Quote:
Originally Posted by Dallas41
I disagree
KP from New York was a top 35 player
KP in Dallas from the bubble is a top 20 player, I'm not sure how you could think other wise.
Dude was avg 30 points and 10 rebounds with 1 block in the bubble and then in the playoffs he looked fantastic.
I might be a homer but when you say he's not a top 35 players show me a lost of 30 players that you consider better than a healthy KP that we saw in the bubble.
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I clearly said earlier these exact words. "Now that stretch of last year before he got hurt where he was putting up 30 and 10 or whatever it was, yeah, I'll buy THAT guy as a #2 guy on a title team. But KP has yet to prove he can be that guy for a sustained period of time."
He has not demonstrated that ability to be that player consistently in his 5 years in the NBA. I 'm not sure how you could think otherwise.
I'm looking at his entire body of work. Not just cherry picking the best parts. Based on his entire body of work, no, he absolutely not in the top 35. For the record, his numbers for
all of last season, not just from the month of February onward, were 20.5, 9.4 and 1.4 off of 427fg% and .352 3p%. Good, but hardly elite. And nowhere near good enough to be the 2nd best player on a title team. Yeah, he played great for a few months... and then he tore his knee. This seems to be a pattern with him, as it has been for most players as ridiculously tall as he is.
Look, I like KP a lot, and of course I'm rooting for him. I really, really hope he can stay healthy and be an elite player long-term like he was for that stretch last season. But he hasn't shown it yet, and 5 years in the league is a considerable amount of time not to be able to show that.
There's a reason the entire basketball watching world is
constantly talking about how the Mavs could get a "3rd star." It's because the Mavs are not title contenders as is. Conversely, there's a reason you never heard that conversation about the Lakers. Because Lebron and AD were good enough to win a title with just some role players behind them. Luka might be that good, but I'm not being harsh by stating the simple fact that if you look at the second best players championship teams in recent history- and frankly all of NBA history- the majority of them have been quite a bit better than KP.