Tim Dunkars future according to Pat Riley

[Reality]

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/archives/2007/10/jeff_mcdonald_d_1.html

Jeff McDonald: Duncan as Kareem?
MIAMI -- Pat Riley has coached Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Pat Riley has also coached Shaquille O'Neal. Good news for Spurs fans: Pat Riley says Tim Duncan reminds him of the former, and not the latter.

"Duncan reminds me a lot of Kareem," Riley, the Miami Heat coach, said after this morning's shootaround. "Kareem wasn't a physical center, he was a finesse center. And he played until he was 41 years old."

More than that, Jabbar remained one of the league's most dominant players well into his late 30s. In 1986, at age 38, Jabbar averaged 23.4 points per game.

Riley's point: Big men like Duncan and Jabbar, who rely more on their mind and their touch than sheer physical strength and skill, tend to have a longer shelf life in the NBA.

Meanwhile, players whose main strength is their strength -- like O'Neal -- often begin to show their age much sooner. O'Neal's body has begun to betray him the past couple seasons. At age 34, he is obviously on the downslope of his Hall-of-Fame career. This preseason, O'Neal has been plagued with a strained calf muscle. (He's expected to play in tonight's game after sitting out the previous two).

But back to Kareem ...

"I didn't start coaching Kareem until he was 32 years old," Riley said. "And he played nine more years after that. And he won four more championships after that."

Riley says he wouldn't be surprised if Duncan accomplished something similar, in terms of both success and longevity. Spurs fans can only hope he's right.

[WayOutWest]

It's a little unfair to use Shaq is the example of a strength player because it wasn't his style of play that has shortened his career, it's his lack of conditioning.  Fatquille doesn't care enough about his career to stay in shape.  Artis Gilmore and Malone are better examples, and Wilt as well but Wilt pulled the plug years earlier than he had too so that throws off the argument.

[Wolverine]

While I understand to what Riley was referring - Duncan strength is his intelligence - it's not as if the guy CAN'T play physical.  He's not DIRTY, but he is a physical player.

That said, I whole-heartedly agree that TD's biggest assets are his intelligence and feel for the game - especially defensively.