Swap 2003 Duncan and 1994 Hakeem?

[mischievous]

Both led their teams to titles with so-so casts. Does either one or both still win if they swapped teams?

[mischievous]

Bump!

[KidPistol]

I believe that only Hakeem wins the title as Duncan was nowhere near as dominant as Hakeem. Hakeem literally caried that Rockets team those 2 years as one of the most dominant forces in NBA history. Duncan, who is much more of a fundamental player, wouldn't give the Rockets the impact Haleem gave them.

[mischievous]

I believe that only Hakeem wins the title as Duncan was nowhere near as dominant as Hakeem. Hakeem literally caried that Rockets team those 2 years as one of the most dominant forces in NBA history. Duncan, who is much more of a fundamental player, wouldn't give the Rockets the impact Haleem gave them.

I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but i think it's inaccurate to claim that Duncan was nowhere near as dominant as Hakeem.

[Blackfyre]

Good question. Two of my favorite carry jobs ever. Both seasons are ranked very high on my peak list, but I have Hakeem ahead of Duncan. It's possible that they both still win the championship, but I feel more confident in Hakeem doing it.

Lakers was a huge obstacle, but Sacramento and Dallas were actually playing better that season and Webber & Dirk both got injured during PS and that made things a lot easier for the Spurs. Hakeem had to go through Drexler, Barkley & Johnson, Malone & Stockton & Sloan and finally Ewing & Riley. When you're the only star on your team and you have to go through all those legends in one postseason run...oh, boy, you're doing something real special. Can Duncan do it ? Maybe, it's definitely possible. Can Hakeem do it ? We know he can.

[Quotatious]

I voted "both still win the title", but it's clearly more likely that the Rockets don't win with Duncan than the Spurs don't win with Hakeem, IMO. Hakeem was a bit better overall (clearly better, more consistent as a scorer in the postseason). They are very close, but I would give Hakeem the edge.

[2klegend]

From a narrative standpoint, Hakeem '94 looks better but on stat, Duncan is better. The narrative that Hakeem beat out Patrick Ewing in '94 seem more believable than Duncan beat out Shaq/Kobe and Dirk. That, I don't understand.

[JordansBulls]

Hakeem was down both years 3-2 or worse and some with HCA

[homecourtloss]

Hakeem was down both years 3-2 or worse and some with HCA

Why does having HCA affect things so much? Have you made this your go to stat for evaluation since Jordan didn't lose with HCA in the playoffs?

[tsherkin]

Duncan did things differently than Hakeem. Given Houston's cast, I think only Hakeem wins with that team in 1994. Duncan was marvelous and I loved every second of his career, but he wasn't anything like Hakeem as a postseason scorer.

[KobesScarf]

Duncan wins, Hakeem doesn't.

Duncan had a slightly better supporting cast but faced tougher competition. The Spurs won because of Duncan's passing more than anything else. Hakeem in 1994 had improved from the blackhole he started his career but still wasn't close to being the all time level passer that Duncan was. Duncan was also better at containing Shaq

[Quotatious]

Duncan did things differently than Hakeem. Given Houston's cast, I think only Hakeem wins with that team in 1994. Duncan was marvelous and I loved every second of his career, but he wasn't anything like Hakeem as a postseason scorer.

Duncan certainly wasn't as consistent as Hakeem as a scorer in postseason, but he absolutely did have some series where he was at Hakeem's level. His series against the Lakers, in particular. 28 ppg on 57.5% TS, 4.8 apg with only 8.2% TOV. That's pretty much at the same level as Hakeem's offense in '94 playoffs, actually even better in terms of protecting the ball. He played against Horry and Shaq, both good defenders. The way he closed out that series in game 6 was amazing, beautiful display of post moves (and mid-range shooting), with almost flawless decision making, as I remember that game. His series against the Mavs was similar, although against much worse defenders.

[ThaRegul8r]

Hakeem was down both years 3-2 or worse and some with HCA

Why does having HCA affect things so much? Have you made this your go to stat for evaluation since Jordan didn't lose with HCA in the playoffs?

In a word, yes.

[Homer38]

Hakeem was down both years 3-2 or worse and some with HCA

That's not how you start, it's how you finish and in the case of Hakeem, yes he had the homecourt against the Knicks, but 3 of the first 5 games of the finals was on the road since the finals format at this time was a 2-3-2.

[Quotatious]

I don't know why anyone would care if a team was down 3-2, or even 3-0, if they won a series...The final result is the only thing that matters, no idea how anyone could argue otherwise.

[ThaRegul8r]

I don't know why anyone would care if a team was down 3-2, or even 3-0, if they won a series...The final result is the only thing that matters, no idea how anyone could argue otherwise.

People care when it aids their agenda. "Yeah, ________ eventually won, but Player X never would have been down 3-2 in the first place!"

[JordansBulls]

I don't know why anyone would care if a team was down 3-2, or even 3-0, if they won a series...The final result is the only thing that matters, no idea how anyone could argue otherwise.

You don't think being down 3-2 in a series and having to go to the wire in a game 6 needing a block at the end changes things? My point is if you barely win that series what makes you think you could switch places with someone who didn't need to go that far against a better team and win?

[Homer38]

I don't know why anyone would care if a team was down 3-2, or even 3-0, if they won a series...The final result is the only thing that matters, no idea how anyone could argue otherwise.

You don't think being down 3-2 in a series and having to go to the wire in a game 6 needing a block at the end changes things? My point is if you barely win that series what makes you think you could switch places with someone who didn't need to go that far against a better team and win?

It was certainly not the fault of Hakeem if the Rockets were down 3-2 in the series.

I mean, Hakeem has completely dominated Ewing in the final and Hakeem had almost no support from his teammate in the final but yet the rockets have won this series.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1994-nba-finals-knicks-vs-rockets.html

[Warspite]

94 Hakeem is a top 5 player that I have witnessed. I would not be surprised to see Hakeems team beat any team in a series. He was that awesome.

[SlowPaced]

Hakeem was down both years 3-2 or worse and some with HCA

Why does having HCA affect things so much? Have you made this your go to stat for evaluation since Jordan didn't lose with HCA in the playoffs?

Of course he did lol

Another one is "Won a title with a team that had never won a championship before". Obviously made up because of Jordan as well.