Where anticipation happens! Come Monday, there's only one day left 'til the NBA season tips off. I haven't been counting the days down because, well, the world intervened, my car broke down, and I've been crazed trying to figure it all out. It feels good to be over fifty thousand dollars in debt. The other reason the countdown got broke? I know it's ancient in blog time, but number eleven on the countdown is Kevin Durant, and just before the eleventh day 'til the season, that advanced stats "war" over Durantula started. I know I addressed it, but it still kinda broke me. Don't get me wrong, I'm psyched about the season starting, but I haven't even been able to keep up with the chatter since I've fallen behind on the countdown. That has to stop, so over the next 36 hours I'll be getting a handful of posts up to finally get us to the season. I may have to bunch a few players together, but these top guys? You know them already. So in what order are they coming into the season?
As I said, Kevin Durant is NUMERO ELEVENO. I haven't been keeping tabs on all the advanced stats arguments, but skills wise you know he's there. Last season, I had Durant as #40. He made leaps and bounds in the realm of efficiency. That's right, I just linked to Basketball Reference to prove my point. You should know what to do with it by now. If not, deal with it. Attribute most of this to the move from an ill-advised turn as shooting guard, and just the effect of time. Trust that same effect to keep Durant on the straight and narrow to the top. The whole debate is whether the Thunder are better off with Durant not on the court. I gotta believe he'll figure it out and that'll change. Either way, the Thunder have been pegged for collective 3 feet high [but] rising, and Durant will either lead them out of the floodlands of the Western Conference basement or leave them stranded like the crows left the ark.
Let's do these themed. Durant gets his own. I'd say he reminds a bit of Bosh in terms of length or an early Nowitzki. But, y'know, those are just parallels, not paradigms. Look for those rebound rates to keep climbing, and I'd wager his assists will be up too this season, after the concern he's shown for the whole debate about his efficacy. Next up, the handlers of the next generation. Who loves this game? Everybody comin' back eee-o!
