Tim Duncan article by Bill Simmons

[coachmac87]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-tim-duncan-question/

[BatManu20]

:tu

[xtremesteven33]

Damn Simmons loves basketball. He chose to go Game 7 over the Fight on Saturday. Great article.

[Spur|n|Austin]

I bet Duncan is asking himself all of these things. He will disappear this summer, like he always does, and he will remain in shape by swimming and eating plants and doing whatever else aliens do. Some time before July 1, he will share his plan with the Spurs. Only Duncan knows if it will be one year too early. I just know that he’s one of the best basketball players I have ever seen. I hope he comes back. And I hope he doesn’t come back.

:lol

[jdiggy0424]

Absolutely fantastic article by Bill Simmons. He hits home with several points throughout. My only issue was that he doesn't include Duncan in his top 5 greatest players ever. It's clear that at this juncture and with Duncan's performance, he's top 5 no question.

I'm also glad that he mentioned the Chris Paul bullshit body foul on Duncan. I was screaming at my T.V. Fucking refs I swear the Spurs suffered from piss poor officiating down the stretch in the final 2 games.

Re-living this game through this article made me cringle a little bit lol

[testies]

he's the best sports writer, by far actually

[coachmac87]

That was one of the best things I've read even reliving a defeat...gave me chills...it pretty much summarized spurstalk with the Kawhi-Parker jabs...but bottom line it's Duncan's team. Always has and will be.


I just don't think I'll be ready to deal with it if Duncan just says "I'm done" in a month...

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Damn. Spurs are in four of those best of seven series he mentioned.

[Sean Cagney]

he's the best sports writer, by far actually

He is good, no doubt.

[Spur|n|Austin]

he's the best sports writer, by far actually

Zach Lowe is pretty good too - but I really enjoy Simmons.

[szkorhetz]

:cry

[Malik Hairston]

Simmons has been trying so hard to hammer the Duncan > Kobe point the past 2 years, tbh:lol..not that he needs to, since anybody with a brain knows the debate ended last year, but still, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to cement it..

[Dex]

Damn. Spurs are in four of those best of seven series he mentioned.

And they lost all of them. :bang

[crc21209]

Simmons has been trying so hard to hammer the Duncan > Kobe point the past 2 years, tbh:lol..not that he needs to, since anybody with a brain knows the debate ended last year, but still, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to cement it..
And I am damn glad he does it. Because for a long long time all we ever heard from the media was Kobe > Duncan.

[Keepin' it real]

11:30 remaining, fourth quarter (Spurs up 81-79) Patty Mills drains a 3 as 18,000 Clips fans inside Staples Center mutter, I really hope Pop doesn’t realize that he should play Mills over Parker in crunch time.

[DarrinS]

Great read :tu

[wildbill2u]

I love Bill Simmons articles. He's the best basketball sportswriter by far if you like great insights coupled with biting humor. And the links to other sites to prove his points or elaborate on them are great for fans as well. (I loved the link to the drunk Spurs after game party)

And by the way, he took on the controversial subjects like Parker's and Kwahi's performances and their futures with objective comments that cut through the bullshit about both players. We can all shut up now about those guys after reading this article. He killed it.

[Godbama]

Good article but Lowe >>>>>> Simmons.
Simmons is okay and Lowe can be a dork ultimately but in the end Simmons is just the least annoying/best case scenario version of the generic old "HOT TAKE SPORTS GUY!!!!" sportswriter. Except with constant annoying attempts to get the Celtics involved in every conversation in a really forced and awkward way even if they're not relevant at the moment (guess who keeps dropping stupid hints about Kawhi to the Celtics). He's constantly trying to use his position to create dumb Celtics trade/FA rumors. Dude actually thought they were going to steal a game or two from the Cavs, I don't like reading takes from sportswriters who are obviously fanboys of a team. That's why, their own special weaknesses aside, I'd rather listen to the robotic analytic writer droids on basketball ala Kirk Goldsberry and Zach Lowe than a dude whose analysis is body language and Celtics takes. Lowe just loves basketball as a whole.
hey at least he picked Kawhi as DPOY and hates the Lakers, I guess.

[FromWayDowntown]

Simmons has been trying so hard to hammer the Duncan > Kobe point the past 2 years, tbh:lol..not that he needs to, since anybody with a brain knows the debate ended last year, but still, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to cement it..

It's a refreshing change from the Worldwide Leader. As silly as it sounds, Simmons' efforts will ensure that 20 years from now, when people try to reconstruct how the public perceived Duncan and Kobe -- and when the intangibles each brought to the table will be harder to remember -- there will be a record to meticulously describe things about Duncan that stats can't describe. Bill's right -- there's a beauty to watching Tim Duncan play that doesn't get reflected in box score numbers or advanced metrics. His numbers are great, particularly in the cumulative sense, but his greatness can't ever be defined just by his numbers; they don't tell even half of the story of Tim Duncan's excellence.

Simmons is ensuring (whether on purpose or not) that the next generation doesn't lose that understanding and doesn't discount it as just some "back in my day" tall-tale told by a bitter old-timers.

[Richie]

Zach Lowe is pretty good too - but I really enjoy Simmons.

Lowe and Simmons are the best basketball writers right now that I know the names of, but I normally love anything Sports Illustrated ever writes about the Spurs.

[hitmantb]

Simmons is the most entertaining sports writer by a long mile.

"Patty Mills drains a 3 as 18,000 Clips fans inside Staples Center mutter, I really hope Pop doesn’t realize that he should play Mills over Parker in crunch time. "

[Tuddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070509

i think this old article sums up Simmons opinion of TD

[spurs1990]

He's right about those Spurs series being the best for objective fans.

Can ya'll think of any better ones than 2006 Dallas, 2013 Miami, and LA 2015.

Pity we lost every one.

At least we'll have 2003 LA, 2005 Phoenix, 2007 Cleveland, 2013 Memphis, and 2014 Miami to crow about.

[Taking it to the Hole]

I love Simmons. He sees the Spurs as what they truly are and understands what basketball is really about. A part of me really wants to see Duncan go out on a high which is why I was surprised when he came back for this season. I could have really understood if he had retired after last year. He had nothing else to prove this year but he just loves the game so much. I was really disappointed this season to see the lack of inspiration from many of the Spurs players especially some of the starters. Whether fatigue, injuries, and just general hunger for a repeat were an issue, who knows? Duncan was always steadfast and if he had a bad game, he took it hard. This has always been Duncan's team and to me I want to see him leave on his terms and so if this it for him, he has earned the right to say goodbye but I truly think he wants one last shot. It is amazing. He is nearly 40 years old and plays with more fire and passion then players half his age.

I think Kawhi needs to mature and not fear his potential. I think Parker needs to admit that he is no longer the player he once was and take a reduced role and I think Manu needs to retire because he has given us all he can and he doesn't have anything left to give. All of these players are part of a legacy of greatness. Our city once could never fathom the possibility of being NBA champions once...but this franchise has given us this gift 5 times and we are spoiled as a city. We expect greatness every year, but as fans, sometimes we need to step back and look at the bigger picture and realize that what we want is not always possible to have. That being said, no other franchise has done more for a city then our Spurs have done for San Antonio and I am proud to have witnessed so many memorable moments as a fan of this team.

[Phenomanul]

It's a refreshing change from the Worldwide Leader. As silly as it sounds, Simmons' efforts will ensure that 20 years from now, when people try to reconstruct how the public perceived Duncan and Kobe -- and when the intangibles each brought to the table will be harder to remember -- there will be a record to meticulously describe things about Duncan that stats can't describe. Bill's right -- there's a beauty to watching Tim Duncan play that doesn't get reflected in box score numbers or advanced metrics. His numbers are great, particularly in the cumulative sense, but his greatness can't ever be defined just by his numbers; they don't tell even half of the story of Tim Duncan's excellence.

Simmons is ensuring (whether on purpose or not) that the next generation doesn't lose that understanding and doesn't discount it as just some "back in my day" tall-tale told by a bitter old-timers.

:tu x 1000

[Ron Swanson]

I still remember when we won the lottery to get Duncan. I was sitting in my apartment watching the playoffs and it was time for the lottery. When our card was pulled out of the envelope, I started yelling "We got Tim Duncan! We got Tim Duncan!" I thought if we could get a couple of pieces together, we could win a title... maybe 2. Here we are almost 20 years later and we have 5 titles and had a good chance at a couple more. We're extremely blessed to have Tim anchor this team for so long. The window might be closing, but it's not completely closed yet. We definitely need to make a few changes. If there is one person who can open that window and carry this team to one more, it's #21.

[wildchild]

And by the way, he took on the controversial subjects like Parker's and Kwahi's performances and their futures with objective comments that cut through the bullshit about both players. We can all shut up now about those guys after reading this article. He killed it.

Agreed. But it's really worrisome because Simmons isn't encouraged about Tony's future.

According to him Kawhi wasn't the guy the Spurs desperately needed but also said he can maturate like Griffin did, with Tony it's another story.


Tony Parker might not be Tony Parker anymore...Even if an Achilles strain hampered Parker, isn’t that the problem with aging point guards? It’s always something, right? With 1,008 regular-season games and 203 playoff games behind him, how is this situation getting better?

[Arcadian]

Simmons has been trying so hard to hammer the Duncan > Kobe point the past 2 years, tbh:lol..not that he needs to, since anybody with a brain knows the debate ended last year, but still, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to cement it..

He's trying to get the "slow" people on board.

[DarrinS]

I like his writing, but can't stand him on TV. Weird

[FromWayDowntown]

By the way, he seems to know something about the All-NBA teams. I guess we'll see, but he's pretty certain that Tim made one of those teams, which would give him 15 of those -- an insane number.

[tim_duncan_fan]

This article is my feelings exactly.

I want him to retire because he was too good to keep playing and not be as good as he once was and he's too good to retire because, hell, he can still do it well.

[-21-]

Great read :tu


I like his writing, but can't stand him on TV. Weird

He reminds me of Jonah Hill. :lol

[Darius McCrary]

Spurs game 7 history spelled out like that is just sickening

[elbamba]

He's right about those Spurs series being the best for objective fans.

Can ya'll think of any better ones than 2006 Dallas, 2013 Miami, and LA 2015.

Pity we lost every one.

At least we'll have 2003 LA, 2005 Phoenix, 2007 Cleveland, 2013 Memphis, and 2014 Miami to crow about.

2005 Finals was pretty damn good in terms of how evenly matched the teams were.

[txallstar]

I love the statement, "isn't it always something with aging pgs". Then the irony of Paul pulling a hammy. This year Parker turned 32 and Paul turned 30.

[BatManu20]

CP3 turned 30 today.

[Horse]

Damn Simmons loves basketball. He chose to go Game 7 over the Fight on Saturday. Great article.

Only a dumbass would think that fight would be worth a shit.

[DarrinS]

Only a dumbass would think that fight would be worth a shit.

true

[Harry Callahan]

CP3 turned 30 today.

Paul will likely be four rings behind TP when he is through.