Every week, we’ll be pitting our two die-hard Larry Bird fans in a duel to the death on a fantasy debate. Hopefully this will become as infamous as Burr vs. Hamilton. Look what it did for Broadway! This week, the Birds debate the epic holiness of KAT vs. The Poison Goose for dynasty leagues. Give me either one, and I’d be happy! Here’s how the Birds see this one:
Billy: It seems like everywhere we look, there’s a youthful prodigy that we can’t take our eyes off of. For Adam and I, two guys that stand out are Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis. As I type this, Porzingis is three spots higher on the Yahoo rankings than KAT is, and he’s coming off a 35 point outburst. However, I’m here to tell you KAT is better. He does it all; he scores, he rebounds, he has almost a steal and over a block per game, he averages almost three assists a game… He even drains 1.6 threes a game, at a 37% clip. The scariest part about both of these guys is the rate at which they get better, which means I’m not sure either one is the wrong decision. However, KAT is set apart for me for one big reason: his ball handling. I’ve gotten the opportunity to watch him a decent amount lately, and he dribbles the ball like a guard. He’s quick and he handles the ball like a big guard… I just can’t get over that. I don’t know what that means for his potential. I don’t think he’ll suddenly be climbing up assist leader boards; however, he simply has an infinite number of ways to score, and the T-Wolves could run the offense through him if they so please. It seems his potential is limitless, and while you can’t go wrong with either, I have to go with KAT.
Adam: Frankly, this debate is the ultimate Sophie’s Choice. These two are clearly a big part of the future of the NBA. Both players are very close in blocks, steals, free throws, and turnovers. In fact, I was surprised just how similar their stat lines were, given how different they are as players. The main difference is that the Goose will get you more threes, and KAT will get you more boards. So far this season, both players are boarding lower than last year, given that Towns plays next to Dieng and Zinger plays next to Noah, but the difference is still a +2 in KAT’s favor (8.8 to 6.8). Zinger is at 2.2 treys per game, while Kat is at 1.6. Now at this point, KAT would have the edge, however, the Poison Goose had a surprise in store for this year. His FG% is up to 50%, while shooting 40% from deep. KAT has solid percentages, but the Goose has almost unheard of stats from a big man. He is essentially a smoother Dirk Nowitzki, with shot blocking! Given the out of position 3s, and great percentages, I’d say that Goose edges this one out by a hair.
Billy: I have to give it to KAT. I think the three point totals may get even closer as the year goes on, and a couple rough games to start the season are really skewing his percentages. Over the long run, I think they an put up pretty much the same stat line, with only a few more boards from KAT making up the difference. The only other thing I think is that KAT has even higher scoring upside than Porzingis, but both have the upside. Man, why are we even arguing about this? I just love that the NBA has given us these two studs. Still though, go KAT 😉
Adam: Frankly, this was a terrible couple of players to debate, the ceiling for each of them is incredibly high. I will however, contest the notion that KAT has more scoring upside. Kristaps has significantly smoother shot mechanics, and he is a much quicker and more nimble player. KAT is athletic, but he isn’t exactly smooth. This is a typical battle of finesse vs force, and I think Zinger’s style will help him to stay healthier in the long run, and it should help his versatility as a scorer. As Billy said, there is no wrong choice here, but if it were up to me, I think I’d take Goose in a dynasty league! Plus, what other player has a nickname as cool as “The Poison Goose”?! Come on now!
If you enjoy these debate articles, please let us know below! We’d also love to hear what you’d like to hear us birds argue about next! Us birds? We birds? Whatever!
Choices for the next debate article:
- We can argue about buying or selling the player of your choice
- We can argue a head to head comparison like this article
- We can argue about real life basketball and what teams or players are better
Or you can fill in the blanks!
Frankly, we don’t want to have to tear our hearts out with a debate like this again, so help us!
Anyway, that’s it for now Razzy peeps! And remember, the bird’s the word!
