AFE7FATMAN
05-30-2007, 05:50 PM
Quality Basketball
Posted by Bill Russell on May 29, 2007, 5:45 p.m. ET
If You Like Good Basketball, You Should Like the Spurs
If you want to see a good team play, you watch the Spurs. People who complain otherwise are just trying to find something negative to talk about. How is it that a team is winning, but you don’t like the way they’re winning? To me that seems kind of dumb.
Neither the Lakers with Magic nor the Bulls with Michael looked the same. Anybody who doesn’t like watching Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Ginobili play might want to seek help. They might need a therapist.
Tim Duncan Boring? Definitely Not
The same goes for those people that say Tim Duncan is boring to watch. Just look at how many championships Tim Duncan has won. That should tell you something. If he wins four or five championships, to say that he is boring is like comparing Da Vinci and Picasso. They were both geniuses with two different styles.
When Tim Duncan was a rookie, I said he was the most efficient player in the league at the time. In watching him play, he has the least wasted motion and emotion. He is terribly, terribly efficient. Everything he does had a purpose. I love watching him.
Don’t Only Judge A Player By His Numbers
If you go by conventional methods – points, rebounds and assists – Tim Duncan’s numbers never reflect the way he plays. He is one of the few guys that the way he plays, the other team has to pay for that. The other team is penalized by the way he plays with or without the ball. I’ve said before one of the most important skills is being a good passer. However, a good pass, doesn’t always result in an assist. Some people say, 'Well the guy made a pass that resulted in a layup, so that’s a good pass.'
But a good pass is a pass to make plays, not a pass to get rid of the ball. Duncan makes good passes to make plays. Not all of them necessarily go to making an assist. Many times his initial pass sets up the motion that the Spurs want for their offense. Usually he determines the pace of their game by his passing. If you notice, you see less one-on-one when he is playing. That is one of the good things about that team. With different guys on the floor, they play different. They don’t try to have the guy who checked in play like the guy that he substituted for.
Let The Duncan Historical Comparisons Wait For Retirement
Where does Tim Duncan rank among the best big men of all-time? I can’t say since I never look at a guy historically while he is playing because you don’t know what he is going to do in his remaining years. His body of work is not yet complete. Remember they were questioning Steve Nash winning the MVP because he hadn’t won a championship? Looking at it now, you can say that was not only incorrect, but unintelligent.
For me, I watched George Mikan play as a high school kid. I felt privileged to watch these great guys play. Every one of them is unique and none of them plays like anyone else. Instead of trying to figure out how good they are, I think you should just enjoy watching them play. Wilt and I played center completely different. Oscar, Magic and Michael Jordan played guard completely different. Larry and Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit played forward completely different.
...snip..
http://www.nba.com/playoffs2007/news/billrussell_postseason.html
Posted by Bill Russell on May 29, 2007, 5:45 p.m. ET
If You Like Good Basketball, You Should Like the Spurs
If you want to see a good team play, you watch the Spurs. People who complain otherwise are just trying to find something negative to talk about. How is it that a team is winning, but you don’t like the way they’re winning? To me that seems kind of dumb.
Neither the Lakers with Magic nor the Bulls with Michael looked the same. Anybody who doesn’t like watching Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Ginobili play might want to seek help. They might need a therapist.
Tim Duncan Boring? Definitely Not
The same goes for those people that say Tim Duncan is boring to watch. Just look at how many championships Tim Duncan has won. That should tell you something. If he wins four or five championships, to say that he is boring is like comparing Da Vinci and Picasso. They were both geniuses with two different styles.
When Tim Duncan was a rookie, I said he was the most efficient player in the league at the time. In watching him play, he has the least wasted motion and emotion. He is terribly, terribly efficient. Everything he does had a purpose. I love watching him.
Don’t Only Judge A Player By His Numbers
If you go by conventional methods – points, rebounds and assists – Tim Duncan’s numbers never reflect the way he plays. He is one of the few guys that the way he plays, the other team has to pay for that. The other team is penalized by the way he plays with or without the ball. I’ve said before one of the most important skills is being a good passer. However, a good pass, doesn’t always result in an assist. Some people say, 'Well the guy made a pass that resulted in a layup, so that’s a good pass.'
But a good pass is a pass to make plays, not a pass to get rid of the ball. Duncan makes good passes to make plays. Not all of them necessarily go to making an assist. Many times his initial pass sets up the motion that the Spurs want for their offense. Usually he determines the pace of their game by his passing. If you notice, you see less one-on-one when he is playing. That is one of the good things about that team. With different guys on the floor, they play different. They don’t try to have the guy who checked in play like the guy that he substituted for.
Let The Duncan Historical Comparisons Wait For Retirement
Where does Tim Duncan rank among the best big men of all-time? I can’t say since I never look at a guy historically while he is playing because you don’t know what he is going to do in his remaining years. His body of work is not yet complete. Remember they were questioning Steve Nash winning the MVP because he hadn’t won a championship? Looking at it now, you can say that was not only incorrect, but unintelligent.
For me, I watched George Mikan play as a high school kid. I felt privileged to watch these great guys play. Every one of them is unique and none of them plays like anyone else. Instead of trying to figure out how good they are, I think you should just enjoy watching them play. Wilt and I played center completely different. Oscar, Magic and Michael Jordan played guard completely different. Larry and Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit played forward completely different.
...snip..
http://www.nba.com/playoffs2007/news/billrussell_postseason.html