He's already the second best passing PF in the game, has a nice jumper, and can finish with either hand. He's just as fundamentally sound as any young player in the game today.
Griffin is averaging those numbers after averagin a lot less early this year, the Clips have finally figured out he is their best player. Duncan was amazing too....but Griffin is the closest thing I have seen to Hakeem since Dream.... And, we all know that Dream was better than Duncan. Either way, I would trade any 3 players on the Rox for Griffin...maybe even 4.....that kid is going to be a hall of fame player if he stays healthy. DD
Hakeem was a shotblocker and ELITE defender, so was Duncan. Griffin is neither. I haver seen such an incredible scoring big man that could not anchor the defense for his team. The Clippers give up points left and right.
so if Duncan barely got the ball how he averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game and in 97-98 season (Duncan rookie season) robinson attempted 1,065 FG and Duncan attempted 1,287 FG and according to wikipedia: coach Gregg Popovich lauded Duncan's mental toughness, stating his rookie's "demeanor was singularly remarkable", Duncan always "put things into perspective" and never got "too upbeat or too depressed. And I think Duncan is great and Blake Griffin would never be as talented as Duncan.
During Duncan's Rookie year, Robinson was lauded for taking a backseat, I don't know what Kelly is talking about and if he said that, neither does he. DD
Sorry that Aaron Brooks can't guard Scott Brooks. Kindly try to keep bias out of your next reply. I have several games of that year's Spurs team on tape, and Duncan was a high post PF who probably shot more from the FT line or top of that arc (this is the first year that the 3-pt line was moved back after three years of it at 22-feet) than at any time in his career. Almost always as an afterthought as the Spurs worked it into Robinson in his first healthy year since 1995-96. Robinson was a constant in the right and (to a lesser extent) left block, and Duncan was often a late-possession release point flashing to the ball for the cross-armed (almost Noah-like) jumper that connected quite a bit when VDN or Avery couldn't connect on the entry pass. Strong size zone restrictions hadn't been officially taken out of the picture, but you could tell there was a difference in 1997-98 as opposed to the year prior, which led to the complete abandonment of the restrictions as the league entered 1999-00, and the abolition of zones entering 2001-02. Rockets fans who weren't paying attention to league-wide trends (as I was) or writing about the league at the time (as I was) may have been swayed by this game: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199712200SAS.html Which was great fun, and the impetus behind Charles Barkley's famous, "I have seen the future, and he wears number 21" quote, but they should also be cautious not to rely solely on stats and more on actual in-game scouting unless they were paying attention. If only for the other three games Duncan played against the Rockets that year, which included two starts at small forward (one of which I have on tape, which sees Duncan ignored the entire game save for tip-ins and broken plays, as I referenced twice earlier in this thread), where he shoots 35 times in three games. Again, sorry about Aaron Brooks. (And if you don't remember, that's OK. That's what people like me are for.)
Robinson, coming off of a Yao-like stress fracture from December of 1996, averaged a shot per 36 minutes more than Duncan. His usage rate was almost four points higher. Kindly tell me why any of the bolded have anything to do with the sort of low and mid-post touches he was afforded from the lockout season until 2008? Also, in English, tell me what the last line of your quote means.
Griffin is putting up numbers without a jumpshot, and defensive skills. Just think if he improved those two categories (much like lebron after his first year), he could very well be Lebron's successor. I hate Lebron, but if Lebron is to face any real physical presence outside of an aging kobe and now with wade on his team, not really anyone else, Griffin can surely provide it. I think Griffin is more agile as well, so he really just needs to develop a shot and then learn to jump above the rim on defense too. Just think the match up in a near finals, The CLIPPERS vs the HEAT Young Gun Clippers (maybe a crazy trade) vs the HEAT (who will prob have won about 3 rings by then) Man. I hope teams figure out a way to just beat the heat in a 7 game series. Who cares about anything else. That team ruins basketball.
I suppose I should also point out that I have no opinion as to whose career will turn out better, and I'm not offering an opinion as to who I think is better in their respective rookie years (Blake, turning 22 next spring, or Tim). Just tossing something out, without making things black or white or either/or, regarding what I saw back in 1997-98 (seeing quite a few Spurs games that year, since that year, and also listening on NBA.com's old RealPlayer channel that season), and what I've seen this year (taking in nearly every one of the Clipper games thus far; live or otherwise.) I'll leave the over the top declarations for the ones that like to be remembered for such. I prefer nuance and getting it right.
...people like you? Who in the hell are you? Don't come galloping in here on your high and mighty horse, belittling other members in a condescending manner. Your subjective analysis of game tape holds no merit no matter how intricately you attempt to describe Popovich's scheme in Duncan's rookie season. Take your narcissistic tone to LakersGround...
There's a big difference between "barely getting the ball" and having usage rate that's almost 4 pts lower than Robinson. He still had a high usage rate of 26%. A starter that barely gets the ball would have a usage rate in the teens. There is also a big difference between "barely getting the ball" and taking only 1 less shot per 36 minutes than Robinson. By this logic, Griffin barely gets the ball also. He is taking one less shot per 36 minutes than Gordon.
http://forums.lakersground.net/viewtopic.php?t=126495 OMG, the homers at Lakersground would take Bynum over Blake. This is what happens when half of the fans in the NBA follow a single team. I'm SURE there must be some intelligent Lakers fans, but I have yet to meet one.
well they are coming off two titles so im sure they figure if it aint broke dont fix it. personally i would take griffin over just about any big man right now, his upside is just out of this world.
LAC offense? What exactly is that? Kelly, it is true that Duncan took a back seat to Robinson his rookie year, but I wouldn't go as far to say he "barely got the ball". Robinson's usage rate was 29.7 and Duncan's was 26.0, still way above average. That being said, Duncan was a far far superior player to Griffin his rookie year.
i thought id ask this here, who do you guys think is the better player, david robinson or tim duncan? i know in terms of rings, its a wash. i think tim has higher BBIQ, but admiral was an athletic marvel. im kinda leaning towards robinson.
