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Kevin Durant Longhorn Legend


Patrick Bateman

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On ‎7‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 5:55 PM, MrBig said:

Wayne Gretzky seems like a sensitive one too. But he didn’t have to deal with social media back then.

I agree on Gretzky, and also the other poster with Shaq.  Those three are up there.  Durant is more magnified because he created fake profiles which is really bad optics and of course social media in general greatly exposes you publicly compared to years ago.  At least with Durant it doesn't appear his actual play has been impacted on the court.  I imagine other athletes are also quite sensitive but are intelligent enough to not let it show to the public at all.  They just don't engage and return fire but I bet quite a few feel similar things.

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On 7/2/2019 at 7:08 PM, Aqua Buddha said:

Is Durant the most sensitive superstar in the history of sports?

Previously, I mentioned only Shaq as probably the only insecure superstar/star player. I actually take it back.

Both Shaq & Durant have a lot of insecurity competition just from this millennium.

Terrell Owens, Dwight Howard, Alex Rodriguez, AJ Pierzienski, Big Baby Glen Davis, Mario Chalmers, John Rocker. Keyshawn Johnson.

Kobe still creeps me out because he's such a phony, but that dude was insanely insecure back when he was obsessed with Shaq, obsessed with mimicking Michael Jordan, trying to become a conscious rapper doing a song called K.O.B.E. with Tyra Banks at the All Star game.

All before his chilling Kobe Doin Work personality transplant, his political vetting like transformation where now he acts exactly like OJ Simpson before OJ killed 2 people

We have been blessed with some crazy insecurity and some outstandingly prolific diva behavior.

Even Durant has never directly projected his sexuality issues and called his team captain gay because if it look like a rat and smell like a rat, by golly he gay.

Durant never done sit ups shirtless in his driveway on ESPN.

Or wore sunglasses indoors while producing actual tears with an astonishingly fake "that's my teammate..." acting performance.

Terrell Owens is untouchable as far as insecure athletes in my lifetime. He came 10 years too early to appreciate what an insecure attention hog he was. That dude would have a billion Instagram followers if 2004-2005 Terrell Owens time machined to 2015.

Edited by Drygon
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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't understand why people are expecting Kevin Durant to become NBA's best player like in 16/17 & 17/18.

Or at least coming anywhere near close to be a top 10 player in the league.

For people who think that he's guaranteed to succeed since he's a good shooter, keep in mind that that Achilles injuries affect your shooting.

The reason why Durant is capable to shoot over player is due to elite guard handles.

And because Durant was  ridiculously explosive as a 7-footer, the opposing teams were forced to put shorter players on him with adequate lateral quickness.

If Durant retains his shooting but loses a step or two, teams can just stick bigs on him. Which negates Durant height advantage.

Edited by Drygon
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31 minutes ago, Drygon said:

I don't understand why people are expecting Kevin Durant to become NBA's best player like in 16/17 & 17/18.

Or at least coming anywhere near close to be a top 10 player in the league.

For people who think that he's guaranteed to succeed since he's a good shooter, keep in mind that that Achilles injuries affect your shooting.

The reason why Durant is capable to shoot over player is due to elite guard handles.

And because Durant was  ridiculously explosive as a 7-footer, the opposing teams were forced to put shorter players on him with adequate lateral quickness.

If Durant retains his shooting but loses a step or two, teams can just stick bigs on him. Which negates Durant height advantage.

What people are you talking about? I haven't heard anyone crowing that he's going to come back and be the best player in the league, or that he's guaranteed to "succeed" (which I would define as returning to a 25 ppg scorer). 

And even if he loses a step or two, just "sticking bigs on him" is not a foolproof answer. He's still an elite ball handler and shooter for his size, a plus plus passer, and a plus plus high-post player. 

I think he can return to a 25/5/5 player on good efficiency, but it is a very difficult injury to come back from. He will need some good fortune. 

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22 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Return from Achilles injury could be extremely tough for KD...

 

Yes, but not because of what the injury has done to NFL running backs. Durant does not need near as much explosion to play at an elite level than an NFL back. 

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I'd say that LeBron is currently operating at no better than 90% compared to his athletic peak, and it's probably closer to 85%, and he's still pretty damn good. KD, the greatest all around scorer ever, can lose a pretty decent portion of his athleticism and still be pretty damn good. 

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Someone will need to explain to me why, if he loses some athleticism due to this injury which is likely, he can’t just become a Dirk? I just don’t see anyway, athleticism or not, that he isn’t a top ten scorer in the league. He is just too skilled at his height to not be.

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Well, so much for Vic's talking points for next season.  KD puts all the malpractice and negligence BS to bed with the maturity and perspective that you'd expect from him.

Quote

"Hell, no. How can you blame [the Warriors]? Hell, no," Durant told Yahoo Sports, speaking at a house in Los Angeles. "I heard the Warriors pressured me into getting back. Nobody never said a word to me during rehab as I was coming back. It was only me and [trainer] Rick [Celebrini] working out every day.

"Right when the series started, I targeted Game 5. Hell, nah. It just happened. It's basketball. S--- happens. Nobody was responsible for it. It was just the game. We just need to move on from that s--- because I'm going to be back playing."

He also got in this little jab at the idiots who were cheering:

Quote

He jokingly chided Raptors fans who initially cheered after he went down with the injury during Game 5, telling Yahoo Sports through a smirk: "It will probably be the last time they will be in the Finals."

 

Edited by aggie08
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On ‎8‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 5:37 PM, LTtxfan said:

Return from Achilles injury could be extremely tough for KD...

 

Running backs take so much contact that I am not sure the situations are all that analogous, although certainly Durant is suffering a challenging injury.

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Well, so much for Vic's talking points for next season.  KD puts all the malpractice and negligence BS to bed with the maturity and perspective that you'd expect from him.

"Hell, no. How can you blame [the Warriors]? Hell, no," Durant told Yahoo Sports, speaking at a house in Los Angeles. "I heard the Warriors pressured me into getting back. Nobody never said a word to me during rehab as I was coming back. It was only me and [trainer] Rick [Celebrini] working out every day.

"Right when the series started, I targeted Game 5. Hell, nah. It just happened. It's basketball. S--- happens. Nobody was responsible for it. It was just the game. We just need to move on from that s--- because I'm going to be back playing."

He also got in this little jab at the idiots who were cheering:

He jokingly chided Raptors fans who initially cheered after he went down with the injury during Game 5, telling Yahoo Sports through a smirk: "It will probably be the last time they will be in the Finals."

 

Yeah because KD is going to go public and bash the Warriors staff for stupidly bringing him back that early for the sole purpose of trying to get back into that series. Had they had a commanding lead, KD doesn't come back. They got desperate and it backfired for KD. What did you expect him to say?

 

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18 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

Yeah because KD is going to go public and bash the Warriors staff for stupidly bringing him back that early for the sole purpose of trying to get back into that series. Had they had a commanding lead, KD doesn't come back. They got desperate and it backfired for KD. What did you expect him to say?

Oh, I don't know, maybe tell the truth?  KD doesn't owe the Warriors a damn thing.  KD is all about player empowerment.  If he felt that the organization pressured him back early and gave him bad information--thus jeopardizing his livelihood, his long-term health, and his legacy--he damn well would have said so to shine a light on the practice of rushing players back so it hopefully doesn't happen again to someone else. 

But that's not what happened.  The NBA is the most pro-player league in sports, and Golden State has been at the forefront of that.  Rick Celebrini came from the much heralded Phoenix Sun's training staff, where he is credited with extending Steve Nash's career and giving Grant Hill more viable seasons when everyone thought he was done.  Everyone--player, team, 3rd party doctors--agreed that it was worth the risk to play in the Finals (ya know, the thing that all these guys spend countless hours in the gym trying to get to); Game 5 was the stated goal even before the series started, and he looked pretty damn good out there.  It backfired.  It sucks.  It happens. 

No one is 100% by June, and are at risk of more severe injury because of it.  It's professional sports.  Shit, didn't it just come out that LeBron came back from his groin injury way earlier than he should have because it became quickly apparent that the Lakers couldn't stay afloat without him?  These guys want to play; it's up to the team and the doctors (and superstars ALL have their own independent docs) to work with the player, and make an educated decision with the information available.  But it's far from an exact science, and it's unrealistic (for the team and the player) to wait until everything is truly 100%.  Not that it matters much to the Twitter crowd. 

I think KD still would have played had the series been 3-1 Warriors.  Missing an entire Finals would have been devastating to him.

Edited by aggie08
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53 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

If he felt that the organization pressured him back early and gave him bad information--thus jeopardizing his livelihood, his long-term health, and his legacy--he damn well would have said so to shine a light on the practice of rushing players back so it hopefully doesn't happen again to someone else. 

Assuming KD would or wouldn't have said something is a dangerous game. 

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we know enough about KD and how he operates (not to mention all of the other context in aggie's post) to make a very educated guess at what he would say. KD hasn't ever really been someone to hold back, and we know he wanted to play/thought he could go. no way in hell he's dancing around like that pregame if he doesn't think he's totally ready to be back. 

Edited by Goo Punch
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54 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

we know enough about KD and how he operates (not to mention all of the other context in aggie's post) to make a very educated guess at what he would say. KD hasn't ever really been someone to hold back, and we know he wanted to play/thought he could go. no way in hell he's dancing around like that pregame if he doesn't think he's totally ready to be back. 

Exactly. We've all heard plenty of scripted responses to tough questions whose subtext usually translates to "I'm upset, but I don't want to make a big deal out of it and go down the rabbit hole of he-said-she-said, so I'll play the good soldier and say the right thing." KD's response was not that. It was pretty clearly, "Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit. I'm my own man."

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KD should be able to make it our game against Georgetown since it’s between two Brooklyn home games.   Be cool to see him on the UT sidelines again.  Doubt he’ll make it for the loser’s bracket matinee versus Cal the next day.  

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/8/2019 at 5:52 PM, Vic Mackey said:

He also got in this little jab at the idiots who were cheering:

 

 

Yeah because KD is going to go public and bash the Warriors staff for stupidly bringing him back that early for the sole purpose of trying to get back into that series. Had they had a commanding lead, KD doesn't come back. They got desperate and it backfired for KD. What did you expect him to say?

 

Are you saying he is lying? I'm not buying that

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On 2/18/2020 at 9:54 PM, Goo Punch said:

looking like the old KD out there. of course there really wasn't any doubt as to whether not he's still be able to shoot, so i ain't saying HE'S BACK!!!! just saying it's nice to see that unbelievably smooth shot again. 

Get well dude..!

Durant is the best player the Thunder franchise ever had, such a smoot & effortless shooter...

Edited by kopp0e
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On 5/12/2020 at 8:29 PM, Napoleon said:


Falling under the category of "Stuff I could have told you in the summer of 2019"

But It's good to know that the Nets aren't brain-damaged level stupid.

on some level, this posts suggests you knew league was going to be forced to shut down due to a global pandemic. Kinda fucked up you didn't say anything last summer

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