http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7801091/the-rebirth-celtics

quote:

---

Tim Duncan always wants to be listed as a forward even though he's been playing center for the past seven years.

---

this statement is totally obvious but i'm glad someone else said it

Well than this settles this argument

Hakeem> Timmy d and David Robinson.

I love Grantland, it is awesome. My favorite article every week is Readers Revenge. Reading about other people's misfortunes and funny stories helps make my Monday workday somewhat bearable.

Grantland is awesome. And so is Dropkick.

where in the **** did he get the chance to bring up the spurs in a 10k word article about the celtics?

He's been playing true Center since 2008-2009.

Is that 7 years?

simmons knows more about basketball than you. if he says it's 7 then it's 7

he picked david robinsons departure as his de facto date where TD started playing center. that's just his opinion. my opinion is he is wrong.

quote:

---

Well than this settles this argument

Hakeem>Timmy d and David Robinson.

---

4>2

well it seems like robinson is pretty much the last true center that played for the spurs, so by that logic simmons would seem to be right

More evidence that Simmons reads Texags - I've been making this argument for years. 7 seasons ago was the 2006 playoffs when the Spurs switched Duncan to center full time in an attempt to match-up against the Mavs. At the time they were putting Bowen on Dirk, which left Duncan chasing Josh Howard if he stayed at PF.

Then by 2007 they had dumped traditional 5s Rasho Nesterovic and Nazr Mohammad in favor of hybrid 4/5s Elson and Oberto. And of course Horry always played the 4 in crunch time. Rasho was selected to be Robinsons replacement at center in 2003.

i like simmons

he needs to pump the brakes on the celtics

[This message has been edited by Simplebay (edited 4/12/2012 3:28p).]

you need to pump your breaks on the lakers.

see how dumb that sounds?

Not sure I would call that "gold". Duncan has been the best center on this team since DRob retired. The fact that he's also been the best PF in league history just outweighs that a bit. The fact is that Duncan has played PF whenever the Spurs have had a decent center. Just like Garnet played PF when the Celts still had Perkins. I dont see the reason for debate here.

Simmons is like the 5th best writer on Grantland.

Holy ****. Tim Duncan will be 36 in less than two weeks.

Ag natural you can't play nearly half your career at the C position and be the greatest PF of all time, not possible

You're right DKM. KG is the best power forward of all time, IMHO.

That's a joke, right?

Yes.

quote:

---

Tim Duncan always wants to be listed as a forward even though he's been playing center for the past seven years.

---

Based upon, what? The fact that he's the tallest guy in the starting lineup?

You can maybe make the logical argument that Duncan is a center for the past 3 seasons (2012 inclusive). In those seasons, his role has shifted from primary scorer/guy who received the ball outside of the lane and made a move to get inside, to a board-cleaner and guy who does most of his scoring on put-backs and drop-offs. Beyond 2009, you'll have to take it up with the league office and get Rasho Nesterovic, Nazr Mohommed, Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto and Francisco Elson's status changed from "C" to "F".

For much of his career, Duncan has played along side other near-7-footers, whose job it has been to clean the boards and block shots. In his prime, there can be no doubt that Duncan played the PF position. If Bill Simmons or Dropkicked Omalley want to nit-pick about two positions that are virtually identical in the skills they require, they're free to have that semantic argument with one another. Whatever the outcome, it doesn't diminish the fact that Duncan is the greatest PF of his time, and among the greats all-time.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 4/13/2012 8:55a).]

Ok. Let's say Simmons is right. Seven years ago, Tim Duncan was a three time champion, three time finals MVP, and 2 time MVP. That's more than any power forward EVER could say.

Not to mention Charles Barkley, a top 5 power forward, repeatedly says that Tim Duncan is the best power forward ever. If you asked Bill Simmons who the best power forward ever was, he'd probably say McHale.

never said kg was the greatest PF of all time

Good point about Barkley. If there's anyone who knows the role played by an NBA PF, it's a guy who played the position at its highest level for 16 seasons.

Oh yeah, and a sports columnist who seemingly has never played an organized sport in his life.

and fat ass barkley is an idiot

best during his prime years? yes, best all time? nope

Rasho Nesterovic, Nazr Mohammed, Fabricio Oberto were all much more of a "Center" than Duncan was. A PF has to be able to play offensively, stretch the floor, etc. Things those guys couldn't do. Those guys played defense, rebounded and defended all opposing Centers when in the game.

Duncan didn't start playing true Center until 2008 and til this day he still switches between defended opposing PFs and Cs.

This guy is a moron and has probably watched 10 Spurs games over the last decade.

Duncan is the best PF of all time and it's not even close. Everyone who says otherwise is trolling or just hasn't watched enough basketball over the last 15 years.

IMO

1.Duncan
2.Malone
3.Barkely
4.Garnett
5.Dirk

Are their any centers whose best move was a 15ft jump shot?

quote:

---

Are their any centers whose best move was a 15ft jump shot?

---

Patrick Ewing.

I'll repeat with simple words. Duncan has been the best center on his team for 7 years. He CAN and HAS played the position out of necessity. That doesn't mean he's no longer a PF. Duncan shouldn't be punished because he's versatile. Guys like Howard, Bynum and Shaq can't even play PF. Should we say Hakeem is not one of the best centers ever because he could play PF? Is Magic not the best PG ever because he could play the other positions?

It's only an issue because Duncan and others won't acknowledge that he plays center. It shouldn't be a big deal at all. Duncan should be lauded for being able to excel at both positions throughout his career. How strange is it historically that the 2 greatest power forwards of all-time were in the same division for well over a decade together, yet never guarded each other?

Duncan is the GPFOAT, but he has played half his career at center. The awards that he rung up in the 1st half of his career as a full-time PF are far and away better than any other PF.

But what if his career was flipped and he played the first 8 years at center. Like if the Jazz had somehow been able to draft him in '97 to play next to Malone. Then Duncan probably gets Malone 2-3 titles, and Malone is validated as the GPFOAT.