Shooting- ADV: Durant
This is probably the easiest one for Durant to win. Right now, Griffin is excellent underneath the basket but he hasn't mastered that 12 to 18 foot jumper that guys like Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan mastered throughout the years. When Griffin gets that jumper down, look out. He will be near unstoppable, but today, Durant can do it from all places on the court. Passing- ADV: Griffin
This has been heavily discussed on the blog in the past couple weeks. Durant needs to work on his court version, no question about it. Griffin isn't that much better than KD, but he creates a ton of problems when the Clippers throw it down into the post. I expect Griffin's assist numbers to grow as he gets better because teams will start to double team.
Rebounding- ADV: Griffin
A runaway category for Griffin. He averaging near 13 rebounds a game as a rookie. He is currently 4th in the NBA right now. Durant does get his rebounds, but in my opinion, he doesn't crash the boards enough. I would like to see more from Durant in terms of rebounding.
Match Up Problems- ADV: Durant
While Griffin is physically a monster, Durant creates so many problems as a shooting guard and a small forward at 6'9. The Thunder can run a smaller lineup with KD at the wing, or supersize the lineup. Honestly, you can play Durant at every five positions, but Griff can only play the four or five.
Scoring- ADV: Durant
He squeaks by in this one. Griffin scores in bunches, but not like Durant can. It really happens because Durant is a decent three point shooter plus he can slash. Griffin is really all about the alley oops, dunks, and the layups inside. But as I said earlier, Griff needs to get better from the outside.
Defense- ADV: Durant
This one might surprise you, but if you looked at advanced statistics using opponents PER 48 minute production, Durant takes it. When KD is playing his natural 2 and 3 position, the opponents are averaging 13.2 and 12.2. At Griffin's spots, his counterparts are 14.5 and 18.3. I actually would have guessed the opposite, but statistically, KD has it. \
Late Game Situations- ADV: Durant
Once again, it comes down to all the spaces that Durant can score from on the court. He hit a game-winner a couple of nights ago against New York, and I am not sure if Griffin has a winner under his belt. Not to mention, I would rather have a wing guy taking the final shot then throwing it down to the post, but that's just me.
In three years, all of this could change but today, the answer is Durant. Both players are going to continue to grow, and take their game to an impossible level. You want to know a scary thought? What if Griffin after his rookie contract is up decides to take his talents back to Oklahoma City. Westbrook-Durant-Griffin would be a dynasty for years to come.
-Charlie.
