IS Durant being petty?

[Who]

Not even the best player on his own team. Why would he be an MVP candidate?

Step it up on the court to get back in MVP talks. Not in the media room.

[guava_wrench]

Perceptions of Durant see a bit out of touch. I feel like people disliked Lebron so much that they tried to make Durant better and more noble than he really is.

[tankcity!]

I do think OKC has done a very poor job filling out around Durant/Westbrook/Ibaka.

Just haven't hit on the role players. They've had a few effective ones, but never put a good enough cohesive unit to make OKC more than the sum of Durant and Westbrooks talents.

I understand this point even though I don't agree with it. I don't understand why the Thunder lost at home to a far less talented team. Can someone please explain that? I really believe even if they had great role players, the coaching would not be able to utilize it. That organization is a mess IMO. I really hope Westbrook and Durant leave for better organizations.

[tankcity!]

Not even the best player on his own team. Why would he be an MVP candidate?

Step it up on the court to get back in MVP talks. Not in the media room.

I agree that he needs to step it up, but he is the best player on his team. Did you see what happened to the Thunder without him last year? Look at Westbrook's fg%. Oh yeah, by the way your boy Westbrook got burned by fat Raymond Felton last night.

[Moranis]

OKC has had plenty of solid role players around Westbrook, Durant, and Ibaka (who is a pretty much a super role player).  Scott Brooks was just a terrible coach that so badly messed up rotations and coaching that the GM tried to make moves to fix the coaching mistakes like trading Green for Perkins which then meant they didn't have money for Harden. 

[tankcity!]

OKC has had plenty of solid role players around Westbrook, Durant, and Ibaka (who is a pretty much a super role player).  Scott Brooks was just a terrible coach that so badly messed up rotations and coaching that the GM tried to make moves to fix the coaching mistakes like trading Green for Perkins which then meant they didn't have money for Harden.

This

[knuckleballer]

Westbrook missed half the season in 2013/2014.  That year Durant led the team to 59 wins and won the MVP.  They have both had stretches of dominance without the other.  While they both play well together as each is extremely talented, they have individually thrived more so without the other.  They don't bring out the best in each other and I think Durant's game is slightly stunted by Westbrook.  I suspect Durant realizes this and is frustrated seeing the accolades go to players that he believes he is better than.  Maybe, it's not the best team mentality, but it is understandable and why I have a little hope that he will decide to come to Boston this offseason.  He would indisputably be the leader of the team with the supporting cast and coaching needed to contend.

[GetLucky]

Perceptions of Durant see a bit out of touch. I feel like people disliked Lebron so much that they tried to make Durant better and more noble than he really is.

I disagree. I think Durant's excellence is so normal at this point that people downplay it.

For example, he was just the 7th player in NBA history to average at least 28/8/5, and he did it shooting nearly 50/40/90 (50.5%/38.8%/89.8%).

The last person to average 28/8/5 was Michael Jordan in 88-89, and the other five were Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, Wilt, Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=totals&per_minute_base=36&per_poss_base=100&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=&year_max=&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&shoot_hand=&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&birth_state=&college_id=&draft_year=&is_active=&debut_yr_nba_start=&debut_yr_nba_end=&debut_yr_aba_start=&debut_yr_aba_end=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&award=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=&c1stat=pts_per_g&c1comp=gt&c1val=28&c2stat=trb_per_g&c2comp=gt&c2val=8&c3stat=ast_per_g&c3comp=gt&c3val=5&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=ws

[jambr380]

Westbrook missed half the season in 2013/2014.  That year Durant led the team to 59 wins and won the MVP.  They have both had stretches of dominance without the other.  While they both play well together as each is extremely talented, they have individually thrived more so without the other.  They don't bring out the best in each other and I think Durant's game is slightly stunted by Westbrook.  I suspect Durant realizes this and is frustrated seeing the accolades go to players that he believes he is better than.  Maybe, it's not the best team mentality, but it is understandable and why I have a little hope that he will decide to come to Boston this offseason.  He would indisputably be the leader of the team with the supporting cast and coaching needed to contend.

I have always hated the Durant/Westbrook pairing. Westbrook has a super alpha personality and the game to back it up. He just happens to play with one of the few players who is actually better than he is. It's hard to not to get psyched up by having both of those players on your team, but that is why some Cs fans always hoped for a Rondo+ assets for Westbrook deal back in the day - thinking that the Thunder would realize one of them would have to go.

In the next year or two, one or both of them may go; unfortunately, they may not get anything for either of them. It's a shame they drafted so strongly, but could not make adequate trades or free agency signings.

[KGs Knee]

Not even the best player on his own team. Why would he be an MVP candidate?

Step it up on the court to get back in MVP talks. Not in the media room.

I firmly disagree.  Durant is still a better player than Westbroook.

[Who]

I don't understand why the Thunder lost at home to a far less talented team. Can someone please explain that?

Durant's poor play was the #1 reason why. It took him 33 shots, 5 FTs and 7 turnovers to get 21 points. That is 42 possessions for 21 points.

0.5 points per possession on high volume of 42 possessions.

[Evantime34]

I don't understand why the Thunder lost at home to a far less talented team. Can someone please explain that?

Durant's poor play was the #1 reason why. It took him 33 shots, 5 FTs and 7 turnovers to get 21 points. That is 42 possessions for 21 points.

0.5 points per possession on high volume of 42 possessions.

Westbrook (among others) played some really poor defense, especially down the stretch.

[fairweatherfan]

I don't know about petty, those are big accolades.  But it does seem to indicate to me that his mind is more focused on himself as an individual than his team's goals.  Since he doesn't normally come across this way it could be a big hint as to what he's expecting to do this offseason.

[Who]

Westbrook is the engine that drives the team. He is the player that makes them tick.

Durant isn't.

[tankcity!]

I don't understand why the Thunder lost at home to a far less talented team. Can someone please explain that?

Durant's poor play was the #1 reason why. It took him 33 shots, 5 FTs and 7 turnovers to get 21 points. That is 42 possessions for 21 points.

0.5 points per possession on high volume of 42 possessions.

Westbrook (among others) played some really poor defense, especially down the stretch.

Yeah, that's what I felt like was the problem. Kobe had bad shooting nights and the Lakers would win in spite of him at times.

If you watched the game, it was crazy to see how organized Dallas is on both ends of the floor while the Thunder seem dysfunctional on both ends. Also, for the most of the game, it feels like the Thunder coaching makes it harder for Westbrook and Durant to score. I would recommend reading Zack Lowe articles about the Thunder, or listening to Bill Simmon's podcasts. He has a guest named haralabos voulgaris. That guy is the best NBA analyst I have ever heard. He knows the league deeply because he is a professional gambler.