![]() ![]() LeBron James (foot) is questionable to play in Sunday night's game against the Houston Rockets. Kevin Durant is returning Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves barring any setback. LeBron James (foot) is questionable to play in Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Kevin Durant collected 35 points (13-21 FG, 3-7 3PT, 6-6 FT), five rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 35 minutes of Sunday's 128-118 win over the Thunder. LeBron James (foot) will play for the Lakers on Wednesday night against the Clippers. Kevin Durant (ankle) has been ruled out against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. LeBron James (foot) will play for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Utah Jazz Sunday. Kevin Durant (ankle) has been ruled out and will not play for the Phoenix Suns against the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday. LeBron James (foot) will play for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a Western Conference play-in contest Tuesday night. This matchup has been closer than expected, but it's James' defensive versatility that puts him ahead in the fourth and final category, giving him three of four and easily winning the overall debate.To replace Monty Williams, the Phoenix Suns will hire Frank Vogel as their next head coach on a five-year, $31 million contract. LeBron's defense has predictably suffered when he's guarding the unstoppable force that is Durant, but he's still done a solid job of slowing both Durant and the other players he's been asked to guard. ![]() Even if he'll never be the Defensive Player of the Year candidate that LeBron is, he's still done well on that end. Throughout the regular season, the lanky forward shut down offensive players much more often and that has carried over into the postseason. While that was true in the past, he's put an end to that this season and played with an increased focus on defense. While LeBron James hasn't been able to block shots at all during the NBA Finals, his stifling perimeter defense has still allowed him to one-up Kevin Durant in this category.ĭurant has a reputation as a lackluster defender who focuses his energy on the offensive end of the floor. I've also included turnovers in this section as well, even though turnovers can result both from mistakes while facilitating and from mishandles while calling one's own number.īoth players turn the ball over a lot, but both have built in excuses because they have the ball in their hands so often.Įven though LeBron averages more turnovers per game, the increased role in the offense he fills (see usage rates in the scoring section) makes up for that, and his turnover percentage is actually slightly better than Durant's. LeBron could easily be averaging seven or eight assists per game if he was playing with Durant's teammates. The amazing part is how many open shots the Miami Heat have missed after LeBron found them with a perfect pass. James is averaging four assists per contest with an assist percentage of 20.2, easily beating his fellow small forward in both categories. The disparity is apparent while watching them play and just as apparent when looking at the pure numbers. While LeBron is one of the best facilitating forwards not just in the current NBA landscape but really of all time, Kevin Durant is one of the worst at directly getting his teammates involved. Neither player's scoring has faded down the stretch either, which makes them both all the more impressive. ![]() Although his jumper has disappeared, James has been knocking down tons of shots in the paint and dazzling with his post moves. LeBron has been a fantastic scorer, shattering his streak of eight-straight Finals games without hitting 25 points in epic fashion. Between his increased effectiveness from downtown and his overall scoring percentages, Durant has clearly been the better scorer.ĭon't get me wrong though. Highlighted by his 16- and 17-point fourth quarters in Game 1 and 2, Durant has averaged 1.7 more points per game than LeBron, but he's done so in much more efficient fashion. As impressive as the Miami Heat superstar has been, he's been completely one-upped by Durant, who is setting all kinds of first-time Finals records. ![]() This is the one area in which Kevin Durant has truly blown LeBron James out of the water. Nonetheless, he did his part, averaging 35.2 points on an insane 69.8 per cent true shooting, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and a steal as the Warriors won in five games. Let's start off the breakdown with the most glamorous part of basketball-the part that chicks dig, that SportsCenter fills up highlight reels with and that little kids practice in their driveways. ![]()
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