OP is a smart guy. I'm not even sure where I stand on this one.![]()
<OOPS> Meant 2003 Duncan
Points, efficiency, and they're similarly elite on defense. Duncan of course had more rebounds and blocks being a 6'11" PF/C (PF only when David or Kevin Willis was out there with him, center otherwise) but Kawhi's impact is just as magnanimous. Kawhi's more of an impact player than Duncan ever was on offense and just as good on defense (but different).
As for the MVP race, Kawhi is the best overall lone wolf superstar in the NBA, forget Westbrick's fake triple doubles he puts above winning, forget Harden's matador show on defense. Obviously Lebron, Curry, Durant, Irving are out due to same-team cannibalization.
Kawhi is the MVP of the NBA.
OP is a smart guy. I'm not even sure where I stand on this one.![]()
That 2003 team is better than the one Kawhi has now. He would have to have one of the greatest playoff runs ever if Kawhi wins a Championship.
2003 Tim was a Top 5 ever player...
2017 Kiwi is arguably a Top 7 regular season player this season
Still Tim.
Tim carried that weak ass team to a championship ( compe ion was weak though)
Best Spurs season ( Modern era.)
03 - Tim
02 - Tim
95 - Robinson
17 - Leonard
05 - Tim
05 - Ginobili
12 - Tony
94 - Robinson
No one else really matters. Certainly not a 70s player.
how can you rank his season when the season isn't even over yet lol could easily be another 1st or 2nd rd exit incoming
2016 UNT > 2017 UNT
One year he had a job the next year he didn't.
I was actually looking at some stats yesterday as I thought Kawhi isn't shooting to well on the road. Anyway, I saw that his FG% is about the same at home and on the road, which is good IMO, but his 3P% on the road takes a pretty big hit. He shoots 33% on the road Vs 47% at home. He takes more threes on the road too. I think he should look at cutting down some on his 3 point shooting away from home. Either that, or he needs to get his consistency up closer to his home 3 point shooting percentage.
btw, don't give a crap about what the OP is on about. TD was legendary in 2003. Kawhi was probably watching Tim destroy his Lakers back then as a kid. The OP also seems to put Tim down a lot and try and diminish him in any way that he can. I think he's a troll that takes subtle jabs at Tim any chance that he gets.
Love Kawhi, but 2003 Tim was an absolute monster, and not only that, we ran almost every play exclusively through him (4-down).
In hindsight, that was a very good team, but Manu was a rook, we started the season with Steve Smith, Tony wasn't necessarily stellar yet, and we had bad-back DRob.
Kawhi would certainly approach that level of greatness if he had a signature series in the playoffs like Tim vs the defending three-peat champs Lakers that year.
I think some are reading the le of the thread wrong. And the usual Kawhi haters being their selves.
Leonard is already the greatest SF in Spurs history, but Tim Duncan had easily the greatest season in team history in 2003.
That team was piss-poor after Timmy, but he managed to carry a bunch of inexperienced (Tony, Manu & Jackson) and over the hill players (Smith, Kerr, Robinson & Willis) to the promise land.
Switch that Duncan with this Kawhi and the Spurs don't ring in 2003, but I absolutely think the Spurs would be better than they are now if 2003 Duncan replaced 2017 Kawhi.
Kawhi has been wonderful this year, but Duncan nearly single handedly carried that team to a le.
A better comparison would be '02 Duncan with '17 Kawhi. Both at age 25. Statistically they are quite similar, except Kawhi is having a 50-40-90 shooting season.
Duncan was a more dominant player, though. I was a massive Duncan fan, but I've also become a huge Kawhi fan in recent years. I don't think I'll ever like an athlete as much as Tim, but Kawhi has come as close as possible.
No they wont because this team has Gasol and Lma 40 mullion down the drain with 2 tosbs in manu and parker with no creators in the backcourt.
2003 tim is GOAT stuff so lets just put it at that.
Kawhi has been the man the last 2 years with stellar numbers last year too and with great a great team/coach around:
- Twice he doesn't get past the second round
- Twice he shrink when It counts in the last games of the playoff
- He has great numbers in a year where the likes of Harden and Westbrook are putting all time great number.
He is nowhere near peak Duncan. Not even close.
Not even close.
You can even cite era differences and won't be able to have a argument, since Duncan in 2014 was actually still the Spurs best player in the post-season. Now imagine a prime '03 Duncan on that 2014 team or even last season's team when he went out with a 19 point game at 40 years old on no knees. He was also the best player in the 2015 Clippers series when Kawhi kind of folded down the stretch in that series as Duncan was making Blake and DeMonkey his es.
Now if Kawhi goes Hakeem on the league and runs the Harden, Durant, Lebron perimeter player gauntlet, outplaying each of them, enroute to a le, yeah, I'll crown his season as the greatest ever by a Spur.
^That said, since GS is so stupidly stacked, Kawhi probably won't even get the chance to challenge '03 Duncan. Kawhi could average 40 in the series and it probably won't be enough.
The le is wrong, as the OP said.
Tim hasn't been gone a year, and people are already forgetting how good he was.
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