Kevin Durant Outplays, Outlasts and Outmaneuvers LeBron James

I guess I'm in the minority, but I miss the 90's teams who were "rugby-like" brawlers and way more physical. Breaking towards the basket without a defender in front of you, only to pull up short to try and bang a three, is weak. For all the talent they have, GS strikes me as antiseptic. The 90's Pistons or Bulls would sweep these clowns and leave a trail of blood on the floor.

And Durant better than James? LOL. That Cali weed must be something.

Lebron James is but one human being. Despite his tremendous talent , there is no ' Lebron in team '.

The 3point shot, a gift from the old ABA has turned into the iconic feature of a basketball era. I've followed the college and pro game for decades and I'm still jolted by the success of these long range shots. They look impossible yet they consistently go in. Incredible to see players when open move away from the basket to s/u their 3 pointer.

Neither Harvey Araton, nor any of us fans, could match up with either KD or LBJ on the court. But it's sure fun to knock them and to blast each others' opinions. These men are both great athletes, playing with determination and grace. Enjoy the match-ups, the strategy, the tension. Whichever team wins, we are seeing enthralling and beautiful basketball.

This article states the obvious but conflates what we love about sports. I loved the Knicks growing up in Queens and celebrated their hard won championships when they finally came with a team that defined teamwork. I was a reluctant Bulls fan in the early Jordan era, then living in Chicago until I saw the similarities in that team that maximized the talent they had albeit around the incomparable Jordan. While the Bulls won often, the outcome even before the finals were often in doubt (think those Knick series). These accomplishments are far sweeter than the manufactured Warriors. Last year's finals were a slugfest, this year's a going through the motions because the trade assured the outcome.

Although LJ is usually rather articulate, he was probably too tired/confused in saying this (as quoted by Mr. Araton): “I played against some great teams, but I don’t think no team has had this type of firepower.”

Anyway, it appears Mr. Araton focused on just one instance where the Warriors scored in transition following an LJ miss but there seemed to be a few others in the fourth quarter.

As with last night's rout by Pittsburgh in Stanley Cup Game 5, the home teams have been resilient, and so I believe there will be a Game 7 there and a Game 5 here with the Cavs having to be, well, re-resilient.

"He then returned home to Northeast Ohio and might well have been defending consecutive titles – not just last year’s – over the last week had the Cavaliers not lost Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving"

Ok, by that logic the Warriors should be defending a title for the 2nd year if Draymond Green had not been suspended in game 5 of last years Finals after LeBron arm-locked him to the floor then walked over Green in a disgusting manner with his private parts deliberately close to his face to bait him. Also, Cavaliers players injured Warriors center Andrew Bogut and he did not play in crucial Game 7. Steph Curry had an MCL sprain, and other team injuries the Warriors had to deal with. The Warriors did not whine about this and simply played better this season and finals and prepared for LeBron and his antics.

The alleged "controversy" over Durant leaving OKC for the Warriors is utterly ridiculous! Even though unlikely I hope Golden State sweeps the Cavaliers and wins as many future titles as possible with their "superteam". There is no better revenge than success and critics who say playing against the Warriors is unfair need demand their own teams figure it out and play better to compete. The Warriors did.

Simply, Durant has not "outplayed" LeBron. The GSW have outplayed the Cavs. LeBron is doing an incredible job leading a team that is outclassed and not nearly as deep or as capable as the Warriors. Both of these guys are playing on teams, not some simplistic construction that media people feel compelled to create. It is offensive, no doubt, to Durant to suggest that he is outplaying LeBron. Nothing is over, yet. Having said that, the Warriors are the product of lots of things that have aligned to create greatness magnified. To suggest otherwise....well, just trying to sell newspapers, I think.

Adam Silver would love to see more competition, but says we should also celebrate excellence. That's an owner-appeasing way of saying he's going to let things keep going the way they are. Sure, we all want to see the game played at its highest level, but fans in other cities would like to see their teams have half a chance at the playoffs, at least, if not a championship. The way the league, the salary cap and free agency are set up, the same few teams are in it every year. Absentee landlords like Dolan just keep counting the money from the suckers, who I guess have nobody to blame but themselves if they keep going.

And Harvey Araton, I had to re-read several of your long, winding sentences to get to the point, which I had forgotten by the time I reached the end of them. You should make better use of the period.

I think there is more revealed about Lebron James in losing than in winning. This man is still a team player. He gets the triple in his effort to spark his team. If he had the team the Durant has around him, it would be a walk in the park. Kevin Durant is an awesome basketball player, but he came to to the Warriors to get on a team that was already a winner. Lebron picked up the Cavs and helped them to become winners. They are still a couple players shy.

Watching Warriors games is fun because in just about any arena there will be a large contingent of fans cheering the Warriors rather than the home team. The Warriors lead the NBA in merchandise sales. Let's be honest here... fans love watching this team play its fast moving game. Steph Curry sells more merchandise than any other player, likely because he is not only talented, but is a genuinely nice guy, someone fans can relate to.

Having watched the bad old days when basketball looked more like rugby than the beautiful game played by the Showtime Lakers, I'm delighted to be watching talented players playing the game "the right way." That other teams are trying to emulate what the Warriors have been doing since Steve Kerr arrived, is a positive thing.

One more win fellas. I'll be cheering for you.

Durant will win the finals MVP, but don't lose sight of Curry's amazing performance - nearly averaging a triple double, and out rebounding nearly everyone on the floor. But more than anything this run through the playoffs has been about teamwork, not any one player. That's the fundamental difference between the Warriors and the Cavs.

Durant has a better surrounding cast. This renders comparison with LeBron useless.

LeBron can wear 23 but it's Durant who is the true heir to Jordon.
Lest we forget, it was Durant who carried the US team on his shoulders and single-handedly won the Olympic gold medal. King James didn't even bother to go.

How about the Warriors adding Lebron to their roster? Whoa Nellie...

I've been watching pro sports for over 50 yrs. Nothing lasts forever. Age and injury, spending caps and player trades, mean that even the best and wealthiest sports owners will eventually see years of losing seasons. I watch the Warriors because they're a throwback to the NBA teams I used to watch: high arching shots (NOT endless dunks!), great passing, good defense, smart coaching. It's amazing to watch, because it won't last forever - any more than did Auerbach's Celtics or Pat Riley's Lakers. Enjoy it while it happens!

This makes the NBA less enjoyable and watchable for the majority of potential fans. GS and other future teams like will hurt the league a lot more than they help. It is like watching basketball during the Olympics. A few years asides, you know who is going to win before the tournament starts. It prevents fans of other teams from every really becoming emotionally invested as they know their favorite team just doesn't stand a chance.

Warriors have too much firepower now. It's not LeBron versus Durant--James has accomplished much more in his life. GS is sickeningly over staffed with stars. We all know Durant moved there to guarantee himself a ring, which we all knew would happen. It was an easy and soulless choice for Durant to make, and it hurts the league to have such an unstoppable team. I loved the Warriors before the trade.

Kevin Durant... Mr. Clutch.

I'm a Warrior fan who think KD has worked out better than I thought possible. Having said that, I think comparing KD and Lebron is hazardous. Imagine KD played for the Cavs and KD for Cleveland. You don't think KD would be heavy legged at the end of 4 quarters of Warriors defense? I love the Warriors, but Lebron has had an amazing playoff. Again, switch Lebron and KD. Do you think people would be comparing KD to Lebron if James were playing for the Warriors?

OK, I made this comment before and got blasted, but I'll say it again. Lebron, great as he is, does not make his teammates better basketball players. They need hm on the court. When he was out yesterday, his team went in the tank, so he had to come in, exert himself to the max to get that lead, resulting in his rather fatigued play at the end (why didn't he pick up Durant at half court, the way they'd done it earlier? why didn't he go all the way to the basket instead of kicking the ball out? I don't care how good Korver is from inches behind the arc, Lebron is better inches from the basket?)
I know Lebron works hard during the offseason, and probably so do his teammates. But so far it hasn't translated into markedly better play. For example, Love has a nice stat line, but I think he has had exactly one dribble drive to the basket this entire series. Steph Curry is out there getting rebounds, a triple double in game 2 and yesterday outrebounding most of the Cavs front line, but is Kyrie Irving?
A work ethic like Curry's has an effect on his teammates, hence you have a second unit on the Warriors that more often than not holds its own against the starters of any other team. And that's playing without Curry AND Durant.

i don't care who wins the nba championship.

however, the whining about durant is, as the mr araton says, rather astounding.

western democracies are capitalist....the usa brags continually about being the most so.

durant, and any other athlete who plays out is contract, is just doing what is allowed in the nba and other pro leagues.

they're not 13 year olds playing for fun.

they're grown men playing a sport they love, taking as much money as they can and hopefully playing for a winning team.

why the fuss unless you don't understand pro sports?

even american university/college basketball and football don't really seem to be amateurs to me.

I grew up watching or listening to every Knick game. I have not spent a minute with the NBA for 5 years and miss it not at all.One can't even go to a game without wearing ear plugs.

The title of this article is completely false. Are you trying to irritate people? Durant is not half the athlete LBJ is. Durant looked like crap the entire first half of that last game and LBJ is consistent. The biggest difference is that LBJ's team can't do anything if he's having a bad game and he has to completely carry them, while Durant's team doesn't even need him that badly, so he's allowed error. The Warriors went on a 14 game winning streak this season without Durant. This is what lack of basketball knowledge gets you.

"...thought to be indefatigable..." "...finally taking its toll..." "...almost out of time and chances..." This sounds to me like an his epitaph. LeBron is finished and washed up. Has there ever been a superstar that has put up with so many insulting questions? Just check some of the questions that have asked in the last few weeks. The media has never really given full credit to Lebron for what he did last year, instead dwelling on the fact that the Warriors were missing a key player, and that would have turned the tide. Watch out for the onslaught of negative articles if the Cavs lose. Is LeBron done? Finished? Ready to pack it in??

How many times over his career has LeBron made the right basketball play and had his team mate let him down? Durant is surrounded by 3 current all-stars, a former playoff MVP, so was fresher at the end. If the two of them played one on one, call your own foul, make it take it, who would win? We'll never know. Both are once in a lifetime players who are a joy to watch. Last night Durant's dagger 3 happened to be the most important play of the game. 2nd most was James pass to the corner, which was the right play until Corver missed the shot he's paid to make. GS scored and made it a two possession lead. Game over.

If you put 3 of the top 5 players in the league on a single team, of course they’re gonna bulldoze the competition. It’s one thing if the Warriors run over the Sixers without breaking a sweat. It’s quite another when they do the same to the supposed 2nd best team during a championship series. How is this fun to watch? It’s like watching the Globetrotters beat up on the hapless Generals. Or Team USA against France.

This will go down as the most boring postseason in pro sports history. Time to lift the salary cap and let some other teams become 800-pound gorillas too.

The old joke remains the same after all these years...How is a dollar bill different than Lebron James? You can still get 4 quarters out of a dollar.

"Do I look tired?"

Yup.

Outcoached and outplayed. And despite Araton's tired analysis of the 2014 series, the fact is that without the ridiculous suspension of Green in Game 5 last year we'd be looking at the Dubs third in a row. Easily.

And there's nothing 'Bron can do to change the fact he's been thoroughly beaten at a game he initiated when he "took his talents to Miami."

Game, set, match to KD and the Golden State Warriors. Beautiful!

People bent out of shape about "super teams" fall into three categories:

1. Fans of a team that doesn't have the resources, executive talent and shrewd ownership to build their own super team.
2. Media and insiders who are paid to provide contrary opinions each and every day.
3. Charles Barkley, because, well, he's Barkley.

The play and comradery of this team is amazing to behold and, in contrast to the surrounding environment, a big, huge, breath of fresh air. They take my breath away, and then give it right back. Their a role model for the benefits of cooperation.

Every person with great talent who is neither a megalomaniac or narcissist seeks to work alongside others with equal talent. If the endeavor involves a team, a band, a business, a community, then this congregation of talents will do better, have more fun, develop a greater legacy, than they would individually, working with lesser talents. Who doesn't know this? Only someone who is blind to the best of human motivation would question Kevin Durant for seeking excellence.

When Durant can lead a team to a championship because he's the best player while the other guys are just a supporting cast, then we can compare him to James but right now, we can't.

He and Westbrook together weren't enough to win anything in OK City. He ran to the Warriors -- a team that had already won a championship without him and could have done it again. He's a good player but he's not as good as James.

Would love to see the 2014 Spurs take on this Warrior team

It's pretty easy to see why the NBA would "like to see more competition."
They lose untold millions for every game that doesn't get played in a playoff series. What's less clear is why fans complain when a Kevin Durant goes to an already star-studded team. As a basketball fan, I want to see what basketball looks like when it's played at the very highest level, and last night's game was as close as I've seen.

Anybody who has played a sport knows that you rise or fall to the level of your opponent — the Warriors lost to some pretty bad teams this year — and that much of the result is mental. Every game in this series has been close throughout much of the match. I would think that true fans would relish both the team matchups and the personal matchups: LeBron vs. KD, Steph Curry vs. Kylie Irving, Draymond vs. LeBron on defense, etc.

Complaining that the level of talent is too high on a team is, quite frankly, wishing for mediocrity.

Minutes: Durant, Thompson-41. Curry-39. LBJ-46. KI-44. Needless to say, 46 means just two minutes of rest.

Age: DTC, 27-29. Lebron, 32 with many miles.