Blake vs. Dhoward

[NickZepp]

Tim Duncan isn't exactly a scrub.

Tim Duncan in his prime was up there. Still not as good as Howard. Tim Duncan right now isn't in the same galaxy.

 

[Cheno]

I don't disagree. But when you tell a kid like Blake to go against his instincts he looks slow. Point guard is coming down the lane, and Blake is thinking about what to do instead of reacting.

Then again, if that happened, it was a bad coaching move. To win a national championship you gotta have everybody giving 100% on both ends.

 

[playmakr]

seniorsooner will be along shortly to tell us how stupid this topic is.

:ez-laugh:

 

[stoops4pres]

I think what most are saying is until Blake plays a game it's unfair to say. Blake's biggest problem could be staying healthy. He hasn't been able to stay healthy a full year since high school. Offensively, I think he and D Howard are very similar. Both try and overpower people. Defensively Howard is light years ahead.

I agree defensively.

Offensively, however, I think Griffin is a much better prospect at this stage in their careers. Although hard to prove since Howard went up against better talent his 2nd year in the league as opposed to Griffin's sophomore year in college, I think you'll see Griffin be a much better player on the offensive end. Howard can be shut down on offense, but Griffin does a better job getting other players involved with his great vision, has a respectable midrange shot, and I think will show he displays a wider range of post moves. Not to mention, he doesn't seem to have the propensity to commit silly fouls that get him in foul trouble like Howard does from time-to-time.

Only time will tell, but I think Griffin will show that he is a better offensive player. Not sure if he will end up better overall though.

 

[stoops4pres]

Tim Duncan in his prime was up there. Still not as good as Howard. Tim Duncan right now isn't in the same galaxy.

Confused on this post, are you saying TD wasn't as good as Howard even during his prime, or are you saying he is not as good as Howard right now in his career? Or both?

 

[Smash Williams]

Tim Duncan in his prime was up there. Still not as good as Howard. Tim Duncan right now isn't in the same galaxy.

Isn't in the same galaxy? You act like Dwight Howard is Shaq circa 2000. As awesome as Howard is defensively, he's still limited offensively. Tim Duncan in his prime was better than Howard in his prime. While he wasn't as dominant of a defender as Howard is now, Duncan was still an elite defender in his prime (8-time All-Defensive first team, 5-time All-Defensive second team), and he was far superior to Howard offensively. Howard is an athletic monster, but he is so far Duncan and the other great big men of all-time in terms of skill.

Duncan right now isn't as good as Howard, but the gap isn't as enormous as you make it seem. Duncan has made All-Defensive first or second team each of the last three seasons and had a higher PER than Howard in two of the last three seasons (including this season). The reason I mentioned Duncan was because you said, "The only centers close to Howard play in LA." I can't believe you actually think Andrew Bynum is better than Tim Duncan right now.

 

[OUguy11]

Isn't in the same galaxy? You act like Dwight Howard is Shaq circa 2000. As awesome as Howard is defensively, he's still limited offensively. Tim Duncan in his prime was better than Howard in his prime. While he wasn't as dominant of a defender as Howard is now, Duncan was still an elite defender in his prime (8-time All-Defensive first team, 5-time All-Defensive second team), and he was far superior to Howard offensively. Howard is an athletic monster, but he is so far Duncan and the other great big men of all-time in terms of skill.

Duncan right now isn't as good as Howard, but the gap isn't as enormous as you make it seem. Duncan has made All-Defensive first or second team each of the last three seasons and had a higher PER than Howard in two of the last three seasons (including this season). The reason I mentioned Duncan was because you said, "The only centers close to Howard play in LA." I can't believe you actually think Andrew Bynum is better than Tim Duncan right now.

Agreed, Howard is a defensive beast but his offensive game is severely limited. His size is what gives him his offensive advantage, he's like Courtney was, miss a shot, bull someone over and get the rebound, except he dunks it. Perkins when allowed to play can stop him 1 on 1 and no one could stop Duncan or Shaq in their prime 1 on 1. not even close to being on their level.

 

[Sawyer]

Isn't in the same galaxy? You act like Dwight Howard is Shaq circa 2000. As awesome as Howard is defensively, he's still limited offensively. Tim Duncan in his prime was better than Howard in his prime. While he wasn't as dominant of a defender as Howard is now, Duncan was still an elite defender in his prime (8-time All-Defensive first team, 5-time All-Defensive second team), and he was far superior to Howard offensively. Howard is an athletic monster, but he is so far Duncan and the other great big men of all-time in terms of skill.

Duncan right now isn't as good as Howard, but the gap isn't as enormous as you make it seem. Duncan has made All-Defensive first or second team each of the last three seasons and had a higher PER than Howard in two of the last three seasons (including this season). The reason I mentioned Duncan was because you said, "The only centers close to Howard play in LA." I can't believe you actually think Andrew Bynum is better than Tim Duncan right now.

Tim Duncan isn't the best center in the NBA, nor has he ever been... because he's a power forward. And in the opinion of many, he's the best at that position of all time.

Howard, even though he's a couple inches shorter than Duncan (measured 6-9 barefoot pre-draft to Duncan's 6-11), is more of a true center.

 

[Smash Williams]

Tim Duncan isn't the best center in the NBA, nor has he ever been... because he's a power forward. And in the opinion of many, he's the best at that position of all time.

Howard, even though he's a couple inches shorter than Duncan (measured 6-9 barefoot pre-draft to Duncan's 6-11), is more of a true center.

I never said that Duncan is or was the best center in the NBA. I only argued that he is one of the best centers in the NBA right now. He's considered a power forward in historical terms because he started at that position for the bulk of his career, but he's played center almost exclusively the last few years (which is what I was talking about in the first place, as far as Duncan being a center). This season, Duncan played more than 99% of his minutes at center (link). A year ago, he played about 90% of his minutes at center (link). Two years ago, he played about 94% of his minutes at center (link). You have to go back to 2005-06 (the last season Nesterovic and Nazr Mohammed played in San Antonio) to find the last time that Duncan didn't play the vast majority of his minutes at center.

How is Howard more of a "true center" than Duncan? What skills does Duncan not possess that you would expect of a "true center?" He lives in the low post, he's almost always the biggest player on the floor for the Spurs (for the last several years), and he's almost always guarding the opposing team's center (and extremely effectively, at that). It's not like we're talking about David Lee, who plays center only due to system and lack of frontcourt talent on his team, but matches up far better with power forwards. Duncan matches up with centers better than he does with power forwards, especially in an era in which the power forward position has become more perimeter-oriented. Just because Duncan started games at power forward ten years ago due to the presence of David Robinson doesn't mean that he's still playing power forward today.