Comments on: Oden or Durant: Revisted

By: 小霞

小霞 — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:17:28 +0000

By: pinwheel

pinwheel — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:39:37 +0000

PS- Blazers fans don’t actually want to turn back the clocks and take Durant. Kevin needs more touches than we’d have for him in our offense. The guy a lot of us secretly want in our heart of hearts is Jeff Green. Love that guy. He’s a gamer.

By: pinwheel

pinwheel — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:29:22 +0000

Yeah, but if you’re going to throw in compiled personal stats over two different periods of time, it’s valuable to see what those numbers contributed to each team.

Durant’s wonderful stats have contributed to 31 total wins over a season and a half. Oden’s modest stats have contributed to 30 wins in just a half of a season.

That puts a little perspective on those great numbers.

If the tables were turned, and Durant had missed an entire season, it would seem really unfair to throw out big numbers that Oden might be generating in comparison to what would be Durant’s rookie season on a loosing team.

But it’s nitpicking. I think it was a nice even handed article. We Blazers fans are sensitive about this, obviously. And frankly, comparing the two is tough. They play different positions. Oden’s being brought along slowly and not being asked to carry the franchise (yet) like Durant.

There’s just a lot of talk out there of Oden being a bust. But I’d like to see a comparison of his production vs. other players coming off microfracture surgury. Add to that the fact that he’s a 20 year old rookie, who leads rookies in double doubles, and it’s clear to see that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

I’m syched for the game, thanks for the insight!

By: Royce

Royce — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:56:36 +0000

I don’t think that’s a fair way to compare the two right now. Oden didn’t play at all last year and the Blazers had a nice season regardless. Oden has come into a much better situation than KD.

By: pinwheel

pinwheel — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:50:40 +0000

Uh, scoreboard? “…I think it’s safe to say Kevin Durant is winning. He’s got 86 more games, 2,464 more points, 370 more rebounds, 298 more assists, one more award, one less major surgery and one more year on Oden.”

How about wins vs. losses? It’s a team sport right? Who’s best for their team?

By: Royce

Royce — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:23:50 +0000

I’ve always thought the same thing about Oden. He seems like the kid that was big and athletic so everyone want like, “You HAVE to play basketball! You have to!” and he was always thinking, “But I really just want to dance.” Or something.

KD lives for basketball. I never got that feeling from Oden. But that may just be his personality.

By: spike

spike — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:02:17 +0000

The biggest thing that Bill Simmons touched on that I also thought was key was the desire. Oden doesn’t even seem to like basketball that much. Durant seems to live for it. You hear what Brooks has said, that all the guys on the Thunder like being at the gym and like working on their game. I never get that sense from Oden, everything with him seems to be about expectations placed upon him and him trying to live up to them. It’s not because of his pure passion for the game.

That and the unpredictability of big men and the fact that Durant was a sure thing… it made more sense to pick Durant.

The only thing that really galls me about this is Presti saying back then that character was the biggest factor in their decision and that they thought Oden was a perfect fit for what they were trying to do teamwise. I don’t know how you have a kid with a better attitude than KD.

By: green lantern

green lantern — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:12:42 +0000

well in both cases the blazers had wings (roy and drexler) so they really didnt need jordan or durant. bowie ended up injured and oden missed his first season so thats a bad sign but im a oden fan and hope for the best for him. and the whole jordan blazers thing didnt really hurt cause they were still contenders without him they just couldnt get over the hump and win a chip.

By: hoopinion

hoopinion — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:58:47 +0000

I preferred Oden, too.

http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2007/05/oden-v-durant.html

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:24:10 +0000

I honestly was torn. I was pretty sure Portland was going to take Oden because of the the reasons Crow mentioned, but I was never sure. Portland worked out Durant, and McMillan talked about it in the press. He was like: Wow, one of the finest nba workouts I’ve ever seen. This kid is unbelievable…on and on. So a little genuine awe with a bit of misdirection I am sure.

Sometimes the end all be all Center really isn’t though, like Michael Olawakandi, who was a first pick and is out of the league, or Bogut who was a first pick and may never make an all star game. Durant you knew was going to be an all star, but it was going to be on the offensive end. And at the time of the draft, Seattle was in flux. Bob Hill wasn’t coming back, didn’t know the outcomes of Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen immediately, didn’t know who would coach immediately etc. It wasn’t as simple as A or B really.

I remember thinking that Durant would probably be better than Rashard Lewis, but Lewis never brought us greatness without a good supporting cast.