Spurs rated top frontcourt by ESPN insider

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Originally Posted by SpursFan86

Our backcourt is especially better if you take into account the bench. Mills is a top 3 bench PG and Manu is the best bench guy in the league...so our rotation of Parker/Green/Mills/Manu is pretty crazy. I think ESPN is just focusing on the starters though.

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THis. Plus just based on the starters I'd have us ranked in the Top 4 at worst. Both Parker (as an all-timer) and Green (in general) are underrated. Green's defense is excellent, and when he's hot on the 3, he may be the best "3 and D" guy in the league. I'd rather have him than Reddick. So, to have the Clippers #1 and the Spurs unranked, is just a slap in the face. Not sure how many championships Tony has to win before he's even in discussion with Paul, who has yet to make a conference finals, but you know how it goes. Green's d is nearly as good as Leonard''s and having both of them on the perimeter is just plain smothering to opponents.

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Originally Posted by BillMc

THis. Plus just based on the starters I'd have us ranked in the Top 4 at worst. Both Parker (as an all-timer) and Green (in general) are underrated. Green's defense is excellent, and when he's hot on the 3, he may be the best "3 and D" guy in the league. I'd rather have him than Reddick. So, to have the Clippers #1 and the Spurs unranked, is just a slap in the face. Not sure how many championships Tony has to win before he's even in discussion with Paul, who has yet to make a conference finals, but you know how it goes. Green's d is nearly as good as Leonard''s and having both of them on the perimeter is just plain smothering to opponents.

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I agree about Green, he's very underrated, he's the very definition of 3 and D. I'd even say his defense is better than Kawhi's, as he can guard PGs and smaller and quicker SGs and while Kawhi's better on the bigger SFs like LeBron, Green's transition D is top 2 in the league, while Kawhi's is above average. What works great, though, is the combo of them two on the perimeter.

THAT BACKCOURT LIST LMFAO

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Originally Posted by exstatic

Tim doesn't defend Aldridge, Tiago does.

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more like he raped him without condom all night long.

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Originally Posted by Raven

more like he raped him without condom all night long.

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You must have watched a very different playoff series than I did.

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Originally Posted by 100%duncan

THAT BACKCOURT LIST LMFAO

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Glad I'm not the only one who thought that. Redickulously gay, tbh.

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Originally Posted by exstatic

You must have watched a very different playoff series than I did.

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Tiago raped Aldridge.

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Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that. Redickulously gay, tbh.

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I know right? They should also put in perspective the whole backcourt line up, Parker-Green-Ginobili-Mills-Beli might be the deepest backcourt rotation in the league imho.

And if we're speaking of just the starting line up, TP and Green would wreck the top 3 in 2 on 2 :lol

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Originally Posted by littlecoyotecoin

The fact is Duncan could still give us 36 minutes a game if he didn't have to play in the playoffs. Love never has to worry about that, now does he. Love is a paper tiger at this point. Not one playoff series, where defense plays a larger role? I don't know that he is as horrible at defense as he's made out to be, but I do believe he'll get exploited. He can put up some monster games in the regular season, offensively, and we won't see that from Duncan anymore, but until Love does something more than score a bunch of points as the first option on a perennially weak team that never made the playoffs, it's difficult to take him as seriously as some do. He is in the perfect situation, now. A place where he doesn't have to take his team to the playoffs, the weak East, with a genuine superstar that can do it for him.

I would, of course, agree that Love will put up better numbers than Duncan at this point in his career, and that may translate to Love being a "better player", but the advantage isn't as great for Love over Tim as the numbers would indicate. Would be great to watch the Old Man 'splain it in June. Right when it's close, during a closeout game, watching Tim set a match to a paper tiger with an up and under to put the game away.

When does the season begin?

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This. If Tim isn't worrying about the playoffs, I could see him putting up 20/10 averages during the regular season, playing 33-35 minutes a game. Also, if Tim was allowed to play "Kevin Love" defense, his offense would be even closer to Love's numbers.

It is popular for people to do player comparisons "X vs Y". But this is really little more than intellectual masturbation except for very comparable players. The question is - what do you need for your team. If you need volume scoring or boards above all else, and have a decent rim protector, then maybe you take Love.

But, if you need elite rim protection, playoff experience, leadership, high BB IQ, above-average passing, and elite offensive skill that can be relied upon in a pinch (but not volume scoring), then Tim Duncan is an easy choice to make over Kevin Love. Honestly, it isn't even close. One is among the top 10 players all time (top 5 IMO), one is a very good regular season All-Star. Age of course matters as Love will last many more years, but we are talking about current level of skill.

In Game 6 overtime against OKC, if KLove where in TD's shoes, I see KLove chucking up 3's that clank off the rim. Duncan instead goes to his elite low-post skills against Ibaka, one of the best (if not the best) weak-side shotblockers in the league, and a terror on the court, and uses perfect skill to go into Ibaka's body and take away the shotblocking and make the bucket.

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Originally Posted by Perry Mason

This. If Tim isn't worrying about the playoffs, I could see him putting up 20/10 averages during the regular season, playing 33-35 minutes a game. Also, if Tim was allowed to play "Kevin Love" defense, his offense would be even closer to Love's numbers.

It is popular for people to do player comparisons "X vs Y". But this is really little more than intellectual masturbation except for very comparable players. The question is - what do you need for your team. If you need volume scoring or boards above all else, and have a decent rim protector, then maybe you take Love.

But, if you need elite rim protection, playoff experience, leadership, high BB IQ, above-average passing, and elite offensive skill that can be relied upon in a pinch (but not volume scoring), then Tim Duncan is an easy choice to make over Kevin Love. Honestly, it isn't even close. One is among the top 10 players all time (top 5 IMO), one is a very good regular season All-Star. Age of course matters as Love will last many more years, but we are talking about current level of skill.

In Game 6 overtime against OKC, if KLove where in TD's shoes, I see KLove chucking up 3's that clank off the rim. Duncan instead goes to his elite low-post skills against Ibaka, one of the best (if not the best) weak-side shotblockers in the league, and a terror on the court, and uses perfect skill to go into Ibaka's body and take away the shotblocking and make the bucket.

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:tu

Is jj Redick seriously considered to be a starter in the best backcourt? :lmao

Also why does everyone add another d to his last name?

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Originally Posted by spurraider21

Also why does everyone add another d to his last name?

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So far, I've seen one post in this thread where somebody did that. The rest of us spelled it correctly.

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Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

So far, I've seen one post in this thread where somebody did that. The rest of us spelled it correctly.

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i see it elsewhere all the time... so when i saw somebody here do it i just thought i'd bring it up. carry on...

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Originally Posted by Perry Mason

In Game 6 overtime against OKC, if KLove where in TD's shoes, I see KLove chucking up 3's that clank off the rim. Duncan instead goes to his elite low-post skills against Ibaka, one of the best (if not the best) weak-side shotblockers in the league, and a terror on the court, and uses perfect skill to go into Ibaka's body and take away the shotblocking and make the bucket.

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Tim knowing it was his time because OKC left Ibaka alone for the slaughter was the fine moment.
Then actually carrying out the slaughter, getting Tim in position for the execution, was another.
A sequence of beauty.

Sean's overuse of "the torture chamber ", as an announcer, was justified after the aforementioned sequence.

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Originally Posted by spurraider21

i see it elsewhere all the time... so when i saw somebody here do it i just thought i'd bring it up. carry on...

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Fair enough. He's not really popular enough to get his name right. It's not like he's actually part of the best backcourt in the NBA.

JJ fucking Redick??? :lmao

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Originally Posted by Perry Mason

In Game 6 overtime against OKC, if KLove where in TD's shoes, I see KLove chucking up 3's that clank off the rim. Duncan instead goes to his elite low-post skills against Ibaka, one of the best (if not the best) weak-side shotblockers in the league, and a terror on the court, and uses perfect skill to go into Ibaka's body and take away the shotblocking and make the bucket.

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I love Duncan, and I think he's still in that elite group of players that falls behind LeBron and Durant, but that's not fair. You're used to watch the Wolves' Love. He didn't have shooters and scorers around him to be able to take his man one-on-one in the low post at crunch time without defenses collapsing on him. Put Duncan alongside Rubio, Brewer and Pekovic, and let's see if he can operate in the low post as confortably as he did in that Game 6.

I expect Love's numbers to noticeably fall in Cleveland. He should take it, since he finally should be winning.

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Originally Posted by Genjuro

I love Duncan, and I think he's still in that elite group of players that falls behind LeBron and Durant, but that's not fair. You're used to watch the Wolves' Love. He didn't have shooters and scorers around him to be able to take his man one-on-one in the low post at crunch time without defenses collapsing on him. Put Duncan alongside Rubio, Brewer and Pekovic, and let's see if he can operate in the low post as confortably as he did in that Game 6.

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The difference between 2014 Tim Duncan and 1995 David Robinson, tbh.

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Originally Posted by exstatic

Varajao is great, but he'll probably play 40-50 games.

Perkins is trash, and should be considered an empty position. Not even Durant is good enough to elevate this front court into the top 3. I call bullshit on this one.

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Literally the first thing I thought when I read his name.

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Originally Posted by Spur|n|Austin

Literally the first thing I thought when I read his name.

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They have no reason to shut him down if the Cavs aren't 20 games out of first place. We might be surprised at how healthy a guy gets when he has something to play for in January.

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Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

They have no reason to shut him down if the Cavs aren't 20 games out of first place. We might be surprised at how healthy a guy gets when he has something to play for in January.

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He's played in 146 out of a Possible 328 games over the last 4 years. I don't think they're just shutting him down.

Would it be fair to say that the Spurs are, top to bottom, the deepest team in the NBA, and by a substantial margin?

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Originally Posted by exstatic

He's played in 146 out of a Possible 328 games over the last 4 years. I don't think they're just shutting him down.

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Good point, but they've also won 97 out of 328 games in those 4 years. They certainly haven't had anything to fight through injury for. Also, it's a bizarre coincidence that he and Kyrie Irving were the only guys in the league to miss time with an AC joint sprain.

They brought AV off the bench at one point when he was healthy, so getting minutes for him wasn't as big a priority as ping pong balls, imo.

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Originally Posted by Genjuro

I love Duncan, and I think he's still in that elite group of players that falls behind LeBron and Durant, but that's not fair. You're used to watch the Wolves' Love. He didn't have shooters and scorers around him to be able to take his man one-on-one in the low post at crunch time without defenses collapsing on him. Put Duncan alongside Rubio, Brewer and Pekovic, and let's see if he can operate in the low post as confortably as he did in that Game 6.

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You are making the wrong comparison. The question is what would KLove do in TD's situation? Based on what I have seen of KLove, he has a tendency to take contested three pointers in tight game situations when another move or pass is also available.

If KLove needs time to come in and adjust to the Spurs system and get more proficient in the post, that just proves my point that today, KLove is not a player who could replicate (on a results basis) what Tim brought in the playoffs.