Karl Malone on Dan Patrick Show "Charles is the 3d Best PF, Duncan is a Center...

[url]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpujqy_karl-malone-on-aliens_fun#.UQNsI_KmSO4[/url]

Don't see why Duncan should be penalized because he is versatile enough to play both positions. In his prime he was a PF. As he's gotten older and slower and the league has gotten smaller and quicker, he's played more center.

I disagree with the poster who says when Splitter is on the floor, TD plays center. Offensively, Splitter plays near the basket as he has no jump shot. Duncan is the one jump shooting when Splitter or Blair is on the floor with him. When Diaw or Bonner is with him, he plays center. On defense, he plays center now because he's too slow to guard the PFs.

He's played with all kinds of big men - DRob, Malik, Rasho, Horry, Oberto, Elson, McDyess, Blair, Bonner, Diaw and Splitter. Some could only play near the basket - some could shoot from distance. That's the beauty of having a player like TD - can play with ALL different kinds of players.

dirk is still the 2nd best pf anyway

[QUOTE=rmt]Don't see why Duncan should be penalized because he is versatile enough to play both positions. In his prime he was a PF. As he's gotten older and slower and the league has gotten smaller and quicker, he's played more center.

I disagree with the poster who says when Splitter is on the floor, TD plays center. Offensively, Splitter plays near the basket as he has no jump shot. Duncan is the one jump shooting when Splitter or Blair is on the floor with him. When Diaw or Bonner is with him, he plays center. On defense, he plays center now because he's too slow to guard the PFs.

He's played with all kinds of big men - DRob, Malik, Rasho, Horry, Oberto, Elson, McDyess, Blair, Bonner, Diaw and Splitter. Some could only play near the basket - some could shoot from distance. That's the beauty of having a player like TD - can play with ALL different kinds of players.[/QUOTE]



A center should be judged, first and foremost, on what he does defensively. Defensively, Duncan is the center.

Also, just because Splitter is closer to the basket doesn't mean he's playing center. He cuts a lot. When Duncan gets in the high post or near the FT line, you can see the way he's positioned is as the center.


[QUOTE=fpliii] Tim Duncan[/QUOTE]



I was going to quote the other post but you posted your reply in my quote so I can't.


I agree, on Duncan and Robinson. Defensively, they were playing with two centers...but that's in essence. They took at Twin Towers approach but Duncan was the PF on defense. I think you qualify a center thru his defense before anything else. Robinson, for all his versatility and face-up game, was the absolute prototype as a defensive center. Added to that, he was quicker and more athletic than just about any PF in the league, much less C. Offensively, he faced up and Duncan played in the post. Defensively, he was the guy at C.

[QUOTE=Crystallas][url]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpujqy_karl-malone-on-aliens_fun#.UQNsI_KmSO4[/url][/QUOTE]



That was a pretty perfect Karl Malone.

I think Malone is one of the most overrated players ever.
He is kind of like the Rafael Palmeiro of basketball, when you look at his stats he looks like a legend, but when you watch him play he never oozes greatness, and doesn't inspire "awe" in the way the true greats do.

admittedly I am biased because I think he is kind of a jackass, but I think decades down the line, fans will look at his numbers and think of him as a legendary player that he never truly was. And I think the Barkley comparisons are disrespectful to Chuck. Imagine you are picking teams in a schoolyard pickup game... wouldn't you choose Charles long before Malone? I sure would.

But I think Bill Simmons sums it up far better than I can:
[I][B]When [Malone and Barkley] were playing for quality teams in their primes ('93 and '94), they met in the regular season seven times: the Suns won five, with Barkley averaging 23.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists and Malone averaging 21.8 points, 8 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Edge to Barkley.[/B] And then there's this one: Heading into the '92 Olympics, many thought the Dream Team would be Malone's breakthrough. Jack McCallum even wrote, "Many observers think that [Malone and Pippen] will benefit the most from the worldwide exposure, since both are extremely photogenic athletes who, as Malone puts it, 'haven't exactly been plastered all over everything.'" [B]So what happened? Barkley emerged as the Dream Team's second-best player, number one power forward and breakout star.[/B] This has to count for something, right? [B]Chuck blended in with teammates better than Malone did, led the team in scoring and became its dominant personality. It's just a fact.[/B] By the end of the Olympics, SI was describing him as "the talk of the Olympic games", with McCallum gushing, [B]"His astonishing range of abilities- outrebounding much taller players, running the floor like a guard and getting off his shot with either hand whle bouncing off bodies around the basket-- seem more pronounced when performed within the Dream Team galaxy."[/B][/I]

But then Simmons ranks Malone one spot ahead of Barkley because of his longevity and commitment to conditioning. And I fear future generations will rate Malone higher too, because of those damn counting stats.

but if the question is merely "who was a better player" and not "who had the better career", the answer is Charles Barkley, and it isn't that close.

[QUOTE=Whoah10115]I was going to quote the other post but you posted your reply in my quote so I can't.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I was too lazy to break it up into quotes.

[QUOTE]I agree, on Duncan and Robinson. Defensively, they were playing with two centers...but that's in essence. They took at Twin Towers approach but Duncan was the PF on defense. [B]I think you qualify a center thru his defense before anything else.[/B] Robinson, for all his versatility and face-up game, was the absolute prototype as a defensive center. Added to that, he was quicker and more athletic than just about any PF in the league, much less C. Offensively, he faced up and Duncan played in the post. Defensively, he was the guy at C.[/QUOTE]

I agree with all of this (again, based on limited viewing of them in the regular season; I think I've seen every playoff game they played together). Regarding the bolded, I'm wondering who everyone has as the defensive anchor in each of their seasons together:

1997-98:
1998-99:
1999-00:
2000-01:
2001-02:
2002-03:

By the end I think most will have Duncan as the guy (though Robinson was able to body guys up even into 03), though I think people are split on the 98-99 season.

[QUOTE=rmt][B]I disagree with the poster who says when Splitter is on the floor, TD plays center.[/B] Offensively, Splitter plays near the basket as he has no jump shot. Duncan is the one jump shooting when Splitter or Blair is on the floor with him. When Diaw or Bonner is with him, he plays center. On defense, he plays center now because he's too slow to guard the PFs.[/QUOTE]

yeah, you're right to disagree.

Duncan plays with alot of range, always has, but is using it as much as ever. That's more characteristic of PF's than pure centers. Splitter has started the last 20 or so games at center.

You look at the offense of guys like: Howard, Bynum, Chandler, D. Jordan, Splitter, etc, and it's almost entirely scoring in the paint.

Duncan

[QUOTE=SCdac]yeah, you're right to disagree.

Duncan plays with alot of range, always has, but is using it as much as ever. That's more characteristic of PF's than pure centers. Splitter has started the last 20 or so games at center.

You look at the offense of guys like: Howard, Bynum, Chandler, D. Jordan, Splitter, etc, and it's almost entirely scoring in the paint.

Duncan

[QUOTE=Whoah10115]Duncan plays like a center and he's been the starting center since 2008.


As far as Hakeem, I cannot agree. How was Olajuwon a PF? He was 6'10 and skinny. If he had a PF's game he would have played PF. He had guard moves, but he played strictly like a center.[/QUOTE]

I dunno. If a guy could play alongside a C then he's a PF, to me. The only guys that are true Cs couldn't play with another C. Hakeem is definitely capable of being a PF.

If I was building a goat all-time team I'd have Hakeem at PF and there's no PF you could find that would be able to stick him or score on him.

-Smak

If you eliminate TD from the discussion then the gamut would have to go down to KG. He the only other one who won it all as the best player. He's among the best defenders/team defenders ever in the sport. He played TD head to head to a dead heat in their best seven years and had almost the exact same general numbers over that period of time as well. Had the most rebounding titles. I think he was the only one to win DPOY award. Was the best all around player in the game in his prime. He was the most consistent passer.

[QUOTE=Pointguard]If you eliminate TD from the discussion then the gamut would have to go down to KG. He the only other one who won it all as the best player.[/QUOTE]

Bob Pettit and the Hawks in 58.

Was Elvin Hayes considered better than Wes Unseld with the Bullets and their lone title ?

Where does KG rank?
He has put together some nice seasons, and he has a ring too.
Shouldn't he also be ranked above Malone and Barkley?

OMG! One of the greatest players of all time think he was the best PF ever. That's so crazy. :lol

Come on. Before Duncan, Malone was considered the greatest PF ever. People forget that. Dude was a beast and gets underrated here.

Listening to the interview (great one BTW) and the "nba open court" , you can tell Malone and Barkley are really great friends. Also the Pippen thing is nothing absurd, many players see him as the ultimate teammate and defender.

[quote=Whoah10115]Duncan is a center in any era. He was only a PF because David Robinson was still on the team.[/quote]

And David played like a sf on offense. Duncan has always been a center in my mind. He's skilled enough to be considered a PF but he fits the description of a center much better regardless of what they've called him most of his career.