Which would be a better team: Shaq/Duncan or Shaq/KG

[mdonnelly1989]

Which would be a better tandem: Shaq/Duncan or Shaq/KG

[LukaTheGOAT]

I would go KG.

I think he better defensively but even if you didn't think he was necessarily better on that end I think he meshes better with Shaq. KG has more versatility in the sense of how he can guard the perimeter and would allow Shaq to stay closer to the paint. Shaq was actually a good rim-protector when he was already in good position, and therefore I think with KG, he is less likely to be forced out of the paint.

On the offensive end, KG's is a better floor-spacer than Tim, which I think is big for an inside out combo with Shaq. I think KG has a more ideal skill-set to be a sidekick to Shaq than Duncan.

[SNPA]

Duncan could handle his ego. KG would clash with him like Kobe.

KG is better in theory. In practice it’s Duncan if you want any length of time.

[HeartBreakKid]

Duncan could handle his ego. KG would clash with him like Kobe.

KG is better in theory. In practice it’s Duncan if you want any length of time.

When has Garnett ever clashed with another player?

[Jaivl]

Duncan could handle his ego. KG would clash with him like Kobe.

KG is better in theory. In practice it’s Duncan if you want any length of time.

When has Garnett ever clashed with another player?

With another player *from his own team*, cause otherwise... Maybe hundreds?

[Texas Chuck]

Duncan could handle his ego. KG would clash with him like Kobe.

KG is better in theory. In practice it’s Duncan if you want any length of time.

When has Garnett ever clashed with another player?

Hasn't there been lots of discussion around him not getting along well with European players? And I think some Wally Z friction as well?

But I think the difference here is KG got to be "the man" in Minnesota and in Boston that was just a veteran team mostly all pulling together.

Different when its Shaq intentionally pushing your buttons and we know Shaq would do that because he just couldn't help himself. KG doesn't strike me as a guy willing to just laugh that off.

And Shaq has repeatedly said Duncan was the one guy always nonplussed by Shaq's nonsense.

I mean I'm taking Duncan because he's the best player of the three. Not sure how much of an issue Shaq/KG would be so its not a deciding factor for me, but I don't think this would be a Kobe/Pau bff situation by any means.

[Amare_1_Knicks]

I would go with KG. With such a strong low post presence like Shaq, I’d want someone paired with him that could *more comfortably* operate on the perimeter, and KG is obviously that guy compared to Duncan. He complements Shaq’s skill set better with better mid range shooting, perimeter defense, perimeter playmaking, creativity and etc.

[donmuleex]

Duncan could handle his ego. KG would clash with him like Kobe.

KG is better in theory. In practice it’s Duncan if you want any length of time.

When has Garnett ever clashed with another player?

Hasn't there been lots of discussion around him not getting along well with European players? And I think some Wally Z friction as well?

But I think the difference here is KG got to be "the man" in Minnesota and in Boston that was just a veteran team mostly all pulling together.

Different when its Shaq intentionally pushing your buttons and we know Shaq would do that because he just couldn't help himself. KG doesn't strike me as a guy willing to just laugh that off.

And Shaq has repeatedly said Duncan was the one guy always nonplussed by Shaq's nonsense.

I mean I'm taking Duncan because he's the best player of the three. Not sure how much of an issue Shaq/KG would be so its not a deciding factor for me, but I don't think this would be a Kobe/Pau bff situation by any means.

KG took a step back for Paul Pierce when he was still the best player on that team, I'm sure he would be more than willing to do the same for a player like Shaq.

He clashed with Wally once but he has also clashed with non European players like Marbury as well, although it wasn't his fault.

[dygaction]

The team with the best player of the three, Duncan.

[HeartBreakKid]

Duncan could handle his ego. KG would clash with him like Kobe.

KG is better in theory. In practice it’s Duncan if you want any length of time.

When has Garnett ever clashed with another player?

Hasn't there been lots of discussion around him not getting along well with European players? And I think some Wally Z friction as well?

But I think the difference here is KG got to be "the man" in Minnesota and in Boston that was just a veteran team mostly all pulling together.

Different when its Shaq intentionally pushing your buttons and we know Shaq would do that because he just couldn't help himself. KG doesn't strike me as a guy willing to just laugh that off.

And Shaq has repeatedly said Duncan was the one guy always nonplussed by Shaq's nonsense.

I mean I'm taking Duncan because he's the best player of the three. Not sure how much of an issue Shaq/KG would be so its not a deciding factor for me, but I don't think this would be a Kobe/Pau bff situation by any means.

Why would Shaq push KG's buttons? Also, KG and Shaq were teammates and they got along fine. Shaq did a ton of fooling around and it didn't bother anyone despite him not having anywhere near the value he did in his prime.

KG never had to be "the man", he was THE man. There was no one else even remotely close to challenging him there. He had no problems playing with other star players in his career including arrogant ones.

Garnett was hostile toward his opponents. In this scenario Shaq is not his opponent. Maybe Garnett would get mad at Shaq for being lazy and it was causing them to lose in which case...it would be the same for Tim Duncan? I don't think Duncan likes losing.

Shaq and Garnett's personalities seem more likely to fraternize with each other than antagonize each other. Maybe they both bully Euros for liking quality food or something. I really think Tim Duncan's personality has almost become cartoonified.


Shaq and Kobe did not get along not only because Kobe hated that Shaq was lazy but also because Kobe was insistent on being seen as the best player. I don't see that dynamic with Garnett or Duncan. Garnett wouldn't take a paycheck at the expense of Shaq but them having a toxic relationship seems rather baseless and pretty much a stereotype off of extroverted personalities vs introverted.

[uberhikari]

Not only was KG a better defender than Duncan he's a vastly superior shooter and passer. Furthermore, KG's defensive strengths neutralize Shaq's defensive weaknesses. KG was basically an octopus on defense, his tentacles were everywhere. That's precisely the kind of defender you need next to Shaq who didn't want to come out of the paint.

And in terms of shooting, KG is in that tier just below Dirk. You basically couldn't double-team Shaq in the post at all with KG dragging the PF out of the paint.

[MiamiBulls]

When has Garnett ever clashed with another player?

Hasn't there been lots of discussion around him not getting along well with European players? And I think some Wally Z friction as well?

But I think the difference here is KG got to be "the man" in Minnesota and in Boston that was just a veteran team mostly all pulling together.

Different when its Shaq intentionally pushing your buttons and we know Shaq would do that because he just couldn't help himself. KG doesn't strike me as a guy willing to just laugh that off.

And Shaq has repeatedly said Duncan was the one guy always nonplussed by Shaq's nonsense.

I mean I'm taking Duncan because he's the best player of the three. Not sure how much of an issue Shaq/KG would be so its not a deciding factor for me, but I don't think this would be a Kobe/Pau bff situation by any means.

Why would Shaq push KG's buttons? Also, KG and Shaq were teammates and they got along fine. Shaq did a ton of fooling around and it didn't bother anyone despite him not having anywhere near the value he did in his prime.

KG never had to be "the man", he was THE man. There was no one else even remotely close to challenging him there. He had no problems playing with other star players in his career including arrogant ones.

Garnett was hostile toward his opponents. In this scenario Shaq is not his opponent. Maybe Garnett would get mad at Shaq for being lazy and it was causing them to lose in which case...it would be the same for Tim Duncan? I don't think Duncan likes losing.

Shaq and Garnett's personalities seem more likely to fraternize with each other than antagonize each other. Maybe they both bully Euros for liking quality food or something. I really think Tim Duncan's personality has almost become cartoonified.


Shaq and Kobe did not get along not only because Kobe hated that Shaq was lazy but also because Kobe was insistent on being seen as the best player. I don't see that dynamic with Garnett or Duncan. Garnett wouldn't take a paycheck at the expense of Shaq but them having a toxic relationship seems rather baseless and pretty much a stereotype off of extroverted personalities vs introverted.

Shaq's jovial extroverted personality doesn't mean he was easy going. Shaquille O’Neal was a highly confrontational individual, he clashed with Penny Hardaway, he clashed with Kobe Bryant, he clashed with Dwyane Wade for a bit, clashed with Steve Nash.

KG seems like a super intense individual, I don't know how receptive he'd be to naked dancing in the middle of the locker room.

[OhayoKD]

KG, was close enough to duncan in value and compliments shaq better via better switch/help d and better passing/shooting

[70sFan]

We have quite a few takes that states comfortably that Garnett is a better defender than Duncan. I''d like to hear the reasoning behind such a strong opinion about it. To me, it's very far from a clear choice.

[Jaivl]

We have quite a few takes that states comfortably that Garnett is a better defender than Duncan. I''d like to hear the reasoning behind such a strong opinion about it. To me, it's very far from a clear choice.

I mean, KG has an easy case over Duncan on defense (just like there's a clear case to be made otherwise), and it's especially true in this particular comparison due to 1) his strengths overlapping less with Shaq than Duncan's 2) it's implied he'd have a reduced role on offense, meaning we could, at worst, take his individual +/- Boston results at face value (which are superior to late Duncan, and basically anybody)

[OhayoKD]

We have quite a few takes that states comfortably that Garnett is a better defender than Duncan. I''d like to hear the reasoning behind such a strong opinion about it. To me, it's very far from a clear choice.

kg does have the best two 5 yr rapm scores iirc, but duncan has the third. I don't know anything suggesting it was a big gap, and duncan is basically tied with kg in overall regular season rapm(holsitically) while outdoing him in metrics during his best playoff years.

[70sFan]

I mean, KG has an easy case over Duncan on defense (just like there's a clear case to be made otherwise),

I agree with that of course, but that's why we shouldn't accept statements like "Not only was KG a better defender than Duncan" without accepting that the discussion isn't really one sided here.

and it's especially true in this particular comparison due to 1) his strengths overlapping less with Shaq than Duncan's 2) it's implied he'd have a reduced role on offense, meaning we could, at worst, take his individual +/- Boston results at face value (which are superior to late Duncan, and basically anybody)

The 1) is fair and I'd probably agree, but the 2) is more complicated. It's true that Celtics KG surpassed Duncan's +/- defensive numbers (though not by massive amount), but Duncan aged differently than KG and some of his best defensive years came with a bigger offensive load when he was younger and more athletic. We don't know how well Duncan would fare surrounded by offensive talent with a team that wouldn't demand him to be almost peak Shaq on offense.

By the way, does KG really surpass Mutombo +/- numbers? I don't remember exact values, I always thought that Dikembe was just as impressive.

[70sFan]

We have quite a few takes that states comfortably that Garnett is a better defender than Duncan. I''d like to hear the reasoning behind such a strong opinion about it. To me, it's very far from a clear choice.

kg does have the best two 5 yr rapm scores iirc, but duncan has the third. I don't know anything suggesting it was a big gap, and duncan is basically tied with kg in overall regular season rapm(holsitically) while outdoing him in metrics during his best playoff years.

That's why I think we shouldn't just state that one is better than the other without any strong evidences.

[falcolombardi]

We have quite a few takes that states comfortably that Garnett is a better defender than Duncan. I''d like to hear the reasoning behind such a strong opinion about it. To me, it's very far from a clear choice.

Is possible that garnett would be a more seamless fit even in defense around shaq, specially if the thread is imagining them in the modern game

I dont think garnett was a better defender than duncan tho, have them around equals