SIAP somewhere else, but this is the best article I've read thus far with regards to "all-time" discussion, and building this championship squad. The entire piece is very well written IMO.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/san-antonios-revenge-scenes-from-a-championship-run-for-the-ages/

quote:

---

...the Spurs blitzed their four playoff opponents by about 10 points per 100 possessions. That is the sixth-best mark ever for a champion, trailing only five of the greatest teams to ever walk this earth: the 1991 and 1996 Bulls, 1986 Celtics, 1987 Lakers, and those 2001 Lakers, who decided to start trying hard in the playoffs.

---

quote:

---

The last two games especially reminded you of the peak that these Spurs could reach when fully engaged. Their offense is basketball as high art. The Spurs move the ball too fast for your eyes to even track it, and fans ask why their own damn team can’t watch the film and adopt the Spurs’ system.

Bad news: It took years for San Antonio to get here.

---

quote:

---

The crowd in San Antonio buzzes whenever Duncan gets the ball with his back to the basket. It is the buzz of nostalgia. It is the crowd saying, “Hey, we remember when you used to do that all the time. Let us remember again.”

---

[This message has been edited by BigBrother (edited 6/16/2014 3:43p).]

Zach Lowe is fantastic. Agreed that this piece was great.

I can't get enough of this. What a dream this season has been.

quote:

---

quote:

---

The crowd in San Antonio buzzes whenever Duncan gets the ball with his back to the basket. It is the buzz of nostalgia. It is the crowd saying, “Hey, we remember when you used to do that all the time. Let us remember again.”

---

---

quote:

---

Scrap the “best power forward ever” designation. Duncan has been a center for the majority of his career, and the obsession over position moves the talk about his legacy away from where it should go. It’s time to talk about whether Duncan is one of the five greatest players ever — a well-rounded offensive force and one of the half-dozen greatest defenders in history.

---

I've said this for a long time. The distinction between a 4 and a 5 is fine one, and comes in shades of grey.

quote:

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

The crowd in San Antonio buzzes whenever Duncan gets the ball with his back to the basket. It is the buzz of nostalgia. It is the crowd saying, “Hey, we remember when you used to do that all the time. Let us remember again.”

---

---

---

I feel the same way when Ginobili gets the ball and gets ready to drive or hit a 3.

Mike D'Antoni should feel pretty good about that Lowe piece.

His offense has worked well when you lack a ball stopper like 'Melo or Kobe.

quote:

---

I've said this for a long time. The distinction between a 4 and a 5 is fine one, and comes in shades of grey.

---

It's particularly tough with Duncan, who plays both positions extremely well. Offensively he plays power forward with the jumpers, high post, face up, and low post moves, but his low post and at the rim game is still exceptional for a center. Defensively, he plays more of a center especially now that he's not fast enough to recover off of PFs. He's always played next to someone who is definitely a center, except that now Splitter is a defensive PF and offensive C.

The Spurs offense doesn't clear anything up though since everyone is running all over the court.

quote:

---

quote:

---

Scrap the “best power forward ever” designation. Duncan has been a center for the majority of his career, and the obsession over position moves the talk about his legacy away from where it should go. It’s time to talk about whether Duncan is one of the five greatest players ever — a well-rounded offensive force and one of the half-dozen greatest defenders in history.

---

I've said this for a long time. The distinction between a 4 and a 5 is fine one, and comes in shades of grey.

---

It's actually not tough at all. The name that always come up, when the argument against Duncan as the best PF ever, is Hakeem. Hakeem was a center, while Ducan is a PF. There is no other PF that can compare. It's annoying.