[llperez]

I think Tim Duncan has been a little overlooked in recent years. He has a complete game and effects the team in ways that don’t always show up in the boxscore. Now I know Dwight Howard is a beast and would be the guy to go with long term. But if it was just next year, who would you take on your team, Duncan or Howard?

[Michael.S.Participant]

Duncan knows how to win , can beat anyone 1 on 1 he is a leader and other players respect him so i would take him for 1 year

[llperez]

But Duncan does a better job reading the defense and making the right play out of the double team to get his teammates better looks. But Dwight is gonna take care of the backboard, control the paint defensively, and should be really hungry next year. I would still roll with Duncan though.

[ChosenOneParticipant]

For me it would be Tim Duncan because he is very polished has a full offensive bag of tricks. He is defensively sound denying the opposing players position, blocking, and rebounding. An even assist his fellow teammates. The only real factors Dwight Howard has over Tim Duncan is undeniable athleticism, better shot blocking, and age. Other than that Tim Duncan has 3 – 4 years left in the tank and is a finished product. While Dwight Howard has much work to do offensively because all he does basically is dunk.

[maravich44Participant]

Great question! Long term it’s no question. For one season, next year, I have to go with Duncan who provides the complete package. You aren’t going wrong with either, but Duncan is my choice for 09-10.

[llperez]

While we are agreeing that we would go with Duncan over Howard, why then was Howard in the discussion for mvp while Tim was not last year? Why did Howard get to the finals while Tim was out in the first round? Does Tim’s status as the better player have something to do with his reputation more so then what he’s doing on the court?

[joecheck88Participant]

no it has nothing to do with his reputation. TD has 4 rings and is top 3 pfs ever. 4 rings and 3 finals mvps, and 2 mvps. dude is the most consistent player in the league for 12 years. long term u take howard, 1 year u have to take duncan. similar question, who do u take for 1 year lebron or kobe?

[europebasketball]

duncan one of the greatest big men ever

[bluedevils12Participant]

i think i would take Timmy D long term. If we are talking about both from the beginning of their careers to the end i think i will go with Tim. now i cant predict the future but i dont think dwight’s legacy will surpass tims.that jus my opinion. id like 2 hear others

[llperez]

trinajoe, i agree with everything you said, as I stated, I was just playing devils advocate by playing both sides of the argument since we all seem to agree Duncan is better. So whoever gave me a negative point for that is pretty weak.

[JNixonParticipant]

I’d take Howard. He is the most dominate big man in basketball

[joecheck88Participant]

no perez i read your first comment and i know you were just asking a question and i try to stay away from the point system so i assure u that i havent taken away any points of yours. but ill hook u up with a couple. and i agree if i had to choose 1 at the beginning of their careers i would choose duncan.

[rhbispParticipant]

Dwight’s been my favorite player since the night he got drafted, but based on last year, I think a reasonable, unbiased case can be made for Dwight. Like llperez wrote, TD couldn’t get his team outta the first round last year. It’s not like they played the Lakers either. The Mavs were the eighth seed going into the last week of the season and the Spurs lost in 5 with homecourt. Those same Mavs barely won a game against Denver the next round. The evidence is there in the numbers too he didn’t regress that much last season, but we all know it’s coming. He’s 33 now, and this is about where dominant big men start losing it. I say that based on Shaq, Admiral, and Patrick.

Neither player was injured last year and Dwight already surpassed Duncan in defense. Offensively, I don’t care if Howard’s offensive game is mostly dunks. 2 points is 2 points and the reason he scores more than Duncan is that he’s strong enough to get in those dominant positions. By the way, is there anyone who doesn’t think Howard’s working on post moves this summer? Next season will probably be Dwight’s best and Duncan’s worst. So, despite Duncan’s championship pedigree and significant edge in basketball IQ, I think there are enough reasons why Dwight Howard will outplay Duncan next season. I’ll take my guy Howard, and I seriously believe that almost every GM in the league would do the same.

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

trina joe, i think its funny that you said tim duncan wasn’t good based on reputation by listing his credentials… which is essentially his reputation. I think the question is has he declined to the point that howard is better than him? since tim duncans team didn’t do as well this year, is that a reflection on him?

[daballaParticipant]

Depends on what you need in the post. Some teams like Minnesota who are stacked at power forward might need Howard more because they need a dominant presence at center that they lack when they have 2 PFs out. Tim Duncan may be a very tough post player with great defense, but Dwight just brings that intimidating presence. Also a team like Orlando of last year(not any more because Turkoglu’s gone) needed Dwight for defensive purposes, again Tim Duncan is a fantastic defensive player but he won’t alter or block as many shots as Dwight because he’s not as quick or explosive. Even though offensively it could hurt them with Dwight over Duncan, their Defense is better overall because if you have Duncan, he’s the only “anchor” of the defense. I think Dwight could do a better job of being the sole shot blocker on a team with 2 small forwards playing in the front court because he’s young enough to be a weak side shot blocking threat where as Duncan won’t be able to get after everything. I’m only making a case here because their may be some situations where Dwight is more effective, but for most NBA teams I would bet that having Duncan for one year would be more beneficial than having Dwight.

[dwat4444Participant]

Tough question. Here’s another. When both finish their careers who do you think will go down as better? Both have been dominant and Howard is bound to win a title. Interesting…

[llperez]

I think Duncan will finish with the better accomplishments.Hard to see Dwight winning 4 titles and a couple mvp’s. But I could see Dwight becoming the better player if he works on his offense non stop and stays injury free. Someone just needs to put him in a room watching Hakeem, McHale, and other great bigman offensive player tapes. He’s too mechanical right now.

[CameronCrazieParticipant]

If they were the same age definetly Duncan

[joecheck88Participant]

ya listing his credentials probably wasnt the best way to do it but look at it this way. what is it that we always knock d howard on? he lacks post moves, he turns it over too much, and he brings the ball down to his knees when he is at the rim. TD is better at those things because he about the most fundamentally sound bigman in the league which in turn maximises his game. d howard is still somewhat a liability on the offensive end. and not to mention hedo carried that team most of the playoffs not howard. u cant put the whole playoff loss on TD because his team is alot older than orlando and was missing arguably their mvp in ginobili. ask yourself this, would orlando have made it to the finals without turkoglu and where would SA have been with ginobili?

[billykParticipant]

Duncan can take over the end of the games and the Magic are scared to give the ball to Howard at the end of games…..

[KevinDurantRocksParticipant]

If i have a good team i take Duncan as his defense will be an amazing asset to put a team over the top. His rebounding is good not amazing and his offensive skills are good. But if a i had an “ok” team i would take Dwight because he is a good offensive weapon his defense is good but he hits the offensive boards and will get extra shots for a team that doesn’t hit that much

[Author]

Posts