Hypothetical...

[baseline bum]

Are there any two players in the league you'd take over Kevin Garnett to team next to Duncan on the Spurs? The only two I could have picked were Shaq and Kobe, but that experiment's over.

I think Garnett has estalished himself as the best player in the game by a pretty sizeable margin.

[baseline bum]

Crap, I forgot about King James. :pctoss

Throw in any decent big and I'd take that combo.

[E20]

Can't pick to many people over KG. I don't know maybe Wade or Lebron.

[2centsworth]

KG or Shaq, and maybe Dirk.

[spursfaninla]

Kevin is putting up numbers that are better than last year, even. Of course, he is needing to do that because his teammates are not doing as much...

I hate to give him props because I don't like him personally, but I must admit he is a force today on the court.

[E20]

Dirk would be a great with TD IMO. Dirk with the outside shot leaving his defender away from TD to give Duncan with a little bit more of space inside.

[Dex]

Thoughts of a Tim/Dirk combo make me salivate more than Pavlov's mutts.

[Brodels]

Dirk could never be a Spur though. Pop would go insane at his unwillingness and/or inability to play defense. I'll pass.

Garnett is a monster, but I still think Tim is his equal or slightly better. Garnett might be a better perimeter shooter by a small margin, but Duncan is undoubtedly the better teammate, and in my opinion, the better basketball player.

[Brodels]

The difference between Duncan and Garnett is how they score. Duncan expends less energy and seems to be able to score so easily. He doesn't waste any effort or movement. That's going to allow him to carry the team deep into games, seasons, and playoffs.

Garnett doesn't score as effortlessly, and his emotion is still going to be an issue for him.

I'll take Duncan.

[Marcus Bryant]

Maybe i've had too much to drink OG, but TD is the best in the bidness. Sure, KG and TD would be great.

[xcoriate]

I think a high low game of Dirk and Tim would be brilliant

[Brodels]

The thing is, Rasho is a good enough defender to allow Duncan to not have to carry the load defensively. Rasho can guard the tougher post players for long stretches at a time. If you team Duncan with Dirk, you leave Tim to defend the toughest post players every night. Fatigue and foul trouble could be the result.

Dirk would be a wonderful offensive partner, but would he really be better than a capable offensive AND defensive sidekick?

[Rummpd]

I think Garnett has estalished himself as the best player in the game by a pretty sizeable margin = simple BS.

Tim Duncan dominates the game by controlling the flow much more than Garnett who is a *&^% of a player but not the equal of Tim Duncan.

Personally, I think that Duncan and Kobe would be the most unstoppable duo because unlike Shaq - Duncan would come out to get his touches and still score enough etc. That duo could not be beaten! Garnett has yet to prove that he can do it in the 4th and in a championship vein like Duncan, Kobe, Shaq to merit the "top player in the game BS".

[RobinsontoDuncan]

hell i have two potential duos TD and Carmelo Anthony would be unstopable, and TD and Dirk would be great too.

[Rick Von Braun]

hell i have two potential duos TD and Carmelo Anthony would be unstopable, and TD and Dirk would be great too.You MUST be kidding, right? http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif

[sickdsm]

KG could average 35-20-10-3-3 per game and there would still be the homers on here saying TD's better. KG's been the bettter player for two, maybe three years now. Take your blinders off. KG doesn't have a slightly better shot, its immesly better. Tims a bulkier guy that's a better one on one post defender, gets more fouls and low post scorer. That's where his advantages end. He's a great player BUT compared to KG he's
Slow
Bad outside shooter
Horrible FT shooter
doesn't involve his teamates on offense
unable to guard on the perimeter.
Needs the ball to score
not as good as rebounder.
can't get his team fired up
doesn't run the break well
and injury prone.

Remember this is in COMPARISON to kg, i'm not lumping his injury-proneness and other stuff with guys like vince. The rebounding part KG gets at least a couple boards a game on ability, where he'll play volleyball with a couple defenders until he or a teamate can grab it. Not to mention KG's a players player. That's why guys like Kidd, payton and others want to play in MN. KG's drive and intensity rarely hurt him when it matters. Its very infectious. Tmac has said the best he's ever been defended was with KG guarding him. KG can do it all defensively. Tim won't even slide over to center, how in the world would one expect him to play PG or guard a hot SF/SG when it mattered?

[ShoogarBear]

Rings.

[sickdsm]

Robert Horry > Charles Barley
Tyrone Lue > John Stockton
Bateer > Jermaine O'neal
Kerr > Tim Duncan

:rolleyes

[exstatic]

hell i have two potential duos TD and Carmelo Anthony would be unstopable, and TD and Dirk would be great too.
Melo is a pussy. Supposely, when they lost in the Olympics, he didn't want to play in the Bronze game, he wanted to go home. Don't confuse highlights with good play.

Manu >>>>> Melo

BTW

KG's been the bettter player for two, maybe three years now.
Nope, he's been AS good a player for one year. Has he ever scored 2000 and grabbed 1000 boards? Nope. Nor has Karl Malone, Nate Thurmond, or any other HOF PF. Only one PF has ever pulled that off: Tim Duncan. And to say that he doesn't get his teammates involved is just stupid. Yes KG handles the ball more on the perimeter. Tim handles the ball on the block. Frequently, his kickout pass goes "around the horn" to find the weakside shooter, so he doesn't get an assist. That doesn't mean he doesn't get his teammates involved.

As for your foolish ring comparisons, those players that you cited were NOT the franchise players of their teams.

Tim 2 > KG 0

Deal with it.

[Gian]

hell no!Efficiency is best achieved by TD.KG is just so selfish that he wants the ball on his hand that he wants to be a f**king guard,forward,center.Sad to say but its true and it is Minnesotas biggest weakness Yo!

[Brodels]

Unreal.


Slow

Garnett is faster than Duncan. But what has it cost Duncan? Duncan does whatever he wants anyway. I mean, Kevin Willis is probably faster than Duncan, too. His lack of foot speed really hasn't cost him.


Bad outside shooter

Duncan is a pretty darn good perimeter shooter. He doesn't shoot off the dribble very much, but he's better than anyone when he can use the glass and he's very solid from the top of the key. What makes you think that Garnett is really that much better from the perimeter?


Horrible FT shooter

That's your only valid point.


doesn't involve his teamates on offense

:lol Insane. No single player gets more open shots for his teammates than Tim Duncan. He doesn't get big assist totals because the ball often has to swing one or more times before the open shot is found. But there is a reason why Bruce Bowen led the league in three point shooting. There is a reason why Hedo and SJax thrived. It's because Tim Duncan is absolutely the best player in the game at getting his teammates open shots.


unable to guard on the perimeter.

Err, he's a power forward/center. He doesn't need to guard on the perimeter. That's like saying that Shaq is worse than Andre Miller because he can't dribble. On the flip side, Garnett's lack of bulk leaves him succeptible to big men with good post games.


Needs the ball to score

Every player that scores a basket in the NBA needs the ball to score that basket.

Besides, Tim Duncan gets a ton of points on putbacks, dunks, and little lob passes into the paint. I'd argue that Garnett is a much less efficient scorer. He doesn't do the little things offensively like Duncan does.

It just comes easier to Duncan.


not as good as rebounder.

What's your evidence here? Rebounding numbers are useful, but Duncan has always played with an above-average big man, something Garnett has never done. There are simply more rebounds for Garnett to get.


can't get his team fired up

Somehow Duncan has got his team fired up enough to win two titles. Garnett has got his team fired up enough to be playoff failures every single season.


doesn't run the break well

Bullshit.


and injury prone.

He's had two injuries of any significance, and he didn't miss tons of time with either. You sometimes get fatigued when you decide to represent your country by playing international ball two summers in a row. It doesn't happen to Garnett because he was too much of a pussy to play in the olympics.

The fact is that Garnett is a very good regular season player. But his body build, perimeter game, and mental intensity render him least effective when if matters most: in crunch time and in the playoffs. There is a reason why Duncan has led his team to two titles. He's efficient, emotionally stable, big and physical, and able to score in the post. Champions can do those things.

For all the hype, Garnett really hasn't led a team anywhere. He had the pieces last season, but he failed just like he's always failed in the playoffs.

For my money, I'll take the efficient, nonflashy, consistent Duncan over the emotionally inconsistent, perimeter-minded Garnett when it counts. And my team will win championships.

[samikeyp]

The homer card could be dropped on people defending TD, but the same could be said for you sick about KG. Just because someone feels differently than you doesn't make them wrong or less smart or a "homer". They just feel differently. You feel KG is better...that is cool, that is your opinion. You are entitled and because its an opinion by definition it cannot be wrong. Some people feel TD is better...that is cool, that is their opinion. They are entitled and because its an opinion by definition it cannot be wrong.

[ShoogarBear]

Categories I will absolutely give KG the edge on:

-Teammates punched
-Teammates pissed off
-Olympics backed out of