Duncan would have boxed out and collected the LeBron brick. No attempt by Ray Ray if Pop puts in a lineup with a rebounder
Oh yeah Duncan was great defending the three point shot at that point of his career. Just like in Game 2 of the 2014 Finals when Bosh stuck a wide open dagger three with a minute left to take the game when Duncan couldn't get back to him.
Duncan would have boxed out and collected the LeBron brick. No attempt by Ray Ray if Pop puts in a lineup with a rebounder
Well MJ and Kobe are pretty much the same player
So Kobe > Duncan
I don't see what's so hard to understand that Duncan couldn't guard the three point line at his age.
I've mentioned it before but if every player was in the same spot to start the play with Duncan instead of Diaw - the same thing would have happened because Parker lost Lebron on the PnR causing Diaw to contest the 3 from Lebron, allowing Bosh an easy path for the rebound.
Now it is possible if Duncan was still in the game - Pop might have had different assignments.
Everyone know's the best time to shoot a three is after an offensive rebound and therefore I'll take the positive of Tim grabbing a rebound over his weak perimeter defense if for no other reason than its Tim Duncan.
Yeah that was Miami's plan, miss the first three, get the rebound, and then hit the three.
Chronologically, my favorite players have been:
Gus Johnson, Wes Unseld, B.J Armstrong, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills.
Why Armstrong?
I saw about every Hawkeye game on TV for his four years.
My second favorite Armstrong story: I was in line at an Iowa City yogurt shop, B.J. was in front of me, and was having an active conversation with the man behind me. I get back to my table, and my ex exclaims, "That was B.J. Armstrong! But who was the man behind you?" "Dan Gable."
My favorite Armstrong story was from a Bulls game against the 76ers. Armstrong lost the ball, and Charles Barkley got the loose ball and breaked to the opposite basket. Armstrong caught up about the top of the free throw circle and attempted to tackle Barkley. With Armstrong draped on his left shoulder, Barkley dribbled in and dunked. Barkley then lifted and removed Armstrong, then extended his hand. Barkley and Armstrong then shook hands very formally.
Oh yeah, because Diaw and Parker really made it super tough for Lebron to get that three off. Neither of them even made a great contest. Lebron shot it with zero resistance. Between Lebron, Wade, Allen, and Bosh, someone was going to get the 3 off period. With that lineup, you contest the best you can, and give yourself the best chance to get the rebound.
Side note: 3's made at that point - Lebron 1, Allen 1, Wade 0, Bosh 0. Sure Chalmers had 4, but do you really think Chalmers was going to take that shot?
And they weren't losing. They weren't even tied. They were winning by 3! If you want so bad to contest the 3 point shot, then why even let them get one off. Just foul them before they take it.
Pop got too cute. You don't take out a top ten player of all time at that point. It was the finals clinching play. Duncan had so much cache. He's so experienced and had never lost in a finals. He was the backbone of every championship won. You trust him on the floor at that point no matter what. Again, you weren't losing. You had the lead. And you know the Bosh 3 from game two was on his mind. He would've adjusted. He's too smart. That's why you trust him.
Sure he wasn't '03 Duncan, but he still had 30 points and 17 rebounds in a game 6 clinching game. He wasn't in a wheelchair.
You leave him on the floor, PERIOD.
So to summarize:
1. You foul to turn it into a FT shooting contest when Ginobili and Leonard had just missed two critical free throws
2. You put maybe the worst perimeter defender on the team on the floor when Miami absolutely has to shoot a three
3. In Game 6 of the 2013 Finals Duncan was thinking back to the three Bosh hit on him to take Game 2 of the 2014 Finals
He’s not even as good as Durant and you people claim he’s #2 all time?
Or maybe the Heat get a better look initially with Duncan out there? How that possession turned out sucks for us but to assume that with Duncan out there, everything else would've been exactly the same except he grabs the rebound, is idiotic. That wasn't the first time Pop had used that strategy in '14. It just didnt work out that time unfortunately.
Damn, let the dude breathe.
This explains why Tim was so good, he had ESP.
1. Why would Leonard or Manu have to shoot the free throws again? Don't inbound to Leonard. And if Manu gets its again, so what. He's a 3 time champion that has one on every level who is a good free throw shooter. I'll take those chances.
2. So you're ignoring the horrible contest Diaw and Parker gave Lebron on the 3 anyway. Tim couldn't have done much worse.
3. You're playing a team for the 6th straight time. You've done nothing but watch game film over and over. You don't think players think about previous plays throughout the series. Are you serious? Edit: I misread your post that it was from 2014, not ‘13.
Bottom line. I’m leaving Duncan on the floor.
Last edited by UZER; 04-18-2020 at 06:54 PM.
1. Why would Leonard or Manu have to shoot free throws again? Because you made it a free throw shooting contest and the Spurs were out of timeouts.
2. If Duncan's out there in Diaw's place contesting James' shot he's not there to get the rebound now, is he?
1. Get someone else the ball on the inbounds.
2. He wouldn’t be contesting the shot that far out.
It comes down to a) how badly do you want to contest the 3, which judging by the result with the lineup out there, didn’t make a difference, or b) if the shot is missed, is your HoF greatest power forward of all time going to be on the floor with a chance to grab the rebound.
I prefer b.
Pop agrees with me. He even admits it at 1:56 in this clip.
1. So pass it to Duncan instead if Parker can't get the inbounds pass? You surely don't want to pass it to Green for fear of him getting trapped.
2. So he doesn't contest three point shots? That's the whole reason to not have Duncan on the floor when Miami is forced to take a 3.
And LOL at your point A since Diaw had been putting work in on defending LeBron the whole series.
BJ Armstrong is a smart man.
Kellerman, with his usual agenda, naming inferior players like Bryant and Olajuwon, but not Duncan.
He'll always be disrespected by ignorant fools like him and Perkins (O'Neal and Webber are just jealous), because he doesn't fit their narrow minded description of blackness.
The Spurs would have dethroned the Bulls in '99. They were spent in '98. The Pacers and Jazz both had them on the ropes. There's no way they had another year in them vs a better opponent than either.
The dirty little secret of the Jordan era is, he faced relatively weak opponents. Never had to go through Olajuwon. Split with young O'Neal. Never had to go through Duncan. All of whom would have exploited their relative weakness in the middle.
Agree with everything you said. Just add to it that Scottie Pippen fell off after '98. He went from being a superstar in '98 to being just a good to solid player and not even all-star level anymore. '99 Pippen would have been easily cancelled out by '99 Elliott. Which leaves Jordan having to do all the scoring which would not have been enough against the Spurs '99 team.
Bulls might not have reached the finals in '99 due to having to face the Pacers again or going through the Knicks/Heat. If they have managed to get out they would have been weakened by having to go through a gauntlet in the East.
Some haters will argue that Rodman could shut down Tim but I doubt it. Rodman would have had his hands full having to guard Robinson/Duncan for a full game. He never had to guard a 7 footer for a full game. Even when he guarded Shaq it was for small stretches in a game. In a full game he would have been worn down and broken.
Max knows Duncan is better than Kobe but just doesn't like to admit. It was clear in a debate he had with Stephen A a week ago in which he conceded at the end that Duncan was better.
Shaq will always be a hater considering Duncan is the only guy he couldn't dominate in his prime. Duncan is also the only contemporary of Shaq that doesn't kiss his ass so I'm sure that also gets to him.
Pop is being humble. Tim is great, but so is Pop.
It never matters what players think of other players because recency bias and friendship bias come into play.
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