People with anti-Duncan agendas like to point out the Spurs success this year as evidence that Duncan was overrated. However, Aldridge was brought in as Duncan's replacement, not Kawhi. If the system was so great for a big like Duncan, Aldridge who has been a multi-year all-star before Pop, would be elevated to great like Duncan. Pop runs a great system that props up role players, but arguable holds back star players while those role players get expanded roles. To truly shine in Pop's system, you have to be truly great. Duncan was truly great, so he actually shined. Kawhi is truly great, so he shines. Aldridge was just a star but not a great superstar, so he is not shining. Similarly, Richard Jefferson was a near all-star when he joined the Spurs, but had a massive drop despite still being in his 20s when he joined. Jefferson was nearly as productive at age 33 on a different team as he was at 29 fresh off a 20ppg season when he joined the Spurs.
Tim wasn't a star. He wasn't a HoFer. He was a GOAT candidate. So yeah, he's many tiers above LMA and honestly any extant big. But Tim also got to play in a big-friendly NBA in his prime. LMA is struggling because one, he's not being assertive and two, the Spurs have almost no ball movement. Look at his Game Three footage compared to Game Five. Just a completely different way of getting the ball.
Yes, Pop's system is good.. but it does tend to get overrated to the detriment of the actual players.
What the system actually does is get them the ball in spots, and in positions they can succeed in, but it's the players who execute that or not, and who are able to do something great with the ball once they are in their spots.
Timmy.
He was just great..
No further proof is needed to establish duncan's greatness. Anyone who isnt on board with duncan being great and at worst a top 5 player of all time just doesnt understand the game.
Duncan carried pop, no doubt.
That said, to be fair LA is a bit past his prime and seems to be hurt or something
"Big friendly NBA"
Duncan can post up on smaller defenders at will. That would never fly with him.
Can we please stop posting stupid guys.
The star players that succeed the most in the system are the players that are willing to go out of the system to make a necessary play.
do you every post in somones thread or do you have to start a thread
Tim scored over guards at will on switches. But those rarely happened. The greatness comes with Tim being able to pass out of double teams. LMA is surprisingly bad at punishing doubles.
only re ed Laker fans go with the Pop, the System transform goats (the animal) into a great bb player... Manu, Tim, Parker, Kawhi... all those guys would have great careers in any team they would have played with surely better individual stats and probably less silvers...
Also it is dumb to say Tim made Pop or Pop would be nothing without Tim... Pop is a great coach no matter what... Spurs dominance is just the enconter of a great coach, a great organization with great players
TD almost never made a mistake on defense and offense was fundamentally sound.
It'd be interesting to see how Tim would have adapted. We know he'd have been successful no matter what era he played in, but would he have been able to keep his size and still have the stamina/quickness to be able to play in a modern defensive scheme? He might have had to slim down earlier in his career if he saw himself being more effective for the team that way...which would probably cut into his stats.
He's a good passer so I doubt he'd be a turnover machine like Cousins. (Or Whiteside if they force fed him). Pop is the kind of guy who would still build an offense around Tim instead of going all in on the layup/3 point spam people do nowadays. But if he had another coach, who knows?
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