It's on ESPN.

5 on 8 so far.

OK, officiating has gotten a lot better.

Durant with 2 blocks and a 3 in about 2 minutes of game time.

Durant is ballin outta control
5-8 on threes

The rest of the team is 1-12. Not good.

kevin freakin' durant.

Durant is on FIRE NBA Jam style.

Why no Love?

Durant is ON FIRE

It seems like all of these international teams have no touch down low. They constantly have great position but brick the layup.


Nice passing, nice rebound by Iggy. Good possession.

Lol durant did a jizzing motion towards the crowd after one of his 3's

Couldn't they have saved all the athletes a lot of time and energy and just given USA the gold?

Durant was incredible

Durant seems to be even more of a freak in the FIBA game than he is in the NBA.

I've seen the future of basketball, and he's not taking his talents to south beach.

Take a seat lebro, d-Wade & melo!!!! Durant is the future of NBA!

Kevin Durant will have a better career than LeBron James.

Tap the breaks everyone.
You realize defense is also part of being a great player, correct?

Let me know when KD is anywhere close to being the defender Lebron is. I'm no fan of Lebron, but I think it is premature to suggest that Durant has a "higher ceiling".

And blocking a few shots does not a great defender make.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 9/13/2010 9:20a).]

Durant is actually a very good defender. Lebron isn't all that great of a defender. He comes over from the weak side to get blocks, but Durant is a better one on one defender.

[This message has been edited by ItalAggie (edited 9/13/2010 12:52p).]

Agree to disagree.
Lebron is a very, very good defender. Whether or not he stays motivated on the defensive end is debateable I suppose. But he can defend nearly all 5 positions, and is a very good help defender. Durant has a ways to go in both departments.

quote:

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And blocking a few shots does not a great defender make.

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You just gave the perfect argument for why Lebron is not a good defender...

^Was waiting for somebody to point that out.

Blocking shots doesn't make you a great defender.
Nevertheless, some great defenders are good shot blockers. Get it now?

I don't know why I'm arguing with you guys. The NBA coaches felt good enough about Lebron's defensive skills to put him on two straight all-NBA defensive first teams. KD hasn't made it yet. I think I'll go with the NBA coaches opinions rather than a bunch of Texags.com couch potatoes.

These are also the same coaches that overlook Ron Artest as a top 10 defender. I think his athleticism in transition and overall offensive talent sway the voters. He really isn't that great of a on the ball defender. Above average? Sure. Worthy of first team all defense? Definitely not, IMO. That first team SF spot belongs to Ron.


[This message has been edited by ItalAggie (edited 9/14/2010 7:56p).]

Artest has made it four times. Believe it or not there are better defenders in the league than Artest. And yes, it is those "same coaches". You don't feel at all sheepish about suggesting that your ability to evaluate defensive talent is better than NBA coaches?

And how is his overall offensive talent going to weight into a defensive team vote?

I guess we just have to agree to disagree. To me, Lebron is like Darrelle Revis. You don't ever get a sense of how good he is because the guy he's guarding just doesn't get any touches. And Lebron is one of the best help defenders in the league at his position. Yes, he blocks a lot of shots; but a bunch of those blocks are after he's helped off his man on the weak side. That is a very solid defensive "skill" that all great defensive teams have.

That's so much BS. LeBron will never guard the other team's best player. He will guard a scrub player and then use that to roam the lane and give help on weakside blocks.

So which part is BS then? Didn't you just pretty much repeat what I just said???

BTW Tim Duncan is considered one of the greatest defenders of all time because he is really good at roaming the lane and giving help on weakside blocks.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 9/15/2010 9:43a).]

quote:

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You don't ever get a sense of how good he is because the guy he's guarding just doesn't get any touches.

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You make it sound like he shuts down people 1-on-1... and he doesn't. He guards scrub players that don't require defending.