Garnett on Kevin Durant: ‘Michael F*cking Jordan’

Twenty-four years ago, a young man walked into the Boston Celtics’ home arena and torched them for 63 points in a Playoff game. Afterwards, Larry Bird famously declared that it was “God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

Last night, Kevin Durant evoked painful memories of MJ for Celtics fans and forward Kevin Garnett. A clearly frustrated KG described the experience in his own colorful way.

On his way to 37 points, Durant shot 15 free throws (and didn’t miss a single one in the process); the Celtics as a team only attempted 17 in total. “Durantula” is a great nickname for KD, but Garnett blessed him with an even better one during the post game presser last night.

Red’s Army brings us the video:

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Tags: Boston Celtics, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Oklahoma City Thunder

Read the SLAMonline Discussion Rules before posting.

http://wealwayswin.net Hersey

Watched the game, the calls in question were bad and they happened at a crucial point in the game. I get Garnett’s frustration but they let Jeff Green burn them for threes on the same play twice and Ray and Sheed missed WIDE OPEN looks to keep the C’s in it. Great soundbyte, poor late game execution by Boston.
kennyrocks

i hate anyone on the boston team, period
http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

Thanks Riggs!! lol
http://www.hibachi20.blogspot.com BETCATS

You will, all in due time, Teddy.
http://twitter.com/PDXGayBBall dma

Those two were crying throughout the whole game.
http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

niQ: Help-wise, his defense has improved, and so I’ll give him a lot of credit in that area, especially on the blocks. I figured he’d be Nash-esque in that category but he’s actually rejecting some people.
Iso wise, I don’t see any improvement what-so-ever.
it’s just masked by what a great defensive team OKC has.
dankNugs

i think the NBA reffing is completely bullsh*t, the only reason we don’t hear more complaints like this is because David Stern fines anybody that does. He is the WORST league commissioner out there; the reffing is getting out of hand (the whistle is blown every single time there is any contact around the basket at all) and all he cares about is the markebility of the game.
http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

Durant is going to be the best player in the league in a couple years if he already isn’t i called this when he was in college.
Overtime

Can you imagine if KG had been playing against the Heat in the 06 Finals?
Wow..guiness world record for F-Bombs
http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

Pardeep: but why dude? Why? What makes you say that? That stuff is exactly what I’m talking about.
Dillan

refs inconsistent?! No way…..
JD

Some people need to stop hating on KG – How often do you get to hear KG calling someone a Jordan! hehe ;P
Sparty’s Law

Sparty’s Law on Kevin Garnett: “Douche F*cking Bag”
Jeff

Jukai I understand what your saying, but just give Durant the benefit of the doubt. He is only 21, is a really humble dude and is going to be a star. He openly said his focus was workin on his D this year. He is already one of the best pure scorers in the game and will improve the rest of his game overtime. A lot of people just like him because he is just such a down to earth guy. The whole thunder team is fun to watch. They are young, exciting and play as a team.
http://hibachi20.blogspot.com DP

KG doesn’t hold anything back. I have rewinded that statement over and over again. someone sample that into a song and it will be a bonafide classic.
http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

Jeff: I agree! He’s working to be an all-legend in the mold of Gervin and Dominique. I’m just not sure he’s going to be with Larry or Magic. Or, for that matter, Lebron or Wade.
Teddy-the-Bear

Gervin was a total bad @ss. If you look up “Bad@ssedness” in the dictionary, his picture comes up.
Anyways, I think Durant will surpass Wade, but I don’t see him getting better than LeBron James. Don’t ask me why, either.
Ronald

Yeah, KD or (MFJ) as he should be now called has the potential to be the best player in the NBA due to his skillset and talent but all he is right now is the smoothest scorer in the NBA and probably will be for a very long time considering his game. But he is far from an all-around player. His defense is still so-so, his passing isn’t great (needs to work on court vision and timing) and his driving skills isn’t Lebronesque.
Ronald

And people need to start giving more credit to the management of OKC in bringing in a good amount of talent coupled with role-players to surround their young talent. i.e Kristic/Sefalosha/Collison/Ibaka
http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

Read Ronald’s posts and learn.
T-Money

And actually, his jumper is not butter. It’s just average. I won’t argue it but the data is there for everyone to see. He gets most of his buckets driving to the rim, at the line and in transition. People have short memories, there is nothing KD has done so far that Bron has not done. In fact, he is TRAILING Bron’s production at the same age. I mean, he is a fantastic player but some people seem to think that he is revolutionizing the game. He’s not.
http://www.realcavsfans.com Anton

lol @ JoeMaMa
http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

I say that because he is going to gain weight which will do his game wonders because his driving ability will be insane and his jumper will get even better because of his strength and the game will be much easier to him he will average 35 some day and he will learn to play defense and will become a better passer just like Melo and Wade and LeBron did. Durant is destined for greatness and he might just be 20 pounds away from it.
http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

Oh come now, Pardeep! Lebron and Wade have always been all-worldly passers who many times will pass over shots they could hit to get their teammates involved. You’re talking 5 assists a game as ROOKIES. If either Wade or Lebron get 5 assists a game now, they had a bad passing game. Now, if Durant gets five assists in a game, he’s doubled his average. That’s unacceptable for a dude who is going to eventually ‘exceed’ Lebron.
Also, twenty pounds does not mean you will become a good defender. I’m not even SURE Durant can put on 20 pounds with his incredibly small frame (if he can, that’s the max) but that simply doesn’t make a good defender… sure he has the talent to become a good one, but I gotta see it. He is gambling on steals and yeah, he’s going up and getting blocks (which, I’m telling you, I’m very impressed about) but he still doesn’t look like he tries on iso defense.
And Melo never really improved his passing, that’s why the team went and got Billups. If Durant becomes as good of a passer as Melo, he’s still got leaps and bounds to go.
http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

Jukai: You are overrating passing so much its not hard to pass the ball. Just because someone doesn’t average at least 5 apg doesn’t mean they aren’t good passers. Passing is a skill not a stat and the only reason Durant isn’t averaging 6 apg is because he doesn’t have the mind or strength to do it all in a game, not because hes not a good passer. Once Durant adds muscle and can drive to the hoop at will like LeBron he will be able to get his 30 points in 3 quarters and get the extra 4 assists he needs in the game and then hell be averaging 32 and 6 and 9 but it will be because he added pounds which made the game easier and allowed him to get to the rim at will. The Nuggets never got Billups because Melo wasn’t a good passer LOL! its because they didn’t have a true point guard and needed to play the way George Karl wanted them to play freely but with ball movement, effisiantly and calm not every guy running around trying to get 30 points and Billups brought that control and Melo followed his lead it wasn’t because he wasn’t a good passer.
Hangtime Hec

KD will not go from averaging 2.2 assists a game to 6.9-7.2 assists that Wade and Bron are averaging now. That is just absurd. I mean look at his stats. He progressively scored more points and brought down more rebounds as years gone on. But his assists have stayed static. You could say that he “peaked” in that element. He is a Outstanding Scorer, a good rebounder and a down to earth guy. Lets not get ahead of ourselves.
http://philaflava.blogspot.com Teddy-the-Bear

SLAM: The Kings of Misleading Headlines.
http://philaflava.blogspot.com Teddy-the-Bear

Kevin Durant is OBVIOUSLY not as good a passer as LeBron or Wade. LeBron is averaging 8.5 assists per game, that’s facking incredible for a small forward. Very few POINT GUARDS are better passers than LeBron James.
However, Kevin Durant and can be (if he isn’t already) a better rebounder than both LeBron and D Wade.
http://philaflava.blogspot.com Teddy-the-Bear

BETCATS: Rondo may have trouble guarding quick point guards, but so does every other good defensive point guard. Good luck to Kyle Lowry or Russell Westbrook trying to stop Derrick Rose.
That being said, don’t forget that this point works both ways. Rondo will ALSO have a field day against young point guards… He pretty much averaged a triple double against Derrick Rose that series.
http://philaflava.blogspot.com Teddy-the-Bear

Larry Bird’s quote is NOT AT ALL like Kevin Garnett’s. Misleading explanation to a misleading headline.
http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

Pardeep: And you sir, are far underrating passing. Yes, great passers don’t’ always have to average gaudy assist numbers (take Jordan, for example! Fantastic passer, but his role on offense and in the triangle highly limited it when he was winning championships)… but one does NOT average more turnovers than assists and be a ‘good passer.’ You think all those turnovers are from getting the ball stolen on drives or running on the base-line? Many of them are blown passes off a double team, or doing too much against too much offense because he didn’t see the open man. For someone who I remember praising Iverson for his passing numbers so much, I’m surprised you’re downplaying Durant’s deficiency in this area.
He’s not a good passer. At all. His passing abilities are subpar and his overall court-vision is limited at this time. He can improve, it’s not impossible: Rick Barry came into the league as a shoot-first, can’t pass forward and became one of the best passing 3s ever. There are also those who never did: Gervin got told he needed to pass more and well, never really did. I’m naturally pessimistic, but so is history, so I’m leaning that Durant simply wont improve his passing that much.
And stop with adding muscle. LOOK AT HIS SHOULDERS. He can’t add that much muscle on his frame. And honestly, because he towers over so many of his defenders, he really doesn’t need to add too much muscle, he can just use all of his mass… so enough, muscle isn’t a cure all for a game.
I’ll close by saying, if Melo was a good passer, they could have played George Karl’s “free flowing” style of play.
http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

But yeah, sure Kevin Durant suddenly goes from a below-average defender to all-defense 1st team and from a 2:3 assist turnover ratio to a 7:3 assist turnover ratio, all while continuing to raise his scoring by five points and keeping his rebounds steady in the next two years, he’ll be better than Lebron.
Since that wont happen in reality, I’ll be watching carefully to see if Durant can even surpass Dwayne Wade.
http://slamonline BossTerry

aww man, dont tell me that Durant gambles and bangs hookers too?? ( sorry the tiger/MJ/chuck story and this one were too close together) also- (once again. its late here on west coast = didnt read the comments. If someone already said this. Im sorry for taking your post.)
Randy Brown

I refuse to believe that KD is going to get that much heavier
Randy Brown

And for the next few years Durant will be the best scorer, but Lebron will always be the better player
http://nba.com Reflex

Jukai, you’re playing down Durant way too much, get off your high horse. He’s 21, 3rd year in his league & is averaging 29-7-3 for the year. At 21. He will undoubtedly get better and I don’t necessarily see an issue with his passing stats, it’s not his game. What is his game is potentially dropping 35&9 night in night out. Then and then no one will really give 2 hoots about his assist/turnover ratios, save that stat for PGs.
kudos

Durant is clearly gonna be Dirk 2.0. What lebron failed to do at that age, is take out these good teams, while clearly loving to take the clutch shots. What else?! Shoot some freethrows. Lebron has been in the league 7 years, and still has no kind of rhythm to his shot..at all.
http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

Get off my high horse? Huh? Do you know what that phrase means, bro?
Yes, you’re right, when Durant drops 35 and 9 a game, no one will care about his passing, and he will elevate himself to the superstar level in the NBA.
Of course, two problems with that statement is
a) All other players who had to put up those points in a season (Jordan, Kobe, Baylor, McAdoo, King, Iverson, McGrady, Gervin, Abdul-Jabbar) were not met with much playoff success because the reason they had to score those points was due to the terrible teams they were on (Barry and Chamberlain excluded)
b) even if he’s dropping 35 and 9, that STILL DOESN”T MAKE HIM AN ALL-AROUND BETTER PLAYER THAN LEBRON OR WADE! Yeah, you’re 100% right when you say it isn’t his game, but the best of the best don’t have glaring flaws like terrible passing and subpar defense!
The Philosopher

@Jukai: I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. This is only a question: Kevin McHale, who is widely considered one of the all timers, was he a terrible passer, or sub par defender? Just asking, take it easy on me.
T-Money

Averaging 35 pts per game a) is a hard thing to do b) means that your team is not very good because you’re taking 26-27+ shots a game. It is laughable to me that people are certain that he will get to 35 because he scored 30 in his 3rd year. Guess who scored 31 in his 3rd year? Bron Bron. And how much is he scoring now? 30. Could he score 35? Probably. Will he? Never. Why? Cleveland would not be as good of a team with him gunning like that. Let’s just enjoy KD for who he is. He’s a fantastic scorer. Right now though, he’s barely top 10 in the NBA.
http://slamonline.com Allenp

Jukai

You need to explain whether Durant has to become outstanding at defense, or just average, or slightly above average.

You also need to explain what his passing has to be for him to be considered adequate.

I think that if Durant can get up to about 4 or 5 assists, along with his 8 boards and 30-32 points, he has to be in the discussion with Bron and Wade.
Mainly because I do think he’s more efficient as a scorer and can get his without affecting the overall team scheme and flow.
I mean, Kobe, at his peak, only averaged 5 boards and 5 assists per game along with his 30+ points and he was widely considered the best in the league due to his skillset.
It’s not just stats, it’s also about skillset.
Right now, Durant’s overall skillset isn’t on the same level as Lebron’s.
But, he is actually, in my opinion, a more efficient scorer and a better rebounder. So, while he has some areas to improve, the fact that he’s in the conversation in his third year bodes well for him.
http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

@The Philosopher: McHale was actually a great defender. He was an absolute TERRIBLE passer. His teammates used to call him the ‘black hole’ because once you tossed the ball in, you weren’t getting it back. DJ once passed it to him and the defenses collaped, and DJ was jumping up and down to get McHale’s attention and get the ball back, and Parish looked at DJ and said, “you know, he’s never ever going to give it back to you.”
That being said, no one ever put McHale in Lebron’s class.
@Allenp: To be considered in Lebron and Wade’s class, he’d have to become an above average defender, and an above average passer. His offense is fluid and fantastic, and his arsenal of moves is far more plentiful than Lebron’s… but is Durant THAT ahead of Lebron offensively that that we can give him that much leeway for his inferiority in his passing and defense? Durant may one day become a pretty damn solid defender, but I really believe he will never have the gift for passing. Averaging 4-5 assists a game is ‘average’ when the ball is in your hands and you’re being double teamed that much. Averaging two and a half is pitiful.
And let’s not compare Kobe to KD here. At 21, Kobe was averaging more than twice the assists and was already considered a lock-down defender.
It’s really the fact he IS in the conversation that bugs me. Sure, pencil him in for top-5 in the NBA every year, I have no problem with that. But Pardeep isn’t alone when he thinks Durant can honestly become the BEST player in the NBA, with across-the-charts inferior numbers to Lebron at the same age?
Wha? Where’s the sense in that?
http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

And on a side-note, I think I like KD a litttttttle better than T-Money does with his barely top-10 comment.
On another side-note, I believe Lebron and KD are pretty much even in the rebounding department. I’ll explain my reasoning, but only if anyone cares.
Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » Kevin Garnett Fined $25k for Ref Critique
http://slamonline.com Allenp

Jukai
Twice the assists, would be 5 assists.
Kobe has never averaged more than six assists a game and his norm is 4 or 5. Even when he was the main facilliator for the Lakers he put up just under six assists, along with like 21 or 23 points per game.
Five assists from your small forward is damn good. Besides, Durant is NOT a ball dominating player like Lebron or Wade. He gets shots, but does not handle the rock anywhere near as often as those two do.
I think the belief that Durant can be better than Lebron is due to his rock solid foundation. Dude’s footwork is nice, his court sense is nice and his technique is nice.
What he needs to do is improve some of his effort and focus on defense, along with getting more comfortable handling double and triple teams.
I think that people believe it’s only a matter of time before that occurs.
The Philosopher

@Jukai: McHale wasn’t a great defender individually. He was a great help defender. His blocked shots were from the weak side. He used to get lit up.
The Philosopher

My point is, Kevin Durant is Hall of Fame material. Period.
The Philosopher

@ Jukai: And, they voted McHale among the 50 greatest players in NBA history. Is LeBron the greatest of all time, being that McHale is “not in LeBron’s class”, even though McHale has three rings as an integral part of some of the all time great NBA teams? Again, just asking.
http://slamonline.com tealish

I get what Jukai is saying. Because of how easy the offensive game is coming to Durant, he has the POTENTIAL to be the most dominant offensive force in the L for years to come. Other parts of his game have quite a ways to go, so you can’t just assume in 3 years he’ll gain all that ground and automatically be the best player in the game.
People, including myself, love KD because he is modest. He is quietly great. The Anti-LeBron, if you will.
But at this point in time, all you can say is that Durant is a better scorer than LeBron. His skills allow us to envision him POSSIBLY surpassing LBJ as a basketball player, but it is only a possibility. I can’t say in 3 years, he WILL be better than LeBron, even if I want it to happen. He hasn’t shown that, at least not yet.
http://CourtCred.com Coop

Durant is the future superstar in the league. Check out one of the future stars in college basketball Jelan Kendrick: http://courtcred.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1704:mcdonalds-honors-jelan-kendrick-at-breakfast-with-friends-and-family&catid=42:features&Itemid=44

Garnett on Kevin Durant: ‘Michael F*cking Jordan’

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