>Yeah, the guys you mentioned were great scorers. So were Shaq
>and David Robinson. Ewing was a better scorer. Duncan is the
>top end of overall players, no question, but that part of his
>game just wasn't that consistent or prolific. I didn't say he
>was average either, he is well above average.

Ewing? Ewing averaged 19 pts & shot 36% in the '94 Finals. He also got clowned on by the great Rik Smits multiple times including '95 when he averaged 19 & missed the finger-roll at the buzzer.

>But to talk
>about Russell like he's Rodman or Ben Wallace, and then lump
>Tim in with the Hakeem, Shaq, prime Admiral, et al seems
>weird. Both guys were defensive anchors, Russell was an
>incredible rebounder (Tim is also very good) and they were
>both good passers. In terms of scoring though, both guys
>deferred some and weren't exactly known for it.

Tim wasn't deferring much after his rookie season until Tony/Manu came into their own. He wasn't averaging 30 back in his prime b/c the Spurs played a slow paced offense & teams would double him on a consistent basis thus he didn't force up shot, instead he found the shooters.

Tim has outscored the most prolific scorers of his era (Shaq/Kobe/Dirk) MULTIPLE times in a playoff series. During the 2003 postseason run, he had a string of 4 consecutive games w/ at least 32/15 (only been done by Wilt/Baylor: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-06-03/sports/0306030282_1_tim-duncan-spurs-coach-gregg-popovich-playoff-history)

As far as Hakeem vs. Tim: (first 6 seasons):
-Tim: 22.9 12.3 3.2
-Hakeem: 23.2 12.4 2.2

Career per 100 possession:
-Hakeem 30.3 on 23.6 FGAs
-Tim: 29.7 on 22.8 FGAs

Post prime Tim (2008-) would be a good comparison to Russell otherwise it's comparing apples to oranges.

>I think Tim
>had a broader arsenal of moves. Russell just did whatever it
>took to win, which sometimes meant scoring but generally did
>not, especially with the personnel they had.

I'll let Nellie handle that: "I suppose Bill Walton is not a bad comparison as far as knowing the game, passing and moving the ball and knowing what it takes to win," said Dallas coach Don Nelson, who has played and coached in the NBA for 40 years. "But he's so much better offensively than Walton. He's much more versatile than Kevin McHale. He's kind of a combination Bird and McHale, but at center.

"There's never been a guy in the game like him, as well-rounded, that I can remember. I don't know where the weakness is."

Tim put the whole league on notice that he can't be single covered during his playoff debut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB7XD8km7L0