you just sat here talking about how he is carrying the spurs singlehandedly this season and isnt getting much help. so that pretty much tells me that the spurs need him to score more, but he obviously isnt doing that
the guy simply isnt able to do those things anymore at this point. yeah he can explode from time to time, but he cant keep it up consistently.
like i said... he obviously needs to do more, but isnt. if he can do more like you say he is capable of doing, why isnt he? if he had been, its likely the team wouldnt just be 12-9. injuries and inconsistency around him are no excuse, as the mavs have had just as much, if not more of an issue surrounding dirk in regards to injuries and inconsistency, but dirk has battled through and weathered the storm, keeping his team near the top of the NBA.
He's doing what he usually does in the regular season, but his supporting cast isn't. Popovich, Buford and Duncan are not panicking over the fact that it's December 15th and they're 12-9.
they wouldnt be getting those kinds of open looks though is my point. duncan does not command double teams like he used to, or the way dirk does. you keep forgetting that obviously. duncan can consistently be guarded one-on-one these days. yeah he will get his 18-22 points, but you dont have to really worry about him torching you too badly either, whereas dirk is a guy you worry about going off for 40 or 50 any night and you cannot let him get into a groove.
He's pacing himself for an 82-game grind. He's not going to go into Game 7 of the Finals mode every night so they can be 14-7 instead of 12-9. The Spurs aren't the kind of franchise that freaks out over being 12-9. They'll be fine.
and whats funny is that, as well as dirk has been playing, even he clearly has been half-assing it quite a bit this year, only kicking into another gear when the team needs him to. yet he still has been lighting it up. wait until after the all-star break. like he has done the past several year, dirk too will kick it up a notch.
A spur fan said it best just yesterday, I can't remember which one it was. He said something along the lines of "Dirk has been better than Duncan for 2 years now and is working on a 3rd." When a spurfan, a member of the biggest homer fanbase on the planet, admits that your player is better than their GOAT, you know there's some kind of truth to it
i agree
and dirk isnt doing that either. hes only kicking it up when his team needs him in games that are winnable. other than that, he has been playing very half-assed.
How many Spurs games do you watch? Yes, he still draws doubles. Not every single possession. Dirk doesn't draw double teams every single possession.
I agree. At times this year he's looked terrible, he started the season shooting like 44%. And at other times, like the last 3 trips down the court vs Charlotte, he went beastmode.
Well so far the Mavs have better cohesion and chemistry on the court than the Spurs do. Dallas has also won almost all their games decided by 5 points or less. A lot of that is a function of luck. Expect it to even out over the course of an 82-game season. I'm just saying, it wouldn't surprise me if the Spurs gradually jell and then come April they finish 55-27.
Dirk has been an offensive monster these past 3/4 years, i'd take Dirks offense over Duncans. Defense is a different story, Dirk has improved his a lot since he came into the league but even now i'd give the nod to Duncan.
Overall i'd give Dirk a very slight edge, but you can't really go wrong with either of them.
i watch plenty. how many do you watch?
yeah, from time to time he does, but i said not nearly the way that dirk does. and its obvious that hes not as dangerous as he used to be.
That's my point. You can make an argument for either one of them. A lot of it would also depend on what kind of team you have around them. With Timmy, you want spot-up shooters and slashers. With Dirk you want guys who can create their own shot like Terry and Howard.
His defense is still better than Dirk's, and when the games slow down in the playoffs into a half-court grind, you might be better off with Duncan. My only point is that it is not clear-cut either way which one is 'better' at this point. I think it's a tossup.
an honest post i can agree with. Duncan is a damn good player and all good players eventually grow older and lose a step, although duncan has aged gracefully and that step was a very small one.seriously, you should post more often. i get tired of listening to the garbage spewed from the other mouthbreathers, a good take from a spur fan is really refreshing. props man, i can't say it enough
+1 to all of this
id say its moreso a function of execution and clutch play by dirk
of course the spurs are gonna finish stronger than they are now, although im not sure they will win 55. i just dont think their team is built as well as it used to be, and bowen i think is a much bigger loss than people think, especially with his corner 3 that scared the out of people.
if you say that, then the spurs should be worlds better with a guy like dirk, because they have three guys who can create their own shot (parker, ginobili, jefferson). and some spot up shooters to go along with it (bonner, ginobili, finley). whereas, its just "arguable" that the mavs may be slightly better at certain times with duncan in the lineup. i think that pretty much settles the argument.
Findog
The rest of you, you guys are such damn homers...you guys criticize Dwight's offense as the reason he isnt on Dirk's level and expect us to ignore Dirk being an average defender. Now you guys bring up Dirk's supporting cast as the reason he isnt beasting on the boards yet ignore the reason Duncan only averages 19 ppg. The developement of Parker and Manu, and now the addition of Jefferson, combined with a decrease of minutes has ALOT to do with that. Duncan even with his walker and 5 inch vertical still has the potential to average 22-23 ppg, it just isnt required any longer since he has additional help. Also you guys are completely clueless as to what Duncan does on offense, youre basing this whole notion that Dirk is a waaaay better offensive player on points per game and nothing more...perhaps its cause you guys have never had a real post prescence but having a good post player opens things up for everyone else. How do you think the Spurs operated prior to Parker and Ginobili developing? Throw it into Tim, let him go to work and either score or draw double teams to open it up for one of the many spot up shooters. Duncan still demands double teams as well, not as many as back in the day which has alot to do with having better players around him that teams are less willing to leave open, but he demands them nontheless. Dirk is the better offensive player obviously, I just think some of you are acting like Duncan is some pushoever on offense.
+ 1
I agree completely. And Duncan aged slowly, but very gracefully. He is still a damn good player.
Presumably the Mavs would find somebody else to take Dampier's contract and turn that into another piece, and the Spurs would lose Duncan's ability to anchor their interior defense. Dirk has become much better on the defensive end, but you still don't want him defending the opposing team's best big and getting into foul trouble. You can do that with Timmy.
Thanks dude, I try to stay away from the "Manu > Dirk" homers and whatever other goes on.
no suprises hereFindog
ive never once said that dwight isnt elite just because hes not great at creating his own offense.
the rest of this post is just nonsense that pretty much agrees with what i said, only you are too much of a moron to actually read what i said. duncan is still good, and draws attention. but not the way dirk does, and isnt explosive the way dirk is, and doesnt cause mis-matches the way dirk does. never once did i say anything about duncan being a pushover on offense.
I don't know if someone said anything like that, but it wasn't me.Findog
The rest of you, you guys are such damn homers...you guys criticize Dwight's offense as the reason he isnt on Dirk's level and expect us to ignore Dirk being an average defender. Now you guys bring up Dirk's supporting cast as the reason he isnt beasting on the boards yet ignore the reason Duncan only averages 19 ppg. The developement of Parker and Manu, and now the addition of Jefferson, combined with a decrease of minutes has ALOT to do with that. Duncan even with his walker and 5 inch vertical still has the potential to average 22-23 ppg, it just isnt required any longer since he has additional help. Also you guys are completely clueless as to what Duncan does on offense, youre basing this whole notion that Dirk is a waaaay better offensive player on points per game and nothing more...perhaps its cause you guys have never had a real post prescence but having a good post player opens things up for everyone else. How do you think the Spurs operated prior to Parker and Ginobili developing? Throw it into Tim, let him go to work and either score or draw double teams to open it up for one of the many spot up shooters. Duncan still demands double teams as well, not as many as back in the day which has alot to do with having better players around him that teams are less willing to leave open, but he demands them nontheless. Dirk is the better offensive player obviously, I just think some of you are acting like Duncan is some pushoever on offense.
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