Kevin Durant may have missed out on the scoring title, but he’s still the better offensive player than Carmelo Anthony in today’s NBA. (Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com)
With Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant finishing one-two in the NBA scoring race, some are trying to decipher who the better offensive player is.
Below LeBron James, Anthony and Durant have the most complete offensive games in the league at the small forward position. They can beat you from long range, they can beat you from mid-range, they can beat you in the post and they can certainly throw the hammer down on you.
When some people hear the phrase “offensive player,” they immediately use scoring numbers as their go-to for the argument.
Not me.
But I will admit that it’s difficult to ignore the scoring abilities of these two. Just look at what Melo did against the Miami Heat on April 2 in a 102-90 win for the New York Knicks.
Anthony went on a complete tear in April, averaging 36.9 points per game and winning the 2012-13 NBA scoring title in the process.
Sorry, but the scoring title isn’t everything, folks. I vented about this on Twitter just the other day when fans and analysts alike were acting like Carmelo Anthony had just won the MVP award for his scoring outburst during the month of April.
Kudos to what Melo did in April—and I mean that with the most respect and praise—but if we’re talking about offensive players, then Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is clearly the better choice.
Yes, Anthony outscored Durant by an average of 0.6 points per game this season, but Durant shot the ball at a much higher percentage than Melo did, to no one’s surprise.
KD shot 51 percent this season to go with a more than respectable 41 percent mark from beyond the arc. Anthony, on the other hand, shot less than 45 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point territory.
But as I said earlier, there’s more to an offensive game than just scoring—like giving the ball up to your teammates every now and then, for one.
No one is doubting Melo’s scoring abilities, but KD is the more complete offensive player. (Photo Credit: Bridget Samuels, Flickr.com)
That’s as aspect of Melo’s game that never really developed. He averaged just 2.6 assists per game this year and took the third-most shots this season. Although Durant ranked fifth in the league in terms of field goals attempted, he posted the second-best field-goal percentage in the top 10—no one was going to oust LeBron James in that category this season—and averaged 4.6 assists per game.
Now, thanks to Anthony’s frame (6’8”, 230 pounds), he averaged two offensive rebounds per game to Durant’s 0.6, but KD had the better stroke at the free-throw line, shooting .905 to Anthony’s .830 mark.
Durant also logged more minutes per game this season (38.5 to Melo’s 37) and still had the better all-around shooting percentages and owned a 28.35 player efficiency rating—almost four more points than that of Anthony.
Even for their careers, although Durant has four less seasons under his belt than Anthony, KD owns a better career scoring mark (26.6 points per game) than Melo does (25 points per game).
For video evidence of Durant’s dominance, check out these highlights of Durant’s performance and game winner against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 18.
I think what’s more impressive about Durant’s offensive statistics is the fact that he’s putting up these gaudy numbers while playing alongside Russell Westbrook—another top scorer in the NBA.
If I were starting a franchise and I had to pick between Anthony or Durant, it’d undoubtedly be a difficult decision, but I’d go with Durant given his efficient methods of scoring the basketball and getting his teammates involved.
Follow me on Twitter @Pete_Schauer