I don't think that chippy shot that Duncan missed at the rim will affect him or his legacy the way it would have affected Kobe. Kobe in all his Picasso artistry would have never lived it down, personally or from the fans and media. If this was to be Lebronze's year then fine. Perhaps the Achilles rupture was a Kobe legacy saver that we all didn't realize at the time. Why? Because we didn't have the personnel to beat Miami with Gasol playing like he does since his presence alone makes Chris Bosh's pussy get wet. There is no way in that Dwight could have played at the level that Duncan did these play-offs...he just doesn't have any offensive game that Duncan has...Bosh looked like he knew he was ed all series when he matched up against Duncan.. was funny to watch...and lasty no way Nash would have completely rendered the backcourt of Miami useless like Parker did...in other words the Spurs should be proud of Duncan and Parker those two played brilliantly (not perfectly) from a pure X's and O's perspective. Lebron was really just lucky Ray Allen after the shovel pass....I saw nothing he did spectacular to be the SPurs...they beat themselves...
Dude, hypothetically, even if they get past the Spurs and GSW (which they don't have any problem beating) that Memphis team would run a train on D'Antoni's ass. Clippers and Memphis are the Lakers achilles all season long. D'Antoni will make great effort to run down that roster deep in the playoffs tbh.
you're missing the point....I'm not debating whether we could be any of those teams...I'm just assessing how things would have turned out had it been the Lakers representing the West in the finals. Kobe not just losing but missing that shot and the course of his legacy changes...this loss is not to bad for the Spurs...they by all intents beat the Heat...and their are not in their primes any longer...the SPurs never lost a finals in their prime...
win or lose would change kobes legacy, just like lebron
whats funni is fkn wankers trying to blame duncan when TP gets a free pass for no apparent reason...\
losing the finals doesnt change duncans legacy, winning would change his legacy cause his doing as a 37yr old
. Yeah, agree with you Kool 100%. Duncan could afford that miss. Kobe not so. The media, basketball pundits will crush him. Heck, they'll probably dig that old Ray Allen -Kobe feud and beat that to death.
Fittingly, the two greatest players of their generation went down heroically. Kobe busted his Achilles trying to will the Lakers into the post-season to make a run. And Duncan put up an improbable game 6 performance that nearly led the Spurs to triumph, and then came back after the most emotionally devastating loss a team can experience with a mighty effort that concluded with the missed shot that will "haunt him."
There's a parallel here. Kobe's body, pushed to exhaustion, failed him in the waning moments, while Duncan's psyche, strained to the limit, failed him, broken down by the demons of game 6.
Like a Greek tragedy really.
duncan has nothing to prove win or lose
unlike kobe and lebron who are still jolting around who will climb up the top10 lists....
duncan is already ahead of them anyway
what i dont like about lebron is, he needs a superteam to win even against the declining talent/age of the west power house teams, for his championship runs i was never impressed who he played against in the easts, getting pushed by a fkn hawks team, a roseless bulls, a celtics team is just pathetic
hawks and roseless teams would be lucky to push any of t he west power house teams
Great narrative. Reminds me of how great the 98-06 era was.
We get to see these in their prime
Duncan
Shaq
Mutombo
Kidd
Zo
KG
Iverson
Dirk
Nash
Kobe
Carter
Tmac
Arenas
Webber
Manu
Wade
Then upcoming stars like Bron, Melo, CP3, D Will, Dwight were all right there too, Steve Francis, Mashburn, Marbury, Sheed, Ray Allen, Stoudemire, Malice at the palace, rape case made it inreresting too. As a bonus, Jordan gave us a few seasons of highlight.
Last edited by StrengthAndHonor; 06-23-2013 at 09:24 AM.
arenas was bull after he receive that max contract and blowing out his knee...dude didnt even live up to any hype surrounded him
the east is getting stronger...I just really don't see how Miami 3 peats..if they do then I will finally give Lebron credit...but Rose has been out, Granger out...and in my view they're barely beating these teams.
I will trade u Gasol or Dwight plus any other player on our team (outside of Kobe) for Duncan will you accept?
on paper those eastern teams look good, but they play like horse ...rose bulls, carmelo knicks, george pacers...thats only 3 teams, everyone else in the easts is just a walk in the parker for the heat....
hence those 3 teams will be lucky to push any of the western teams seeded 4-8 to a full 7 game series...
those east teams have enough to beat Miami....Pacers and Bulls specifically...I expect them to come back strong and motivated...the heat will see just how hard it is to 3 peat...and especially when those teams have pretty much taken them to the max without their star players
Which would be totally unfair.
I hate the media and fans obsession with "clutch." This belief that the only plays that matter come in the final moments of a game and are the plays that define a player's legacy. If the Spurs held on in Game 6, Tony Parker's abysmal game would've been forgotten because of the two clutch shots he hit. If he simply played up to par, the Spurs are winning by double digits and there would be no opportunity for a "clutch moment." Furthermore, the Spurs didn't lose that game in the final seconds or even at the line, they lost in the opening of the 4th quarter when Popovich had one of his Frankenstein lineups on the floor and the Heat went on a quick 7-0 run.
A basketball game is a series of interconnected events, one influencing another, and not a collection of individual moments that "mean more" than any others, because ultimately, points scored in the last seconds count just as much as points scored in the 1st quarter.
It's endemic of the highlight culture that sports have been reduced to post-Jordan, appealing to the human tendency toward selective memory.
Duncan was 8-16 from the field and perfect from the line before the missed chip and tip. To respond like that after Game 6 is the definition of "clutch." He just happened to miss at the wrong moment in time.
/rant about "clutch"
No wayI will trade u Gasol or Dwight plus any other player on our team (outside of Kobe) for Duncan will you accept?
For some reason, though, I have a feeling Leonard will wind up a Laker someday.
heat will strill be strong if they can find a legit center chasing a ring...
I understand your point...but for the media it's all about showing Kobe..Mr Arrogant up...he misses that shot and he's done...Lebron misses that shot and they cover it over....Duncan misses that shot and they forget about it because he's earned good will over the years...
I thought he was still pretty good after he signed. It was after the gun incident followed by another knee injury that totaly ed his career. Nobody found him funny anymore while recovering and thatreally depressed him while on rehab.
we're so ed with those guys..they're both pure garbage in my view..(no hyperbole)No way
For some reason, though, I have a feeling Leonard will wind up a Laker someday.
he could still be a spot up shooter in the league, but he has become total bull
Mid with the goods again tbh. Saved me a buck 25 by skipping the newspaper sports section to enjoy a good read.
True. Fwiw, I heard he did a bit better in China
i never understand players who blow out knees or anything think they cant play in the league, you dont need to have monster athletic abilities for a role player, as long ur knee holds up running up and down the court is all its needed...
guys like roy, oden, livingston, arena could still be playing today if they had adjusted their skillset ...
That's the media for you. They look for stories where there really shouldn't be any.
Right now, I'm looking through Kobe's '09 playoff run, the best of his career, and out of 23 fourth quarters played, he led all 4 quarters scorers only 6 times. He was consistent throughout every quarter during that run. Point being, consistency throughout an entire game is just as valuable, if not more so, than waiting until the 4th quarter to show up.
I'm beginning to wonder if someone hacked into Mid's account.
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