Duncan is a center

[Bruno]

My first conclusion of this year :
Duncan is a center not a power forward in the western conference.

Just look at the other teams :
- Dallas : Dirk/Dampier : Duncan will defend Diop
- Houston : Howard/Yao : Duncan will defend Howard
- Memphis : Gasol/Tsakalidis : Duncan can defend both
- New Orleans : West/Brown : Duncan will defend Brown
- Denver : Martin/Camby : Duncan can defend both
- Minessota : Garnett/Blount : Duncan will defend Blount
- Portland : Randolph/Pryzbilla : Duncan can defend both
- Seattle : Wilcox/Swift : Duncan can defend both
- Utah : Boozer/Okur : Duncan will defend Okur
- Golden State : Murphy/Foyle : Duncan will defend Foyle
- Clippers : Brand/Kaman : Duncan will defend Kaman
- Lakers : Odom/Brown : Duncan will defend Brown
- Phoenix : ??? : Duncan won't defend Stoudamire who is a PF
- Sacramento : Thomas/Miller : Duncan can defend both

Duncan can defend on all center except yao but can't defend on more than half of the PF. In the eastern conference, there are more true centers (Shaq, Z, Curry..) but we are in the western conference and Duncan should play center.

[ploto]

Duncan will never defend all those guys during the regular season-- never.

[Bruno]

Duncan will never defend all those guys during the regular season-- never.

I don't see the link with the regular season.
It will be easier (or at least not more difficult) for Duncan to defend the opposite center for 70 regular season games and the whole playoffs (except against Houston).
Duncan won't be more tired to defend against the opposite center : most of them aren't offensive threats and Duncan isn't a skinny player.

[genghisrex]

Duncan's always been a F/C, but as the league moves to more mobile "big" men at the 4 and Timmy gets older, he's definitely becoming more of a C/F.

[clubalien]

I said it before but tim is a PF that plays liek a Center and David was a Center that played like a PF.
I think the hope rest in ian coming to the spurs.
I thought that he won't be here next season but only the season after that. But with this lose it just shows how much we need our twin towers back so you never know he might come over.

[FromWayDowntown]

I found myself wondering about that earlier today. There could be a paradigm shift coming that has Timmy playing as more of a traditional center while the Spurs seek out an athletic PF-type to put alongside of him. I think that as long as guys like Shaq and Yao are around, you have to have the strong and usually immobile types to muscle those guys and contest things. But the utility of those players is diminishing as the rules changes take deeper and deeper root. The premium now is mostly on athleticism and agility and the Spurs might be better suited to meet that style by shifting from looking for the traditional type of center and looking instead for athletes who can play the 4 spot.

Don't know that it will happen, but it wouldn't shock me to see it.

[clubalien]

the thing is we will still have a backup center of rasho so if we face someone we can put rasho on them for some minutes. Also malik rose played shaq pretty hard. So for limited minutes the PF could try to handle a player.

Dirk rarely gaurded tim.

it seemed mavs strategy was to just throw a random scrub at tim so that dirk wouldn't pick up fouls. Whiel tim contuines to pick up soem stupid fouls himself

[Bruno]

I agree with you.
If Duncan moves at the C spot we should have a Shaq and Yao stopper on the bench. Javtokas will be a rookie so I don't see it doing that.
Rasho can do that but he is too expensive to be a backup center that play more than 10 minutes only against 5 teams. A guy like Scott Polard is a cheaper solution (but we should trade Rasho first and it won't be easy).

[strangeweather]

I agree with you.
If Duncan moves at the C spot we should have a Shaq and Yao stopper on the bench. Javtokas will be a rookie so I don't see it doing that.
Rasho can do that but he is too expensive to be a backup center that play more than 10 minutes only against 5 teams. A guy like Scott Polard is a cheaper solution (but we should trade Rasho first and it won't be easy).

Dumping Rasho and getting Pollard would be great. You're right that it won't be easy -- with his contract, Rasho has significant negative trade value.

[whottt]

Tim Duncan is a Center in any era of the NBA....

He was an unusually tall shotblocking PF and the only thing that kept him from being a C from day 1 was David Robinson.

It doesn't matter which one he plays but the fact of the matter is that since bigs of his quality are so rare in the NBA today...that there is a move towards lighter and quicker PF's, traditional SF's...the Spurs do need a bigman capable of defending these types...if they want Duncan to stay out foul trouble..

But Duncan being a C is not the result of some evolutionary shift in NBA body types...he'd have been a C in any era of the NBA... and he was always an anomaly at PF. Depending on the big man talent available to use...he may continue to be a PF or slide over to C...but he's gonna be a force no matter where he plays.