thre3zus

Here's my long version explanation on this: Among offensive stars, I believe there's a spectrum. Guys lean towards advantage-creation or they lean towards tough shot-making. Obviously stars typically give you some, maybe even a lot, of both, but everyone leans way or the other. Guys like Kobe and MJ are more on the tough shot-making end of the spectrum. Guys like LeBron and Steph are more on the advantage-creation end of the spectrum. Again, these guys are giving you both. But Kobe was better at making difficult shots and Steph is better at creating higher-value ones. There are circumstances in which you need both. Which one you'd prefer is situational. Durant is the former. Harden is the latter. Durant won his titles with the ultimate advantage-creator in Steph. Not having to focus as much on advantage-creation made his shot-making more powerful. Much harder to double Durant on those Warriors teams. He could be that unstoppable scorer without the burden of the entire offense on his shoulders. Harden has his late-series playoff issues, I think, because the deeper you make it into the playoffs (both in terms of round and game within a series), the harder it is to generate advantages. Playoff-level defenses and scouting make it harder to generate the high-value stuff, so being able to generate the more difficult points becomes essential. Harden's game is so finely tuned to specific, high-value outcomes that once that stuff is harder to come by, he's struggled to adjust. This is what made KD and Harden so perfect together, I think. Durant is an apex shot-maker who isn't as good with certain aspects of creation (as we saw in Game 2 of the Laker series, dealing with doubles). Harden is an apex shot-creator who isn't as good at making the harder, contested, mid-range looks that are often all that's available late in big games. They complement each other perfectly. Harden's best chance at a title came with someone who complemented him in that way, CP3. He got hurt. Kawhi fit that same bill. The timing wasn't right. Durant gets his titles with Steph. Interestingly, it feels like he targets players more like him, tough shot-makers (Kyrie first, then Booker and Beal) as his teammates afterward. But he winds up with Harden in Brooklyn. They SHOULD win titles together. But injuries kill their first chance, and then circumstance breaks the team up before their second. It's horrible luck. If they stay together in OKC, I think they win multiple titles. If things had been more normal in Brooklyn, I also think there's a good chance they win multiple titles. But the NBA is cruel and chaotic, so it didn't happen.

ANKLE BREAKER OF THE YEAR?!? 🤯 Payton Pritchard dropped Vando off the screen 🤧

Like what do you even say at this point, Shai is just too insane bro

GM Daniel Naroditsky passed away. He was a talented chess player, commentator, and educator. FIDE extends its deepest condolences to Daniel’s family and loved ones.

“Go get me a bucket” all time starting 5

The Grammys are gonna have a hard time deciding between these two for Rap Album Of The Year

who’s the best rapper of 2025 so far based on pure rapping ability? i’m talking lyricism, flow, delivery, story telling, standout performances