How is it sad? Most of us have Duncan as the best power forward and he has the stats, the rings, the personal accolades (except for MVP), and other intangibles to be a credible #1. Garnett, the same. You're making it seem as if we're lobbing Pig Miller or Chris Bosh up there as all-time greats.
No, his D is really that terrible. Carmelo is a total loser and his team got better when he left. Bird 3x champ. Also he was good on defense.
His defense is pretty atrocious, especially for a 7 footer. Heat just didn't take advantage of it. Even Gundy kept mentioning this during the games.
I´m not gonna put up a list or anything... but I´m gonna say this: stats and all that stuff is nice, but there is one thing that matters the most: carry your team to a championship. Duncan did that and Dirk did that. KG never did that, Malone never did that and Barkley never did that. Dirk never went the easy way, staying in Dallas - and he was dominating in this years playoffs. When the game was on the line, the ball was in his hands and he delivered. For me, if you are asking about the all time greats, carrying your team to a title is the most important thing. That is why MJ is the best of all time, that is why Wade is considered one of the best of all time, and that is why Lebron can`t be called an all-time great just yet. Sure you can be a great player being a Pippen on a team - but he will never be mentioned as one of the top20 players. Only the Jordans, Kobes, Birds will be considered (and in that way even Duncan becomes debatable - he always plays great throughout the game, but he didn`t really finish the games) the best that ever played the game. Now Dirk is one of them...
Karl Malone is a sorry excuse for a human being. He is a career loser and just an overall scumbag. But all that being said, I'd still put him at #2 behind Duncan. He did have a very successful career being the second alltime leader in total points and 6th alltime in total rebounds, 2 MVPs, bunch of All-NBAs, All-Defensives, All-Stars, couple of AS MVPs. I have to put him at #2 overall (please don't flame me, I really do hate him. Please understand that as a Rockets fan and I really really do hate him). After that, it is between Chuck, McHale, KG and Dirk. Of that group, KG/Dirk/Chuck all each have an MVP award. And Dirk is the only one to also have a Finals MVP award (and all have played in the finals). I'd have to put Dirk third. It was really difficult and disgusting of me to rank Malone second, I do understand that. But his career accomplishments were too much for me not to. Please understand that I really don't like Malone, I am just attempting to be unbiased.
And that's one of the things I said over and over again before the Finals started--you have to make Dirk work on the other end of the court. Bosh did a decent job but he needed to go at Dirk and go at him hard to get Dirk into foul trouble. Unfortunately, Dallas counterpunched with the one thing the Miami Heat team was probably scared of the most coming into the Finals--a zone defense that forced Miami to beat them shooting 3s.
With all the love this board gives to "2 way players," this answer should be simple. Yet here we are...
You're wrong about that. He started next to the taller David Robinson and Rasho Nesterovic for nine of the 14 years he's been in the league.
You just lost all credibility. To imply that Tim Duncan is debatable as a top 20 player is indefensible. The guy won two MVPs and THREE Finals MVPs. He was the best player on FOUR championship teams. You have no idea what you're talking about.
He/she also forgot how CLUTCH Duncan was during those championship years. The man can make a turn around FLING of the ball for two points in the paint like no other player in NBA history.
I never said he ain`t a top20 player. He is! Heck he probably is the best players of the 2000s. What I was saying is: he always was the one who puts his team in the position to win - rarely was he the one actually winning it. So no question he is the best PF of all time. He was the best player on his team and led them to what was it 4 (?) titles. I´m just saying he didn`t necessarily have this one quality - the quality that made Jordan special. Kobe has that quality, Wade has that quality... and at least this year Dirk had it as well. And for me, that puts him ahead of guys like Barkley or KG and probably also ahead of Malone (though that`s a tough one).
Duncan is a shoe-in for top 10 all time. The guys accomplishments are too great to pass up. May not have been the flashiest player but he was amazing.
You're misunderstanding scowls and yells for "this one quality". Duncan was a ninja--went into a job, did his best work, and left. Sure there were whining to refs here and there, but his demeanor should not be considered as a lack of "this one quality".
Bird was good on defense? Based on a steal you saw on his highlight reel? The best part of his defense was his trash talk.
