It's time we talked about what playing for the Warriors means for Kevin Durant’s MVP chances…

by Ben and Matt

Was going to Golden State the best move for Kevin Durant’s MVP chances?

Ben: There is a growing buzz right now “How is Kevin Durant playing like an MVP candidate?”

Integrating to a new team, Steph’s team, was supposed to be hard. The noise surrounding the move was supposed to frustrate him, adding to the difficulty of finding his place in a squad that won 73 games last year.

Most of the commentary sounds like his recent run of play is a surprise.

Like Kevin wasn’t already and MVP candidate.

Like Kevin wasn’t already and MVP in this league.

Like Kevin isn’t the prototype for success at 7 foot and the silky smooth jumper every forward is jealous of.

Like Kevin didn’t totally comprehend the consequences a move like this would have for the next stage of his career.

Honestly, why is any of this a surprise?

Matt: I can understand the hype, and I would like to point out that, calling it early, I mentioned the Warriors were going to be fine. They have been incredible offensively (and it’s early) reaching 30 assists numerous times over their winning streak at times going Super Saiyan like they did against the poor Celtics (17-0 run in the third).

However, their defence (especially rim protection) is and always will be a concern. David West looks like he has cinderblocks in his feet and while McGee tries, he is still prone to sensationally stupid goal tends.

Ben: I hate to do it, because its not the same thing, but lets stop for a minute and take a trip to South Beach in 2010/11. The Heat may have some clues on how history might view this first year of a “superteam”.

Here’s where I think the similarities lie:

Big Star/MVP candidate/former MVP joins his former rivals to form a star cluster
The guy is so good, he could have carried his team to the playoffs on his own (and did). Once you are in the playoffs, anything can happen
Nike loves the move
Both moved from a midwest city to a cosmopolitan big city and middle America is jealous that a rich professional can do what they want
Both guys went to win. Period.

LeBron James should really have 5 MVP awards. His season in 2010/11 was and is one of the great lost MVP seasons. This guy was out of this world, but the Media and everyone who had watched 5 minutes of basketball did not want to give him the award. All because he went somewhere to win.

I can’t believe all the shit people give professional basketball players – who remember, have the right to autonomy and to choose where they want to live and earn their money – for going somewhere to win. These are the same critics who consistently say that you won’t be validated as a great NBA player if you don’t get a chip. You won’t be the greatest unless you get RINGSSSSS (thanks Kobe).

But I think that as an NBA critic, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t expect them to win, but then blast someone when they go somewhere to do that exact thing.

I am certainly not immune from placing a greater emphasis on winning without joining other stars in this league. I loved hating the Lakers, because they had all the money and resources to make star clusters and winning happen, (every time they needed to make a trade pre ‘Kobe contract’ they did). I didn’t hate the Heatles, (because I like basketball, and Miami were very very good at basketball for 4 straight years), but there was something fun about watching other teams beat the prohibitive favourite. And that, I think, is where I come down on this issue. As an Australian, and as a Cavaliers fan both pre and post 'the decision' and its resolution, I love an underdog. Bucks in 6, as they say.

Matt: You should have seen the shit I gave Ben for his love of Kyrie as well. I’ve had to take all of that back, I have never been as wrong about someone as I have about Kyrie Irving.

However, the real issue for me is that Kevin went to an already historic team, and, a team that defeated him as he choked away the Thunder’s best chance at a title since facing the mighty Miami Heat. The Thunder weren’t terrible in that series either, the first 3 games were extremely competitive before Mike Miller embodied the Human Torch.

I like to compare it to if LeBron joined the 2009/10 Celtics after they knocked the Cavs out. Imagine that team, man, 4 stars all in their prime. Come to think of it, if LeBron goes to the Celtics in 2010, how many titles does that team win. I think LeBron with KG, Pierce and Allen may be the greatest team of all time. We are always comparing teams to the ’96 Bulls. Do the ’10 Celtics with LeBron James beat that team?

Ben: To me, the MVP seems to be misnamed. It should be the best basketball player on the planet. Period. and nobody singularly affects winning quite like LeBron. He goes somewhere, and turns a team into a contender. For a guy that had never ‘won’ before he went to Miami, they sure did a lot of winning, and going to 6 straight NBA finals is an incredible feat that I think time will look back on increasingly favourably.

Matt: Let's look again at the Warriors perceived difficulties on the defensive end, as the Heatles turned similar concerns into a strength, sliding Chris Bosh to centre and negating the traditional big man. I remember the Erick Dampier era as fondly as Britney Spears does her marriage to Kevin Federline. They used every ounce of the remainder of Shane Battier’s career defending larger 4’s in the league allowing LeBron to conserve more energy on defence to strengthen his offensive capabilities.

The Warriors might do something similar, perhaps extending the playing time for the Death Star line-up with Draymond at the 5, but Draymond lacks the length Bosh had, and when it comes to rim protection, this is an issue. The Heat never had outstanding rim protection, but length does matter to a certain extent, and I am not sure how Draymond would survive extended time against DeAndre Jordan or even Dwight Howard.

Ben: You cannot argue with who is simply the best player on the planet. And right now, it just might be KD.

He also did a clever thing in moving to the warriors – he negated Steph as a rival. (Note: if he hasn’t taken Steph out of the race by Feb, we may get to watch two players on the same team compete for MVP possession by possession – everybody wins!).

Matt: Even so, if the Warriors go 65-17, and KD continues down this road, I can see him gathering MVP buzz. In terms of competition, James Harden seems committed to putting up crazy numbers on the Houston Go-Go-D’Antoni Rockets, Russell Westbrook is involved on EVERY possession, and LeBron seems to be rearing his head at the recent triple double surge from Russ.

But how is Kevin actually playing tho…

Ben: Per Basketball-reference.com KD is posting more or less the same points per game (27.2) as he has for the rest of his career. Which, is, insane. 27 points per. Come on. His rebounds per game are up (from 7.1 to 8.1) and is averaging 1.1 more assists per game as well. But if basic stats aren’t convincing you advanced stats including PER (highest of his career 31.1) and True Shooting are all up.

Matt: He passes the eye test as well. The big ting that has really pissed me off is how easily he has integrated to this team, and how his numbers haven’t fallen at all. I will never forget Miami starting 9-8 and there were so many calls for heads, I thought we were in Westeros. Naturally having the schemes already in place is more valuable than I ever anticipated. LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Mike Miller (the big 4) all came from different teams. Coach Spo had to integrate them all together and find out how to distribute the ball more evenly, especially between two ball dominant perimeter players. The Warriors already had such a system in place, allowing for KD’s more seamless integration into the team especially on the offensive end. Continuity matters and the Warriors had a massive advantage in this situation.

Ben: Kudos Steve Kerr.

Matt: Draymond is sacrificing some shots (expected), which has aligned the distribution.

Ultimately, KD looks phenomenal out there. He is generating so many good looks from anywhere on the floor. The opposing defence has to stick so close to Steph, Klay and respect the name of Draymond that KD can really do whatever he wants on the floor. Westbrook was a powerhouse, but the Thunder always lacked a good three-point threat that you cannot leave unattended. OKC era KD was such a focus of opposing defences that all the free looks he is getting now must seem foreign to him. Imagine being the opposing coach, throwing things in the air as you realise you have to defend Steph, Klay and KD 35 feet from the hoop. In fact, I am throwing things.

So what does Kevin have to do to get rid of the ‘supervillain’ tag?

Ben: my god, he might have to average 35 per game. See, the public loves winning. They will forgive anything so long as they are seeing that W night to night (see, Bryant, Kobe #8, and Smith, JR). So, if KD wins, and he is otherworldly in his play, the NBA commentators, and fans might just decide this was worth all the drama, and all the ‘anonymous sources close to the situation’.

Matt: I wholeheartedly agree here. KD is going to have to donate the rest of his rapidly increasing bald spot to gain some baby-face stock back. The ridicule is phenomenal, and the backlash in the wake of triple-double Russ, destroyer of worlds and holder of basketballs, is harsh, but everyone loves a winner. I sure as hell will be rooting for the Clippers to wipe them like a dirty ass in May 2017, not only because of my irrational love of JJ Redick, but because it is fun to have a villain. Even saying that I hope his numbers come back down to earth, they lose every game from now on and trade their lottery pick for Cody Zeller.