After watching Kevin Durant in the first 4 games of the Finals, you can’t help but see how great of a scorer he really is. And even though the Thunder are down 3-1 to Miami, Kevin Durant is putting up some of the most efficient numbers for the NBA Finals. He’s averaging 30.3 points per game while shooting 55% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc. And he’s doing it against LeBron James, arguably the best player and defender in the League, and Shane Battier who’s also known for his extremely tough on-ball perimeter defense. And Kevin Durant is only 23 years old. Let me repeat this... He’s dropping 30 a game in his first NBA Finals against two of the best perimeter defenders in the game while shooting over 50% and he’s only 23. If all that doesn’t convince you how great of a scorer he is, here’s a few highlights to get the point across.

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Scottie Pippen was probably one of the more underrated superstars in the League mainly because of that dude named Jordan. When MJ retired the first time, Scottie Pippen was third in NBA MVP voting that year, and the next year he lead his team in every major statistical category including points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks yet defense was his specialty. His 6'8, 220 lbs frame allowed him to guard every position. The combination of athleticism, tenacity, and basketball IQ made Scottie Pippen the ideal defender. He would create all types of havoc whether he was harassing the PG full court, getting weak-side blocks on driving guards, or stealing entry passes leading to easy transition buckets for the Bulls. His defense was so good, someone made him two Youtube mixes of only his defensive highlights.

So, if KD and Scottie matched up, who do you think would win the match up? Would KD score 30 or would Scottie lock him up?

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2012 Hypothetical Olympic Team barring injuries: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler, Deron Williams, and Chris Bosh.

The Dream Team Documentary commemorating its 20th anniversary will be shown today on NBATV. With it coming out, it got me thinking about this year’s team and what could have been. I know the easy comparison to do would have been the 2008 Redeem Team vs. the Original Dream Team, but I think if everyone was injury free for the 2012 Olympics, this year’s team is much better than the Redeem Team. Basically, you remove Carlos Boozer, Jason Kidd, Tayshaun Prince, and Michael Redd, and you add Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, and Tyson Chandler. There’s no way you can say that is not an upgrade, but back to my original argument. This year’s 2012 Olympic Team could have been a team for the ages and could have been a great matchup against the original Dream Team.

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I know I’ll get a lot of hate, but I truly believe this year’s 2012 Olympic Team (barring injuries) could have given the Dream Team a run for their money. Yeah, I know the Dream Team is known as the greatest team ever assembled and won by an average margin of 40-plus points. And yeah, they not only had the best player ever (MJ who was in his respective prime), but also two Top 10 players ever (Larry Bird and Magic Johnson), and ten of their 12 players made the NBA’s “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” in 1996.

But, Larry Bird and Magic were both way past their primes with Magic coming out of his retirement and Larry’s back almost ready to give out. You can’t take into consideration the average margin of victory at 40-plus points as a strong point because the competition was so much weaker back then, and the other teams were more in awe than anything when playing them. Also, supposedly, there is a blemish on the Dream Team’s undefeated record with a loss to the US Select Team (even though the Dream Team beat them the next scrimmage) which featured college superstars at the time such as Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Chris Webber. However, Coach K, who was an assistant at the time, said Chuck Daly barely used MJ and basically fixed the game to prove a point to the Dream Team that they could lose. But still.. I think the Dream Team should have been able to beat the college team without MJ.

Anyways, let’s compare the matchups at each position.
Point Guards
Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams vs. Magic Johnson, John Stockton
Magic Johnson was still Magic Johnson, but he was on the backside of his career, and John Stockton was his consistent self. But, could Magic Johnson and John Stockton guard Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and Deron Williams who are in their primes (or in Derrick Rose’s case, still has potential to improve)? It would be a tough guard for both teams with Magic's size/ability to see the floor and John Stockton's craftiness versus Chris Paul's IQ, Derrick Rose's athleticism, and Deron Williams' combination of strength and speed.

Shooting Guards
Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade vs. Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler
Michael Jordan is the best player to ever play the game, and he was in his athletic prime. There’s no question he would win the matchup between an older Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, but you know Kobe and Dwyane wouldn’t back down and if anything fight harder to prove they belong. Clyde, who doesn’t get much love from younger fans, had a great NBA career and at the time of the 92 Olympics was averaging 25 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists for the TrailBlazers. I would take MJ over Kobe and Wade, but I'd take them over Clyde still.

Small Forwards
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony vs. Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin
Between LeBron, KD, and Melo, there’s a lot of offensive firepower coming from the small forward position. They would all drop buckets easily on Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Chris Mullin. Scottie Pippen was the defensive stopper for the team and would have had a handful guarding any of those three guys.

Power Forwards/ Centers
Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love vs. Karl Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Christian Laettner
The bigs for the 2012 Olympic Team would be the weakest link. Dwight and Tyson provide strong defense and rebounding but not much offense while Chris Bosh and K Love are able to spread the floor and knock down open 3’s. Karl Malone, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing were perennial all-stars and provided solid defense and strong offense. The game today is way different than the 90’s when physical basketball ruled. Even though the Dream Team bigs would have brought force to the paint, the 2012 bigs would have spread the floor and created mismatches outside.

Overall, I think the 2012 Hypothetical Team and the 1992 Dream Team would have been a great game. Imagine these matchups: LeBron vs. Magic? Two 6’8 facilitators that see the game unlike any other. MJ vs. Kobe? The two most competitive players ever guarding each other! KD vs. Scottie Pippen? The top scorer of today versus the best defender of the 90’s. Dwight vs. D Rob? Two of the most freakishly built centers in the game. Although this is all hypothetical and will never happen (unless we invent a time machine and were able to turn injuries off like 2k), I think it would be a closer game than most would think.

What you think? Dream Team vs Hypothetical 2012 Olympic Team?

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