2004-05 Playoff: Manu Ginobili vs Tim Duncan

[iamgine]

Am I the only one who think Manu was quite a bit better than Tim Duncan in the 04-05 Playoff?

Tim Duncan is a top 10 GOAT and as such is always assumed to be the best player but I think that playoff Manu was clearly the better player.

[Carbine]

You and a few other agenda driven humans may think it but absolutely nobody and I mean nobody thought Many was Duncan's equal for the playoff run -let alone better- when it was actually happening in real time.

Duncan led them in points, rebounds, blocks and only behind Manu by 2 apg. Duncan was also in his defensive prime. There is an argument for Manu over Duncan in the finals, but overall he has no argument.

[DMAVS41]

Clearly the better player?

Manu was fantastic during that run and was basically playing at a Wade/Kobe level offensively when utilized. However, Duncan was still dominating on the glass and defensively...while scoring more than Manu and playing more minutes.

Duncan was clearly the best player on that team the entire year...including the playoffs.

[ShawkFactory]

Am I the only one who think Manu was quite a bit better than Tim Duncan in the 04-05 Playoff?

Tim Duncan is a top 10 GOAT and as such is always assumed to be the best player but I think that playoff Manu was clearly the better player.

No, you aren't the only one but most of the others are Kobe fans. Manu had some great advanced numbers and all that but Duncan was primary focus of every team they played. He anchored the defense and had the offense flow through him in general.

Just because Manu played well and was opportunistic in a couple series when Duncan may have been bogged down by doubles doesn't mean he was the better player.

[HoopsNY]

No, you aren't the only one but most of the others are Kobe fans. Manu had some great advanced numbers and all that but Duncan was primary focus of every team they played. He anchored the defense and had the offense flow through him in general.

Just because Manu played well and was opportunistic in a couple series when Duncan may have been bogged down by doubles doesn't mean he was the better player.

I'm not so sure about this. I remember at the time a lot of my friends saying Manu was just as important (though not necessarily better) as Duncan in that playoffs. I agreed at the time and looking back at it, I'm tempted to say Manu might have even been slightly more important. His +/- numbers were ridiculous and better than Duncan's by a mile.

He also did significantly better (not just better) than Duncan in every metric, including playoff RAPM (offense and defense), TS%, VORP, WS/48, and BPM. IIRC, Chauncey Billups had said he felt Manu deserved FMVP.

[iamgine]

“05 NBA Finals. Pistons-Spurs. I lost a lot of sleep because of Manu Ginobili. To me I thought he was excellent in the series. I thought he probably deserved to get MVP. He was just dominant, he really was. And we prided ourselves trying to stop people and agitate people. We couldn’t do it with Manu. He was just that great of a player.”

-Chauncey Billups