Tim Duncan article by Bill Simmons

[coachmac87]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/th...ncan-question/

[BatManu20]

[xtremesteven33]

Damn Simmons loves basketball. He chose to go Game 7 over the Fight on Saturday. Great article.

[Spur|n|Austin]

I bet Duncan is asking himself all of these things. He will disappear this summer, like he always does, and he will remain in shape by swimming and eating plants and doing whatever else aliens do. Some time before July 1, he will share his plan with the Spurs. Only Duncan knows if it will be one year too early. I just know that he’s one of the best basketball players I have ever seen. I hope he comes back. And I hope he doesn’t come back.

[jdiggy0424]

Absolutely fantastic article by Bill Simmons. He hits home with several points throughout. My only issue was that he doesn't include Duncan in his top 5 greatest players ever. It's clear that at this juncture and with Duncan's performance, he's top 5 no question.

I'm also glad that he mentioned the Chris Paul bull body foul on Duncan. I was screaming at my T.V. ing refs I swear the Spurs suffered from piss poor officiating down the stretch in the final 2 games.

Re-living this game through this article made me cringle a little bit lol

[testies]

he's the best sports writer, by far actually

[coachmac87]

That was one of the best things I've read even reliving a defeat...gave me chills...it pretty much summarized spurstalk with the Kawhi-Parker jabs...but bottom line it's Duncan's team. Always has and will be.


I just don't think I'll be ready to deal with it if Duncan just says "I'm done" in a month...

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Damn. Spurs are in four of those best of seven series he mentioned.

[Sean Cagney]

he's the best sports writer, by far actually

He is good, no doubt.

[Spur|n|Austin]

he's the best sports writer, by far actually

Zach Lowe is pretty good too - but I really enjoy Simmons.

[szkorhetz]

[Malik Hairston]

Simmons has been trying so hard to hammer the Duncan > Kobe point the past 2 years, tbh..not that he needs to, since anybody with a brain knows the debate ended last year, but still, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to cement it..

[Dex]

Damn. Spurs are in four of those best of seven series he mentioned.

And they lost all of them.

[crc21209]

Simmons has been trying so hard to hammer the Duncan > Kobe point the past 2 years, tbh..not that he needs to, since anybody with a brain knows the debate ended last year, but still, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to cement it..

And I am damn glad he does it. Because for a long long time all we ever heard from the media was Kobe > Duncan.

[Keepin' it real]

11:30 remaining, fourth quarter (Spurs up 81-79) Patty Mills drains a 3 as 18,000 Clips fans inside Staples Center mutter, I really hope Pop doesn’t realize that he should play Mills over Parker in crunch time.

[DarrinS]

Great read

[wildbill2u]

I love Bill Simmons articles. He's the best basketball sportswriter by far if you like great insights coupled with biting humor. And the links to other sites to prove his points or elaborate on them are great for fans as well. (I loved the link to the drunk Spurs after game party)

And by the way, he took on the controversial subjects like Parker's and Kwahi's performances and their futures with objective comments that cut through the bull about both players. We can all shut up now about those guys after reading this article. He killed it.

[Godbama]

Good article but Lowe >>>>>> Simmons.
Simmons is okay and Lowe can be a dork ultimately but in the end Simmons is just the least annoying/best case scenario version of the generic old "HOT TAKE SPORTS GUY!!!!" sportswriter. Except with constant annoying attempts to get the Celtics involved in every conversation in a really forced and awkward way even if they're not relevant at the moment (guess who keeps dropping stupid hints about Kawhi to the Celtics). He's constantly trying to use his position to create dumb Celtics trade/FA rumors. Dude actually thought they were going to steal a game or two from the Cavs, I don't like reading takes from sportswriters who are obviously fanboys of a team. That's why, their own special weaknesses aside, I'd rather listen to the robotic analytic writer droids on basketball ala Kirk Goldsberry and Zach Lowe than a dude whose analysis is body language and Celtics takes. Lowe just loves basketball as a whole.
hey at least he picked Kawhi as DPOY and hates the Lakers, I guess.

[FromWayDowntown]

Simmons has been trying so hard to hammer the Duncan > Kobe point the past 2 years, tbh..not that he needs to, since anybody with a brain knows the debate ended last year, but still, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to cement it..

It's a refreshing change from the Worldwide Leader. As silly as it sounds, Simmons' efforts will ensure that 20 years from now, when people try to reconstruct how the public perceived Duncan and Kobe -- and when the intangibles each brought to the table will be harder to remember -- there will be a record to meticulously describe things about Duncan that stats can't describe. Bill's right -- there's a beauty to watching Tim Duncan play that doesn't get reflected in box score numbers or advanced metrics. His numbers are great, particularly in the ulative sense, but his greatness can't ever be defined just by his numbers; they don't tell even half of the story of Tim Duncan's excellence.

Simmons is ensuring (whether on purpose or not) that the next generation doesn't lose that understanding and doesn't discount it as just some "back in my day" tall-tale told by a bitter old-timers.

[Richie]

Zach Lowe is pretty good too - but I really enjoy Simmons.

Lowe and Simmons are the best basketball writers right now that I know the names of, but I normally love anything Sports Illustrated ever writes about the Spurs.

[hitmantb]

Simmons is the most entertaining sports writer by a long mile.

"Patty Mills drains a 3 as 18,000 Clips fans inside Staples Center mutter, I really hope Pop doesn’t realize that he should play Mills over Parker in crunch time. "

[Tuddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/070509

i think this old article sums up Simmons opinion of TD

[spurs1990]

He's right about those Spurs series being the best for objective fans.

Can ya'll think of any better ones than 2006 Dallas, 2013 Miami, and LA 2015.

Pity we lost every one.

At least we'll have 2003 LA, 2005 Phoenix, 2007 Cleveland, 2013 Memphis, and 2014 Miami to crow about.

[Taking it to the Hole]

I love Simmons. He sees the Spurs as what they truly are and understands what basketball is really about. A part of me really wants to see Duncan go out on a high which is why I was surprised when he came back for this season. I could have really understood if he had retired after last year. He had nothing else to prove this year but he just loves the game so much. I was really disappointed this season to see the lack of inspiration from many of the Spurs players especially some of the starters. Whether fatigue, injuries, and just general hunger for a repeat were an issue, who knows? Duncan was always steadfast and if he had a bad game, he took it hard. This has always been Duncan's team and to me I want to see him leave on his terms and so if this it for him, he has earned the right to say goodbye but I truly think he wants one last shot. It is amazing. He is nearly 40 years old and plays with more fire and passion then players half his age.

I think Kawhi needs to mature and not fear his potential. I think Parker needs to admit that he is no longer the player he once was and take a reduced role and I think Manu needs to retire because he has given us all he can and he doesn't have anything left to give. All of these players are part of a legacy of greatness. Our city once could never fathom the possibility of being NBA champions once...but this franchise has given us this gift 5 times and we are spoiled as a city. We expect greatness every year, but as fans, sometimes we need to step back and look at the bigger picture and realize that what we want is not always possible to have. That being said, no other franchise has done more for a city then our Spurs have done for San Antonio and I am proud to have witnessed so many memorable moments as a fan of this team.

[Phenomanul]

It's a refreshing change from the Worldwide Leader. As silly as it sounds, Simmons' efforts will ensure that 20 years from now, when people try to reconstruct how the public perceived Duncan and Kobe -- and when the intangibles each brought to the table will be harder to remember -- there will be a record to meticulously describe things about Duncan that stats can't describe. Bill's right -- there's a beauty to watching Tim Duncan play that doesn't get reflected in box score numbers or advanced metrics. His numbers are great, particularly in the ulative sense, but his greatness can't ever be defined just by his numbers; they don't tell even half of the story of Tim Duncan's excellence.

Simmons is ensuring (whether on purpose or not) that the next generation doesn't lose that understanding and doesn't discount it as just some "back in my day" tall-tale told by a bitter old-timers.

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