Robinson and Duncan

[Ocotillo]

Hypothetical: If you had prime Duncan and Robinson in today's NBA, since big guys that don't play the perimeter that much are not a thing anymore, would you trade one of them to surround the other with three point shooters or do you force the league to deal with Twin Towers?

Discuss

[Chinook]

Prime Robinson could play on the perimeter defensively well enough to bend the league. They'd be better together, but they'd have to both work on shooting threes.

Taking just the talents without the names and being forced to choose, I think Robinson would be the better four-out big in today's era. Prime Admiral was some mix between what Giannis is and what Bam hopes to become offensively. He could absolutely still dominate the game as a high-usage play-making center. Tim is good enough to overcome it, but the post-ups he likes aren't seen as efficient shots, so he'd have to do more three-point shooting to make up for it. He'd still be like Embiid without the crazy though. Both would be hands down the best big in the league.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Hypothetical: If you had prime Duncan and Robinson in today's NBA, since big guys that don't play the perimeter that much are not a thing anymore, would you trade one of them to surround the other with three point shooters or do you force the league to deal with Twin Towers?

Discuss

Hell no. Robinson could cover on the perimeter. He was like a small forward in a 7 foot, 29 inch Waist, 17 inch bicep body. they would create such mismatches on the offensive end that the opponent would have to try to play big ball.

[R. DeMurre]

Prime Robinson might actually be better in today's NBA than he was in the 90s, and that's saying a lot.

[daslicer]

Robinson would have to develop a 3 point shot but he would be able to do it. He already had a great mid range shot so he would have been able to get a 3 point shot. Keep Duncan in the post and have Robinson operate from the perimeter on the offensive end.

Both would still be great on defense since they had great lateral movement and could switch quickly on rotations.

[Play Boban]

Both would be lucky to make an nba roster in today’s nba imho.

[lefty]

Both would be lucky to make an nba roster in today’s nba imho.

[SpurSpike]

You keep the twin towers and surround them with snipers. Would be deadly tbh...

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Non-issue. They would have forced other teams to play big.

Also, some might have forgotten, but prime Duncan, before his injuries, was quite athletic and mobile. He would have absolutely no problems playing in today's NBA.

[RC_Drunkford]

both in their prime were super mobile. Robinson would be better than Giannis in this league with its current playing style. Plus Duncan can actually shoot 3s

[dbreiden83080]

In their primes for 10 years.. That's about 7 rings.. Just put Timmy on the block since nobody plays post D anymore and he's going for 50 a night..

[TDMVPDPOY]

remember when pop rolled out drob/duncan/perdue lineup...good times

[exstatic]

I used to infuriate Lakers fans by saying that Tim or David at 6’8” would be All Star SFs, but Shaq would be Bo Outlaw.

[Play Boban]

In their primes for 10 years.. That's about 7 rings.. Just put Timmy on the block since nobody plays post D anymore and he's going for 50 a night..
And he’d give up 75 points worth of threes on the other end tbh. Unplayable in today’s nba.

[Play Boban]

Non-issue. They would have forced other teams to play big.

Also, some might have forgotten, but prime Duncan, before his injuries, was quite athletic and mobile. He would have absolutely no problems playing in today's NBA.
No they wouldn’t. There’s no such thing as forcing other teams to play big in today’s nba.

[dbreiden83080]

And he’d give up 75 points worth of threes on the other end tbh. Unplayable in today’s nba.

So every great big man over the last 75 years is complete shit is that right? Oh yeah and by the way let’s completely overlook how nobody is allowed to play defense anymore. Change the rules back to a time when you allowed to play defense and tell me what’s up. I understand why the NBA did it because fans wanted more scoring, but these motherfuckers are getting elbowed in the stomach and people are getting thrown out of the game..

[dbreiden83080]

No they wouldn’t. There’s no such thing as forcing other teams to play big in today’s nba.

Because the Golden State Warriors ruined the NBA in a lot of ways by doing nothing but shooting fucking three-point shots. Nobody possesses the skill set to dominate down low anymore.

[daslicer]

Because the Golden State Warriors ruined the NBA in a lot of ways by doing nothing but shooting fucking three-point shots. Nobody possesses the skill set to dominate down low anymore.

Agreed. That's my biggest argument is today's bigs don't know how to post up properly and learn the back to basket game. Posting up today is just backing down somebody once and doing an ugly fade away. Jokic is the only current big that actually understands how to play the back to the basket game and has the positioning,footwork, and counters down.

[dbreiden83080]

Agreed. That's my biggest argument is today's bigs don't know how to post up properly and learn the back to basket game. Posting up today is just backing down somebody once and doing an ugly fade away. Jokic is the only current big that actually understands how to play the back to the basket game and has the positioning,footwork, and counters down.
Exactly. For those that say it wouldn’t work, who the hell even has the skill set of a Tim Duncan or a Hakeem Olajuwon? Absolutely nobody. Golden State started jacking up half-court shots and every asshole followed suit.

[daslicer]

Exactly. For those that say it wouldn’t work, who the hell even has the skill set of a Tim Duncan or a Hakeem Olajuwon? Absolutely nobody. Golden State started jacking up half-court shots and every asshole followed suit.

It could take 10-20 years for that trend to reverse. Once another Duncan-Olajuwon-Jabbar type of player enters the league that's when the trend will reverse.

[Prime BEEF]

Prime Robinson could play on the perimeter defensively well enough to bend the league. They'd be better together, but they'd have to both work on shooting threes.

Taking just the talents without the names and being forced to choose, I think Robinson would be the better four-out big in today's era. Prime Admiral was some mix between what Giannis is and what Bam hopes to become offensively. He could absolutely still dominate the game as a high-usage play-making center. Tim is good enough to overcome it, but the post-ups he likes aren't seen as efficient shots, so he'd have to do more three-point shooting to make up for it. He'd still be like Embiid without the crazy though. Both would be hands down the best big in the league.
Totally agree with this

[rankingtear]

You only have 1 ball, the other one has to shoot the three to be useful on offense. Even if they are both great players they can't utilize both of their skills at the same time, one is relegated to a below average three point shooter on offense. On defense only one can protect the rim, so your'e forcing another out of their comfort zone guarding the perimeter.

You double team the post player , sag off the other , then you live with the consequence of a perimeter shot of a great back to the basket player. Or you pack the paint , and hope for a shoot-out, you would probably higher paid perimeter players to outscore their 3 other guys.

[jimbo]

TBG featured 2 bigs that didn't shoot 3s. Duncan/Robinson is a direct upgrade to Splitter/Duncan. Surround with 3 point shooters and you're fine.

[XDT76]

I really laugh at some of the comments in here thinking Tim and David can be stop by the midgets of today double teaming them, its as if they have never seen double teaming in their whole life. If LaMarcus and the Lopez brothers can train to shoot 3s at a decent clip what is stopping David and Tim from doing it? David is one of the best shooting big man of his time and Tim has shown he could do it. They just did not put in the time to do it during their time as it is not something that is required of them. If we look back to the 2016/17 series with Houstons where they are pumping 3s, if LaMarcus, Gasol and David Lee combined a 73mins per game and the Spurs win that series 4-2 there is now reason to believe that Prime David and Tim (especially before his injuries) is unable to compete. In fact with their speed and length they could easily deny the shooters from shooting 3 and force them to either face a great interior defender or shoot long 2 while the other recover to guard the bigman. In fact they would be gobbling up the rebounds that the Spurs would probably have much more possession than the other team.

[rankingtear]

Well the argument is if you can trade one for a perimeter would it be better than playing both at the same time. Based on espn greatest of all time, close to David is Harden and Kawhi. Who would win a 7 game series David and Duncan or Harden/Kawhi and Duncan , i think the latter. I think the MIA vs MIL series is already proving that.

[XDT76]

Well if we are using any of today's front court to proof against Duncan and David, then I see no point in discussing any more.

[RC_Drunkford]

You only have 1 ball, the other one has to shoot the three to be useful on offense. Even if they are both great players they can't utilize both of their skills at the same time, one is relegated to a below average three point shooter on offense. On defense only one can protect the rim, so your'e forcing another out of their comfort zone guarding the perimeter.

You double team the post player , sag off the other , then you live with the consequence of a perimeter shot of a great back to the basket player. Or you pack the paint , and hope for a shoot-out, you would probably higher paid perimeter players to outscore their 3 other guys.

:lmao :lmao :lmao Robinson guarding a 3-point shooter is out of his comfort zone? Have you seen Robinson play????

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

:lmao :lmao :lmao Robinson guarding a 3-point shooter is out of his comfort zone? Have you seen Robinson play????

Yeah DRob would block that 3 point shot and be the first to dunk it on the other end.

[XDT76]

:lmao :lmao :lmao Robinson guarding a 3-point shooter is out of his comfort zone? Have you seen Robinson play????

I guess some of the posters here are too young to see D Rob and Timmy do fast breaks or even Timmy do a crossover. Not to be disrespectful but even a combi of Giannis and unibrow would not be in the same tier as Timmy and David. Especially David, I do not see any perimeter player not having issues with him, he has the speed, the strength, the length and the finesse.

[rankingtear]

I admit didn't see Robinson play, the only videos on youtube when i type Robinson and defense is him being destroyed by Olajuwon.

[KobesAchilles]

Robinson would be unstoppable in today’s league. He would be a better Giannis. I mean back then the only way to stop him was to double or triple team him. That’s how every team beat the early 90s Spurs. But it is different today bc I can only think of 1 team in the West that could actually deal with Robinson and that’s the Lakers. But they don’t shoot the 3 at all and really that match up would favor the Spurs.

From a team perspective, I would say fuck spacing. Play high and low like they did in actual games together. Run the fast break with Robinson. Pic n roll lob them to death. Pass the ball to Duncan in the post during crunch time. Can you imagine Golden St style of switching on D working on those 2?? For us as a team I would just play zone. Imagine a team like Houston trying to guard Duncan with James Harden and Robinson with PJ Tucker. Just throw the ball up lol. Fuck we could shoot 100 threes and get 50% offensive rebounds against that team. Also I’m pretty sure David is faster than James. Just saying. Never seen a big man like that before.

Just give them good shooters to kick out to and not Avery fucking Johnson and I think they would do fine

[Play Boban]

So every great big man over the last 75 years is complete shit is that right? Oh yeah and by the way let’s completely overlook how nobody is allowed to play defense anymore. Change the rules back to a time when you allowed to play defense and tell me what’s up. I understand why the NBA did it because fans wanted more scoring, but these motherfuckers are getting elbowed in the stomach and people are getting thrown out of the game..
In today’s nba the great bigs of yesteryear would be trash, yes.

[CGD]

Prime D-Rob was made for this new league. Would be fun to watch. But Prime TD, and his next level bbiq, would be so dominant that the league would have to adapt.

Same thing with Shaq honestly (more on the transformative strength piece). It becomes a roster composition thing for the other teams. You wouldn’t be able to just have 4 PJ Tucker’s on your team and expect to cover the paint.

[dbreiden83080]

In today’s nba the great bigs of yesteryear would be trash, yes.

Duncan and Robinson playing together at age 26 can't beat Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat right? :lmao

[Play Boban]

Duncan and Robinson playing together at age 26 can't beat Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat right? :lmao
No, Olynk, Robinson, Herro, Dragic et al would be raining so many trees the Sperms would be run off the court tbh. They’d put Timmy and The Admiral in the pick and roll over and over and over and Poop would have no answers. They better be glad they were born 25 years earlier imho because their ceiling is Boban in today’s nba fwiw.

[TimDunkem]

I know one thing. The Spurs should've grabbed Duncan Robinson.

[dbreiden83080]

No, Olynk, Robinson, Herro, Dragic et al would be raining so many trees the Sperms would be run off the court tbh. They’d put Timmy and The Admiral in the pick and roll over and over and over and Poop would have no answers. They better be glad they were born 25 years earlier imho because their ceiling is Boban in today’s nba fwiw.

Robinson and Duncan in their youth can't handle the pick and roll? Did you watch Spurs games with your eyes closed? I am sure Manu and Tony would be useless too right? Yeah they suck..

Yeah they'd be scared to death of this run of the mill 48 win shit East Team.. :lol

BTW if Giannis had 1/4 of what Tim did on the block they'd be up 3-0..

[tim_duncan_fan]

Big men don't work as well today because they aren't as good when the chips are down as the guys in the past. Shaq would almost literally eat this league.

Having 2003 Duncan and Robinson would make our defense impregnable and scoring would be easy because no one can defend the post because no one has to in the current day.

[phxspurfan]

You keep the twin towers and surround them with snipers. Would be deadly tbh...

https://heatnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/USATSI_13864462-e1578335803381.jpg


tbh

[jjktkk]

Robinson and Duncan in their youth can't handle the pick and roll? Did you watch Spurs games with your eyes closed? I am sure Manu and Tony would be useless too right? Yeah they suck..

Yeah they'd be scared to death of this run of the mill 48 win shit East Team.. :lol

BTW if Giannis had 1/4 of what Tim did on the block they'd be up 3-0..

Exactly. Its not like the Utah Jazz ever ran the pick-in-roll. Oh wait, they did.:lol

[RC_Drunkford]

bruh the takes by those 12 year olds in this thread are hilarious :lmao When did y'all start watching games? In 2015?

[rankingtear]

Why you calling a rich man's Deandre Ayton Giannis?

[OldMan88]

DRob was by far the fastest player of any position to ever play with the spurs. TD prior to his meniscus tear was very athletic & fast also. Both players, playing together in their prime & surrounded by 3 marksmen, would dominate the league in a modern run & gun offense.

Both would develop a 3pt shot, but wouldn’t have to resort to it often.

[DAF86]

Duncan Robinson is tearing shit up in the NBA right now, tbh.

[DMC]

Prime Tim and Dave, trade?

lol no

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

jokic is tearing the league a new anus. lakers are excelling without the three

pre injury post injury tosb, any version of duncan can adapt and be great in any nba era

and this mermaid style league is custom built for drob

[stnick2261]

https://youtu.be/3-YTN0mYbYM
3:20 mark

[Seventyniner]

For all the triple-doubles Westbrook has gotten, how close has he ever gotten to a quadruple-double? I used to search this on bkref but now they put Game Finder behind a paywall.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Just like teams had to adapt to the Warriors style, I think if a team had prime Robinson and Duncan they'd inflict so much havoc on the NBA that teams would have to pivot again to keep up. Twin towers surrounded by shooters would become the gold standard for style of play.

[Arcadian]

For all the triple-doubles Westbrook has gotten, how close has he ever gotten to a quadruple-double? I used to search this on bkref but now they put Game Finder behind a paywall.
:wow Wow that sucks

[jsandiego]

https://youtu.be/9XivZd3mRVw

https://youtu.be/UNYzbesuUX0
Well Said Allen,

The fact that Doinks don't know shit about what a player Drob is(and could be in any era) or that he was in fact probably the second biggest "NBA STAR"(as those faggot's Cowheard, Bayless, screaming A and their Clones say) behind Jordan for most of the 90's is what makes this forum a toilet bowel on the Internets. Yes D rob was arguably the second biggest star behind Jordan in the 90s from "Small Market" San Antonio even with the gay as fiesta colors.
Drob is the MOST IMPORTANT SPUR who ever lived.
That game against Shaq and the Magic is a GREAT find. David was SO fast. He guarded Penny on the perimeter and blocked his shot after a failed drive. I agree with the others that David would be tailor-made for this era.

[Play Boban]

David couldn’t keep up with all the fleet footed athletes of today imho

[Phenomanul]

David managed to do all that without a true point-guard for a good chunk of his career, he had to work for his shots. By contrast, half of the buckets that Shaq was getting in that clip were spoon fed by Penny...

[Phenomanul]

The better clip of Robinson's speed can be seen in one of his early showdowns against Jordan's Bulls circa 1992 or 1993... that clip shows Robinson stealing the ball on a play right under the basket, dribbling down the full-length of the court while sprinting at full speed on a one-man breakaway (and with Jordan in full pursuit) and then hammering it home...

[ace3g]

https://twitter.com/JeffGSpursZone/status/1305510362998099968

[ZeusWillJudge]

Shaq says he was not as skilled as Spurs legends David Robinson and Tim Duncan


He wasn't. That isn't even up for debate. But he was perfect for that bully-ball inside, and as long as the league was willing to let him dislodge opponents, he was damned effective. Results matter.

David's and Tim's skill sets are timeless. Shaq was perfect for that dominant big man era.

[Play Boban]

The better clip of Robinson's speed can be seen in one of his early showdowns against Jordan's Bulls circa 1992 or 1993... that clip shows Robinson stealing the ball on a play right under the basket, dribbling down the full-length of the court while sprinting at full speed on a one-man breakaway (and with Jordan in full pursuit) and then hammering it home...
Jordan was a mediocre athlete compared to the quick cats of today tbh

[Play Boban]

https://youtu.be/24NLqvKER1c


Lets be Honest, Prime DRob in this era with a 3pt shot scores 100 pts, maybe multiple times.
Let’s be honest, prime DRob in this era is unplayable and rides the bench if he’s in the league at all. Maybe he’d score 71 in China tbh.

[Phenomanul]

Jordan was a mediocre athlete compared to the quick cats of today tbh


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKVqpXl3M18

[Play Boban]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKVqpXl3M18
Video can be edited and deceptive. I remember how it was. No speed.

[Phenomanul]

Video can be edited and deceptive. I remember how it was. No speed.

Your schtick is non-sensical...

[Phenomanul]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqmerwsDyP0

[Kawhitstorm]

Robinson was basically a bigger/stronger Anthony Davis & just as finesse/beta but actually loyal.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

David couldn’t keep up with all the fleet footed athletes of today imho

This thread exposes you as even a dumber troll than most of us already knew you to be.

[Play Boban]

Your schtick is non-sensical...
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

[Play Boban]

This thread exposes you as even a dumber troll than most of us already knew you to be.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me tbh.

[dbreiden83080]

Jordan was a mediocre athlete compared to the quick cats of today tbh

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/IllfatedEmbellishedDutchshepherddog-size_restricted.gif

How could this lousy athlete ever compete in todays league?

[dbreiden83080]

Robinson was basically a bigger/stronger Anthony Davis & just as finesse/beta but actually loyal.

AD is skilled so he could make some shots at least..

For me Giannis would be the joke..

David and some of his better Spurs teams in his prime would clown Giannis, and the Bucks.. Giannis would NOT be able to score on David.. He might put up like 12/12 in the series, shooting the ball like 30%..

[lefty]

Hakeem > David

[Arcadian]

Hakeem > David

Yes, but it's a lot closer than some people believe. I might have Hakeem around #12 on the all-time rankings, and David might be around #15.

[dbreiden83080]

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

That’s what happens when your basketball knowledge basically goes something like this. “________ can’t play because reasons”

[XDT76]

Yes, but it's a lot closer than some people believe. I might have Hakeem around #12 on the all-time rankings, and David might be around #15.

Yap, their differences is not that great given D.Rob defend Hakeem straight up but has to go through 2 to 3 players on the offense in that fateful series. D. Rob also owns the H2H record against Hakeem. But Hakeem's post game is definitely stronger than D. Rob.

[Spurtacular]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/223E3171RnU/maxresdefault.jpg
https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2020/02/13050616/USATSI_14033821-e1581601802800-1024x683.jpg

[Play Boban]

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/IllfatedEmbellishedDutchshepherddog-size_restricted.gif

How could this lousy athlete ever compete in todays league?
Um your average NBA bench warmer can do that these days. Try the 3pt line.....

[Play Boban]

That’s what happens when your basketball knowledge basically goes something like this. “________ can’t play because reasons”
I’m right. You’re wrong. The end.

[dbestpro]

The reason the twin towers would work today. The bigs were mobile enough to defend a big shooting 3s and it still left one big in the block. The Spurs defense then was designed to stop the outside shooter. We were to crowd the shooters and force them to drive to the shot blockers, rotate as needed and jump the passing lanes. Perfect defense for the wimpy game of today.

[Play Boban]

The reason the twin towers would work today. The bigs were mobile enough to defend a big shooting 3s and it still left one big in the block. The Spurs defense then was designed to stop the outside shooter. We were to crowd the shooters and force them to drive to the shot blockers, rotate as needed and jump the passing lanes. Perfect defense for the wimpy game of today.
Robinson is a big hulking stiff who would get torn apart by the elite big men of this league. Just imagine him getting his shit fed to him by AD. It would be ugly! We already saw the game pass Tim by. By the time he finally quit the league, he wasn’t even able to score 10 ppg and Matt Bonner was guarding the best opposing bigs.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Robinson is a big hulking stiff who would get torn apart by the elite big men of this league. Just imagine him getting his shit fed to him by AD. It would be ugly! We already saw the game pass Tim by. By the time he finally quit the league, he wasn’t even able to score 10 ppg and Matt Bonner was guarding the best opposing bigs.

So true...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1i8K-u0yFo

[Play Boban]

So true...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1i8K-u0yFo
He looked fast against all the stiffs of his day, but he’d get blown away by today’s cats. The tape don’t lie. Good luck on Robinson defending the pick and roll between LeBron and AD. It’d be a layup drill. :lmao

Robinson may have been The Admiral in yesterday’s nba, but in todays nba he’d be a seaman if he even made the roster.

Today's nba teams would run the teams of the 90s off the floor tbqh. I don’t think the teams of the 90s could even beat today’s d1 college teams. Maybe they’d have a shot against d2 or d3.

[dbreiden83080]

I’m right. You’re wrong. The end.

So much context.. Blown away.. :lol

[TDomination]

He looked fast against all the stiffs of his day, but he’d get blown away by today’s cats. The tape don’t lie. Good luck on Robinson defending the pick and roll between LeBron and AD. It’d be a layup drill. :lmao

Robinson may have been The Admiral in yesterday’s nba, but in todays nba he’d be a seaman if he even made the roster.

Today's nba teams would run the teams of the 90s off the floor tbqh. I don’t think the teams of the 90s could even beat today’s d1 college teams. Maybe they’d have a shot against d2 or d3.

https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0889698446044_p0_v1_s1200x630.jpg