiating contact on the way to a layup or dunk. Superstars feast on these calls. Would love to see statistics on And 1s. I'm guessing a top ten list would be superstar heavy, with some random bigs possibly thrown in. Its very aggravating when someone gets a whistle on a virtually uncontested layup or dunk because they brushed against a defender. Its a fast moving game, there is going to be some contact.
Tell me you aren't that stupid, please. I said KD gets fouled because he's an intelligent player and you automatically turn that into me implying Lebron is NOT intelligent? Do you always put words in people's mouths? The post in question is #47 in this thread. Go read it and tell me where I even indirectly implied a damn thing about Lebron James.
For the record - Lebron James, in my opinion, is the smartest player in the league.
You are stating that KD is smart and therefore knows how to draw fouls.
Why is it that LeBron is unable to draw fouls, then?
But not smart enough to draw fouls?
By all means continue with the ad hominems. I'm just pointing out the flaw in your logic.
I've not even attempted to make an argument as to why KD shoots more free throws than Lebron. I simply stated some of the reasons KD draws a lot of fouls. You just seemed to make the assumption that I was trying to justify KD shooting 2.7 more FT a game. I don't have a problem admitting that I don't have anything specific as to exactly why that is (I don't watch Miami much), but I can say Lebron is more of a pass first oriented player. He assists the ball quite a bit more than KD, that is a fact. I'm not suggesting that accounts for the entire FT difference, but it is a factor.
LeBron scores nearly as much as KD. His higher assist totals mean that he has the ball MORE.
So your position on this matter is that a player who scores 26.5 PPG on 55%+ shooting with a PER of 30+ is a "pass-first player"? Serious question. LeBron scores less than 2 PPG fewer than Durant.
It's not an assumption when that's exactly what you're doing.You just seemed to make the assumption that I was trying to justify KD shooting 2.7 more FT a game
I think you're right but that still makes Durant a . He uses his physical advantages(lankiness) against people that are trying to defend him and because he's also an amazing shooter/competent at driving to the hoop refs give him the benefit of the doubt. People complain about Ginobili or Blake Griffin being a flop artist but really the master in the game today is Durant. He does it so well that no one seems to notice.
Westbrook earns just about every one of his FT attempts. He gets hit a lot going to the rim. Durant, on the other hand...some of the calls are just ridiculous. Defenders can't even body him up because it's an automatic foul, which makes him virtually impossible to guard. Anyone would tell you that the way to defend a shooter is to take away his air space, but if you can't do that, then guys like Durant will go wild.
Also, I have NEVER seen a player get more calls on east-west movement than Durant.
Yeah. Your conclusion that someone who shoots a lot of free throws is "protected".
James Harden takes more hard drives to the basket in one game than anyone on the Spurs does all season. The fact that he's number one despite not being on OKC anymore confirms that its not "the team" thats getting a lot of calls but the actual players, regardless of what team theyre on. You just proved that OKC wasnt "protected".
Good job.
Well, he's not exactly Ricky Rubio. I do realize Lebron is a premiere scorer, but relative to some other big time scorers in the league, he does seem a bit more interested in assisting the ball.
No, it's not what I'm doing. You've just got it in your head that that's what I'm doing. I never made this a KD vs Lebron FT argument. I even admitted to KD getting his freebies. I cannot justify KD's 2.7 more FTs per game using stats and I do not watch Miami enough to really qualify as someone who knows the ins and outs of what Lebron does nightly.
James Harden could've gone to Washington and he'd be shooting the same # of FTs and all of a sudden Washington would be Stern's favorite team or some BS. People hate Harden because he does that two handed low hold on the ball and baits people in. It's a foul, sorry. People need to quit hating a guy that knows how to bait defenders.
Durant is impossible to guard. He's a 7 footer with quickness and a jumper. Dude is like 2008 Dirk but faster. Of course he's gonna get foul calls. He's better than almost 100% of the people he sees every night. He will outmaneuver whoever and get a bucket or get to the line.
That being said, that stupid swing your arms under the guy and get free throws is gay.
Harden's fouls are legit, as are Westbrook's, but along with Durant, they are probably the cheapest players in NBA history, tbh..
I can't hate on them for legally exploiting the rules, but it's evident that all 3 guys struggle without the whistle, tbh..when the officials are calling a loose game and allowing both teams to play physical, their teams struggle to win..
OKC is 14-2 on the season in games where Kevin Durant shoots 6 or fewer free throws. Thanks.
Show me their record without a significant FT advantage as a team, along with their opponents during the stretch, tbh..
If I'm wrong, I'll give you credit..
Brazil just went coast to coast tbh.
AFAIK, the argument has always been that certain "players" are protected. That 3 of them happened to play for OKC simply projected that into the team. I'm not sure how this is really a question. And while Harden surely goes to the rack a lot, he definitely doesn't do it twice as much as, say, Lebron. At least actual numbers don't support that contention.
Ok, this year OKC has played 35 games in which they did not hold a significant team FT advantage - for this purpose, I considered anything less than +5 as a team to be not significant - although let's call it +4 because there actually were no +5's.
Total wins - 25
Total losses - 9
Wins in games with a 0 or deficit in FTs for OKC - 13
Wins against "playoff teams" (including Utah since only a game back) - 12 (CHI, GS, HOU, LAL, ATL, HOU, DEN, LAC, GS, CHI, LAL, UTAH)
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