Would a 34 Year Old Tim Duncan take this Lakers team to the playoffs? (Poll)

[AirTupac]

? Will He ?

[Overdrive]

40 y/o Duncan would.

[Big164]

No question.

[Spurs m8]

2019 Duncan would

[smoovegittar]

Yes. He played defense.

[FKAri]

Duncan wouldn't cut it in a big market. It's a full time job just trying to be down low in LA. Just ask Magic.

[ImKobe]

34 y.o Duncan was washed.

Just give us Pop and we're in the POs right now. BI would be as good as Kawhi already because Pop would have the IQ to get him a shooting coach.

[NBASTATMAN]

34 y.o Duncan was washed.

Just give us Pop and we're in the POs right now. BI would be as good as Kawhi already because Pop would have the IQ to get him a shooting coach.


Kobe stans shutting up Kobe stans with the TRUTH... IVE SEEN IT ALL NOW...


GREAT POST DUDE.. :applause: :cheers: :rockon:

[Celtics 1825]

34 y.o Duncan was washed.

Just give us Pop and we're in the POs right now. BI would be as good as Kawhi already because Pop would have the IQ to get him a shooting coach.
Duncan wasn't washed at 34. He wasn't in his prime anymore but far from washed. Dude was putting up solid numbers up until his last couple of years.

[Dr Hawk]

Yes. Great defense, great leadership, great locker room atmosphere and he wouldn't interfere in the development of the young players.

[Spurs m8]

Duncan wasn't washed at 34. He wasn't in his prime anymore but far from washed. Dude was putting up solid numbers up until his last couple of years.

He was also an anchor on D and a true leader that brought the most out of his team mates, on both ends of the floor.

That ImKobe guy is a clown wayyy too often hahaha

[tpols]

34 y.o Duncan was washed.

Just give us Pop and we're in the POs right now. BI would be as good as Kawhi already because Pop would have the IQ to get him a shooting coach.


Duncan was still leading the league in DRPM and DRTG, and averaging a double double when he was 37 on a team that won the title.

He still had great impact at 34.

[Jasper]

Yes - cause Timmy was the hub of the defense.

[egokiller]

Kobe stans shutting up Kobe stans with the TRUTH... IVE SEEN IT ALL NOW...


GREAT POST DUDE.. :applause: :cheers: :rockon:


34 y.o Duncan was washed.

Just give us Pop and we're in the POs right now. BI would be as good as Kawhi already because Pop would have the IQ to get him a shooting coach.


Duncan wouldn't cut it in a big market. It's a full time job just trying to be down low in LA. Just ask Magic.

Quick, log onto more alts, you are losing this poll 14-3. :oldlol:

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Tim would STILL be among the best players @ his position.

More importantly? You get an ATG without an ego. Say what you will about his personality but Duncan was a fukking professional - by all counts.

His game would fit seamlessly with this bloated, perimeter-oriented LA team.

[egokiller]

Tim would STILL be among the best players @ his position.

More importantly? You get an ATG without an ego. Say what you will about his personality but Duncan was a fukking professional - by all counts.

His game would fit seamlessly with this bloated, perimeter-oriented LA team.

Boring and dull as fvck, but an absolute master with the ball in his hands.

[soots]

The question isnt whether they would make the play offs.
The question is whether he could deliver another 50 win season.

[ImKobe]

Duncan was still leading the league in DRPM and DRTG, and averaging a double double when he was 37 on a team that won the title.

He still had great impact at 34.

We're talking Duncan at 34. He averaged 13/9 and the Spurs were a 1st round exit to a 8 seed.

People really underestimate Pop here, past-prime Duncan alone doesn't lift a team anywhere without that coaching staff, especially not in this current NBA. He'd be decent, but we'd need Kuzma or BI to average 20+ and carry us offensively. He averaged 28 mpg for his last 6 seasons and didn't play 35+ mpg after 2004.

Give Popovich more credit here.


He was also an anchor on D and a true leader that brought the most out of his team mates, on both ends of the floor.

That ImKobe guy is a clown wayyy too often hahaha

This post shows how little you know about basketball. Duncan was never the leader of the Spurs, it's always been Pop.

[Duncan21formvp]

Yes pretty handily. He wouldn't handicap the players on the team.

[superduper]

That's a LANDSLIDE of a poll if i've ever seen one :eek:

[Mr.GOAT2408]

Duncan at 34 > LeBron at 34

Of course they would, dude was far from a cancer and while Pop definitely was most responsible for the Spurs being the successful team they've been the fact is this Lakers squad should be winning 50 games and Duncan had no cancerous qualities that could cause such a talented team to falter and lose focus.

The real question is, could LeBron win 5 or more titles if him and Duncan switched places? I doubt he'd even win 1 title because LeBron would get Pop canned midway through his 2nd year.

[Dr Hawk]

Duncan at 34 > LeBron at 34

Of course they would, dude was far from a cancer and while Pop definitely was most responsible for the Spurs being the successful team they've been the fact is this Lakers squad should be winning 50 games and Duncan had no cancerous qualities that could cause such a talented team to falter and lose focus.

The real question is, could LeBron win 5 or more titles if him and Duncan switched places? I doubt he'd even win 1 title because LeBron would get Pop canned midway through his 2nd year.

There would be a lot of drama between Pop and Lebron. Lebron wouldn't want to play under Pop's basketball style, because that would mean sacrificing his own stats, so yeah, I don't think they would last more than 1 season together.

Lebron only wants to play under his Lebron-ball style, which has shown is highly innefficient and needs greatly talented teams to win championships.

[Mr.GOAT2408]

There would be a lot of drama between Pop and Lebron. Lebron wouldn't want to play under Pop's basketball style, because that would mean sacrificing his own stats, so yeah, I don't think they would last more than 1 season together.

Lebron only wants to play under his Lebron-ball style, which has shown is highly innefficient and needs greatly talented teams to win championships.
Could not agree more with your post, always good to see solid analysis like this :cheers:

[Phoenix]

We're talking Duncan at 34. He averaged 13/9 and the Spurs were a 1st round exit to a 8 seed.

.

You're using his 2011 stats when he was 35 by seasons end. The 2010 season, which he was 34 by the end of, was 18/10 but really, it goes past the statline. Duncan would have anchored the defense, led by example, not pointed fingers every which direction, and wouldn't be trying to trade off the entire youth core for a single star....for that to fail and to then have to go the rest of the season acting like 'these are my guys'. 2010 Duncan with Kuzma, Ingram, Hart and Ball with Rondo/ Chandler/ Mcgee KCP etc etc absolutely make the playoffs. And I"m not even making that argument on the basis of 34 Lebron vs 34 Duncan as players. I'm just saying the pieces fit better, both on the court and in the lockerroom.

[ImKobe]

You're using his 2011 stats when he was 35 by seasons end. The 2010 season, which he was 34 by the end of, was 18/10 but really, it goes past the statline. Duncan would have anchored the defense, led by example, not pointed fingers every which direction, and wouldn't be trying to trade off the entire youth core for a single star....for that to fail and to then have to go the rest of the season acting like 'these are my guys'. 2010 Duncan with Kuzma, Ingram, Hart and Ball with Rondo/ Chandler/ Mcgee KCP etc etc absolutely make the playoffs. And I"m not even making that argument on the basis of 34 Lebron vs 34 Duncan as players. I'm just saying the pieces fit better, both on the court and in the lockerroom.

Yes, he could have been a more positive impact on this squad than current Lebron, but no much with the style these Lakers play with the moment though. Luke Walton might be the biggest issue with this roster besides all the distractions that Lebron has brought us. A 34 y.o Duncan would probably get 25 minutes a night on this squad with Luke's rotations and I'm not sure how impactful he would be with the pace we play at.

Playoffs though? I think we wouldn't have enough offense with this squad. Duncan doesn't fix our shooting woes and injuries and the way these guys are coached.

[Phoenix]

Yes, he could have been a more positive impact on this squad than current Lebron, but no much with the style these Lakers play with the moment though. Luke Walton might be the biggest issue with this roster besides all the distractions that Lebron has brought us. A 34 y.o Duncan would probably get 25 minutes a night on this squad with Luke's rotations and I'm not sure how impactful he would be with the pace we play at.

Playoffs though? I think we wouldn't have enough offense with this squad. Duncan doesn't fix our shooting woes and injuries and the way these guys are coached.

The team is ill-conceived by modern standards in terms of shooting but don't forget they were positioned as the 4th seed when Lebron went down. Of course, the west seedings have been close enough to where that could have shifted up or down in any given week, but there were 'signs' that in spite of the imperfections the team was rounding into some kind of form that would have kept them in playoff contention. I think with Duncan on the team in place of Lebron, you're freeing up Ingram more who clearly needs the ball to be effective, and Ball/Rondo when healthy will do what they do in terms of playmaking without Lebron there as another perimeter playmaker muddying the waters. Ball has value on the defensive end but offensively, if he's not on the ball he's of little use without a defined role that maximizes his strengths. And that's what all the young players have had to do this year, define where they fit in around what Lebron does. Duncan played 31 minutes that year because Pop monitored all his stars minutes. It's not to say he was incapable of more. Duncan at 34 was still potent enough an offensive force to command respect on the inside and that would opened up the perimeter for guys like Kuzma and Ingram to operate.

Of course injuries to different personnel have further derailed their efforts but my point is made on the makeup of the team and not on injuries that would railroad any team. Yeah, they don't have enough offense for a deep playoff run but the question is 'do they make the playoffs'. In theory, with a *healthy* Duncan anchored squad, I believe they do. They don't have the firepower to compete with the Warriors and Rockets but neither does anyone else.

[Gileraracer]

Probably every top 20 all time player would.

[pauk]

Yes ofcourse Duncan would let his teammates carry him to playoffs / championships, but.... this Laker team has no Popovich, David Robinson, Kawhi, Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, S-Jax, Hill, Derek, Jefferson, Avery, Finley, Hidayet, Mason, Splitter etc stacked with a bench of ~7 players adding ~9-10 ppg on the boxscore..

[Phoenix]

Yes ofcourse Duncan would let his teammates carry him to playoffs / championships, but.... this Laker team has no Popovich, David Robinson, Kawhi, Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, S-Jax, Hill, Derek, Jefferson, Avery, Finley, Hidayet, Mason, Splitter etc stacked with a bench of ~7 players adding ~9-10 ppg on the boxscore..

You mean like how they 'carried' him to the 2003 championship with his second option averaging 14ppg on 45% TS and the corpse of David Robinson putting up a whooping 10ppg and 7rpg in the finals? Don't allow your stanning for Lebron to reduce you to blatantly flippant comments. We have the simon troll alt brigade for that.

[Gileraracer]

Yes ofcourse Duncan would let his teammates carry him to playoffs / championships, but.... this Laker team has no Popovich, David Robinson, Kawhi, Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, S-Jax, Hill, Derek, Jefferson, Avery, Finley, Hidayet, Mason, Splitter etc stacked with a bench of ~7 players adding ~9-10 ppg on the boxscore..

Lebron had Shaq, Wade, Bosh, Allen, Irving, Love, Wallace, Rondo, Deron Williams, DRose, Korver, Stackhouse and Ilgauskas and the result was 3*/9 :lol

[ImKobe]

The team is ill-conceived by modern standards in terms of shooting but don't forget they were positioned as the 4th seed when Lebron went down. Of course, the west seedings have been close enough to where that could have shifted up or down in any given week, but there were 'signs' that in spite of the imperfections the team was rounding into some kind of form that would have kept them in playoff contention. I think with Duncan on the team in place of Lebron, you're freeing up Ingram more who clearly needs the ball to be effective, and Ball/Rondo when healthy will do what they do in terms of playmaking without Lebron there as another perimeter playmaker muddying the waters. Ball has value on the defensive end but offensively, if he's not on the ball he's of little use without a defined role that maximizes his strengths. And that's what all the young players have had to do this year, define where they fit in around what Lebron does. Duncan played 31 minutes that year because Pop monitored all his stars minutes. It's not to say he was incapable of more. Duncan at 34 was still potent enough an offensive force to command respect on the inside and that would opened up the perimeter for guys like Kuzma and Ingram to operate.

Of course injuries to different personnel have further derailed their efforts but my point is made on the makeup of the team and not on injuries that would railroad any team. Yeah, they don't have enough offense for a deep playoff run but the question is 'do they make the playoffs'. In theory, with a *healthy* Duncan anchored squad, I believe they do. They don't have the firepower to compete with the Warriors and Rockets but neither does anyone else.

I'm not dogging his capability, it just doesn't seem like the perfect fit for me and these Lakers simply don't look good enough to win yet. Yes, the Lakers were in a position to make the Playoffs in December, but it's not just Lebron that got injured, you're looking at injuries to Rondo, Kuzma and Zo during the toughest part of our schedule. Obviously you can't predict these things, but Lebron was also better than a 34 y.o Duncan would have been during that stretch which got us all the way up 4th in the standings, James is simply that great as a player when he's motivated enough.

Do they make it with everyone healthy? Perhaps. The West is incredibly loaded from top to bottom though. Duncan I'm sure would be capable of putting up 18 points and 12 boards with some elite defense, but do I trust the rest of this roster? To some extent, but they showed no heart without Lebron and before all the trade rumors and I don't think that Walton gets these guys motivated enough, his own personality is a bit too laid back and I don't think the young guys respect him at all.

Maybe Duncan changes the culture in the locker room and leads by example and maybe he takes Zubac under his wing and we end up having one of the best frontcourts in the league with a top 10 defense (which the Lakers were before Zo's injury and Lebron's return) and we eek out enough games, but it wouldn't be a guarantee.

This thread is nothing but another shitpost anyway, these guys are more obsessed with stan wars than anything else.

[Phoenix]

I'm not dogging his capability, it just doesn't seem like the perfect fit for me and these Lakers simply don't look good enough to win yet. Yes, the Lakers were in a position to make the Playoffs in December, but it's not just Lebron that got injured, you're looking at injuries to Rondo, Kuzma and Zo during the toughest part of our schedule. Obviously you can't predict these things, but Lebron was also better than a 34 y.o Duncan would have been during that stretch which got us all the way up 4th in the standings, James is simply that great as a player when he's motivated enough.

Do they make it with everyone healthy? Perhaps. The West is incredibly loaded from top to bottom though. Duncan I'm sure would be capable of putting up 18 points and 12 boards with some elite defense, but do I trust the rest of this roster? To some extent, but they showed no heart without Lebron and before all the trade rumors and I don't think that Walton gets these guys motivated enough, his own personality is a bit too laid back and I don't think the young guys respect him at all.

Maybe Duncan changes the culture in the locker room and leads by example and maybe he takes Zubac under his wing and we end up having one of the best frontcourts in the league with a top 10 defense (which the Lakers were before Zo's injury and Lebron's return) and we eek out enough games, but it wouldn't be a guarantee.

This thread is nothing but another shitpost anyway, these guys are more obsessed with stan wars than anything else.

Again, the topic is making the playoffs, not 'winning'. Once the execs created a team without the requisite shooting needed for an upper echelon team in 2019, nothing is a perfect fit at this point. We have 15 years of evidence to conclude that Lebron works best with floor spacers where he can execute a drive and kick offense, and complimented by a high scoring guard playmaker who can get their own in isolation and play off Lebron( wade/Kyrie). A Duncan led Lakers squad with the current complement would be lightyears from a championship. Hell, 2003 peak Duncan wouldn't take this team to the finals. I'm in no way discounting the obvious flaws in the roster nor am I comparing Duncan and Lebron as players at 34. And yes, while Lebron performed at a higher level than Duncan would have to *get* them to that 4th seed, you have to weigh that against how well his teammates would have played off the two players respectively. Ingram has spent most of the year playing like trash, but he's played alot better since the all-star break. Do we see 'that' Ingram from the start of the year playing with Duncan? I just don't see this team IF HEALTHY with Duncan not battling with teams like Utah or the Clippers for one of the lower seeds at worst.

[ImKobe]

Again, the topic is making the playoffs, not 'winning'. Once the execs created a team without the requisite shooting needed for an upper echelon team in 2019, nothing is a perfect fit at this point. We have 15 years of evidence to conclude that Lebron works best with floor spacers where he can execute a drive and kick offense, and complimented by a high scoring guard playmaker who can get their own in isolation and play off Lebron( wade/Kyrie). A Duncan led Lakers squad with the current complement would be lightyears from a championship. Hell, 2003 peak Duncan wouldn't take this team to the finals. I'm in no way discounting the obvious flaws in the roster nor am I comparing Duncan and Lebron as players at 34. And yes, while Lebron performed at a higher level than Duncan would have to *get* them to that 4th seed, you have to weigh that against how well his teammates would have played off the two players respectively. Ingram has spent most of the year playing like trash, but he's played alot better since the all-star break. Do we see 'that' Ingram from the start of the year playing with Duncan? I just don't see this team IF HEALTHY with Duncan not battling with teams like Utah or the Clippers for one of the lower seeds at worst.

You have to win enough games to make the Playoffs.


Like I said, it wouldn't be a guarantee.

[Phoenix]

You have to win enough games to make the Playoffs.


Like I said, it wouldn't be a guarantee.

Well yes, that's what I'm contesting. They 'win' enough to make the playoffs. Again, I don't see that team in theory being any worse than a team like the Clippers or Jazz who are currently in the playoffs. The West is Warriors and Rockets( healthy) in one tier. OKC and Den is next, and after that its anyone's game with Portland, Utah, Clips and I would throw a (34) year old *healthy* Duncan squad in that last tier. Yeah, things have to go 'right' for them but very few teams have a buffer like the Warriors or Rockets. Something can go wrong and take an otherwise playoff team out of the mix fast, especially in the west where there's a lot of parity after the top 3-4 teams.

[ImKobe]

Well yes, that's what I'm contesting. They 'win' enough to make the playoffs. Again, I don't see that team in theory being any worse than a team like the Clippers or Jazz who are currently in the playoffs. The West is Warriors and Rockets( healthy) in one tier. OKC and Den is next, and after that its anyone's game with Portland, Utah, Clips and I would throw a (34) year old *healthy* Duncan squad in that last tier.

Yup. They aren't much better with a 34 y.o Duncan. It just is what it is. The West is stacked and the young guys haven't given enough consistent production for us to win more than what we have.

But if you replaced Luke with Pop and you had Lebron and these guys? They might be up a tier.

[Phoenix]

Yup. They aren't much better with a 34 y.o Duncan. It just is what it is. The West is stacked and the young guys haven't given enough consistent production for us to win more than what we have.

But if you replaced Luke with Pop and you had Lebron and these guys? They might be up a tier.

I'm not sold on Pop and Lebron teaming up. Pop has always been highly praising of Lebron's talents but I'm not sure they blend too well stylistically unless one bends to the other, in which case it's a compromised relationship. If anything I'd love to have seen that pairing to set the record straight one way or the other, because the word has always been that Lebron has never had a Phil Jackson/ Popovich level coach( which he hasn't) but those coaches employed systems that I can't say really mesh with how Lebron plays. Remember that MJ very resistantly conformed to playing more off-ball but he had the scoring skillset and fundamentals to do so. I don't think even the most ardent Lebron supporter would say he's elite or even 'good' off-ball. He's predominantly an on-ball talent where his teams have performed best when he's the primary playmaker.