How many Duncan years over 2004 KG?

[Hook_Em]

Duncan's prime to me is better than Garnett's prime. Just a clearly superior player as go-to scoring is an important part of the game. Duncan proved he could carry his team in the playoffs whereas KG struggled in that capacity. That said, I do think highly of KG's peak and 2004 is a pretty un-criticisable year. Think I'd only have absolute peak Duncan which is 2002 and 2003 over it.

Eh peak Duncan isn’t doing anything with this though:
.

[One_and_Done]

Duncan's prime to me is better than Garnett's prime. Just a clearly superior player as go-to scoring is an important part of the game. Duncan proved he could carry his team in the playoffs whereas KG struggled in that capacity. That said, I do think highly of KG's peak and 2004 is a pretty un-criticisable year. Think I'd only have absolute peak Duncan which is 2002 and 2003 over it.

Eh peak Duncan isn’t doing anything with this though:
.

Yeh he will. Peak Duncan is just that good.

[tsherkin]

Duncan's prime to me is better than Garnett's prime. Just a clearly superior player as go-to scoring is an important part of the game. Duncan proved he could carry his team in the playoffs whereas KG struggled in that capacity. That said, I do think highly of KG's peak and 2004 is a pretty un-criticisable year. Think I'd only have absolute peak Duncan which is 2002 and 2003 over it.

Eh peak Duncan isn’t doing anything with this though:
.

Yeh he will. Peak Duncan is just that good.

No, that's definitely complete garbage.

Those guys were serial underperformers, and nothing about Duncan's style of play would unlock them. Ricky Davis a moron, and none of the rest of those guys had it in them to defeat any of the opponents they faced. That was 2007. There's a 0% chance that Duncan replacing KG on those Wolves does anything consequential for them.

[One_and_Done]

We disagree.

[tsherkin]

We disagree.

Duncan was excellent.

What he was not, however, was magic. In 2007, he was already being load-managed by the Spurs. He was 30, in his 10th year in the league, played as many games as Garnett, but only 34 mpg. KG played 39.4, and it had been four years since Duncan had played more than 34.8 mpg.

He was only averaging 20 ppg, and that team sucked ass. There's no way he was lifting them significantly better than KG that year.

[One_and_Done]

We disagree.

Duncan was excellent.

What he was not, however, was magic. In 2007, he was already being load-managed by the Spurs. He was 30, in his 10th year in the league, played as many games as Garnett, but only 34 mpg. KG played 39.4, and it had been four years since Duncan had played more than 34.8 mpg.

He was only averaging 20 ppg, and that team sucked ass. There's no way he was lifting them significantly better than KG that year.

When you're winning games by big margins it's easier to rest guys. If Duncan needed to play more in 07, because his team was bad, he could have. It might have led to some long term load issues, but I don't think there's any evidence that it was because Duncan had become incapable of playing 39mpg.

Spurs load managed everyone, as most teams would eventually learn to do. I don't see it as a Duncan specific thing.

[tsherkin]

When you're winning games by big margins it's easier to rest guys.

He did have a lot more help, it's true.

[One_and_Done]

When you're winning games by big margins it's easier to rest guys.

He did have a lot more help, it's true.

In 07 sure.

[tsherkin]

When you're winning games by big margins it's easier to rest guys.

He did have a lot more help, it's true.

In 07 sure.

That is the season salient to the roster presented in the quote to which you responded...

[One_and_Done]

He did have a lot more help, it's true.

In 07 sure.

That is the season salient to the roster presented in the quote to which you responded...

Yes. Duncan could rest more in 07 because he had a better team. I'm not sure what the relevance is.

[tsherkin]

Yes. Duncan could rest more in 07 because he had a better team. I'm not sure what the relevance is.

They'd been managing his health for a while, which is part of why he had the longevity he did. He'd have had to score at a level he maintained for like two seasons to even have a prayer with that time, playing minutes he hadn't played for years, while fronting a terrible team defensively. There's no real chance that he could have done that in 07.

You should be more consistent with your "not affording skills they didn't actually display" bit.

[One_and_Done]

Yes. Duncan could rest more in 07 because he had a better team. I'm not sure what the relevance is.

They'd been managing his health for a while, which is part of why he had the longevity he did. He'd have had to score at a level he maintained for like two seasons to even have a prayer with that time, playing minutes he hadn't played for years, while fronting a terrible team defensively. There's no real chance that he could have done that in 07.

You should be more consistent with your "not affording skills they didn't actually display" bit.

I’m very consistent. How many minutes Duncan was actually able to play healthy is relevant to his longevity/durability. Of course, when we add playoff minutes he trumps KG so I’m not sure it’s helping your argument here. Maybe if you’re comparing him to Karl Malone.

It doesn’t change the fact that Duncan was a better player than KG in 07, and just had the luxury of playing less.