Does Duncan deserve the FINALS MVP?

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Oaky, thre we go again... It's how you define MVP that matters... remember all that regular season MVP debate... same thing here...

If we give it to the most VALUABLE player for the winning team, the one who, had he been missing, his team would not win, then I think Big Shot Rob is the consensus MVP.

[zmac]

Yeh but they wouldnt have gotten to game 5 if it wasnt for Ginobili

[Andrew]

I must admit, I was kind of hoping for Horry to become a "Cornbread MVP" though the front runners for San Antonio were Duncan and Manu without question. After the first couple of games I thought Manu would make a run for the Finals MVP if the Spurs took the title, but even with Duncan's disappearance in a couple of games and some blunders in Games 5 and 6, he's got the best statistics and he delivered in Game 7.

Not to discount what Manu or anyone else did, but Duncan was the best choice in my opinion so I say yes, he does deserve the honour.

[Fresh8]

Duncan had 27 attempts cause he was the guy who wanted the ring, he wasnt scared of missing because he knew he could score. So when he did step up by playing how he did in Game 7, some people start to criticise... before everyone was saying how he wasnt stepping up.. i dunno.

Duncan was the clear cut MVP, without his play, the SPurs wouldnt have won. He makes his team better and his team makes him better but in the end, he was the leader and the team followed. Congrats to Timmy.

[Alvin]

well, one thing is for sure, David Stern did not sound as convinced (as compared to the 2003 NBA Finals) that Duncan deserved the MVP. And I'm sure Duncan knows that he owes a lot to Ginobili and Horry. As in a whole lot.

[Fresh8]

Duncan was vocal on the fact that he owed his career to Horry after Game 5... Manu exploded in Gmae 7.... but i nthe end the leader was Duncan, even if he couldnt finish off the Pistons!

[Alvin]

yeah, he had a solid game, but in the end he had to defer to ginobili making play after play. as long as ginobili is content with playing under Duncan and the Spurs, this is probably one of the best harmonious team in NBA history.

[beau_boy04]

I think they should have given it to both.

[3th]

i think Ginobili deserved it more, what do you guys think?

i agree

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Duncan was vocal on the fact that he owed his career to Horry after Game 5...

He didn't use the word 'career', for crying ou loud, he just said something in th elikes of: 'he saved my butt'...

[Fresh8]

fine... i'll rephrase, he said, "Bob saved me today"

from my point of view: His reputation and legacy was on the line!

hence: Bobby/Robby saved his career

[zhuzhu]

Tim!hehe~~~I think Final MVP only took for the player who is the most expensive in his team

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

from my point of view: His reputation and legacy was on the line!

hence: Bobby/Robby saved his career

Yes, he would have become a failure and a nobody despite two titles and two Finals' MVPs...

[J@3]

I'd give it to Manu, but Duncan was always going to win it. Even if he averaged 5 points and 3 boards for the whole series I'm sure they'd give it to him for "leading" the team.

[Matt]

Yes, he would have become a failure and a nobody despite two titles and two Finals' MVPs

i think your missing the point D. In a way his legacy was on the line....this was the first time he faced pressure. NY was nothing, NJ was nothing. Here he was in a tough situation and he was missing key FT's and being quite on the whole. It was pressure time and he wasnt stepping up. Had SAS lost, this would be something that Duncan would take the fall for.

[j.23]

duncan is pretty much why their offense works so well.. he attracts so much attention, and he can either take you 1 on 1 or dish it out to other people for open shots.. face it, do you think the spurs would've made it this far (in the finals) without duncan being the focal point? ginobili is great but he's replaceable. duncan? no way. i like robert horry but there's no way he can duplicate duncan's game in the finals. (even the horrendous freethrows )

[Indy]

The way Tim Duncan took over the game in the second half proved to me he deserved it.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

In a way his legacy was on the line....this was the first time he faced pressure. NY was nothing, NJ was nothing. Here he was in a tough situation and he was missing key FT's and being quite on the whole. It was pressure time and he wasnt stepping up. Had SAS lost, this would be something that Duncan would take the fall for.

Anybody remember Magic Johnson's tragic final series back in teh 80s? No. Why? Because it did not affect his 'legacy'...

The hype machine's effect only last for so long, people gradually separate the truth form the BS...

[Alvin]

duncan is pretty much why their offense works so well.. he attracts so much attention, and he can either take you 1 on 1 or dish it out to other people for open shots.. face it, do you think the spurs would've made it this far (in the finals) without duncan being the focal point? ginobili is great but he's replaceable. duncan? no way. i like robert horry but there's no way he can duplicate duncan's game in the finals. (even the horrendous freethrows )

point taken. but is duncan being the focal point something duncan DID during the finals? i mean, did duncan do anything great that would warrant him that? bottomline, he was focal point because of his reputation. the pistons were anticipating duncan would dominate the series, so they double-teamed, and even triple-teamed him.

but isn't the MVP something that you work hard for? yeah, duncan works hard, but i think the person who really did something consistently in this year's finals that would warrant an MVP trophy is manu.

[MmP]

What about a co-MVP?

[frAn]

i think ginobili should've been the finals mvp..
but still, congratz to duncan and the spurs for a job well done!

[Andrew]

Anybody remember Magic Johnson's tragic final series back in teh 80s? No. Why? Because it did not affect his 'legacy'...

He did redeem himself though, as I'm sure Duncan would have done. Had the Spurs lost as a result of Duncan's failure to clinch the game he would have had to weather some criticism at least for a little while. To write him off as a choker would be to ignore the rest of his career, but it would have been a fair enough statement to say he choked or did not step up in this series had it gone the other way.

[Drex]

What about a co-MVP?

There you go.

[LethalWeaponCB4]

No way. Last game sure he played much better. But I personally though Horry should have gotten it. even though I never liekd Horry because he never played hard during the season

[maes]

Ginobli replaceable? Man...i don't know. The rest of the Spurs play off Timmy but not Ginobli. This guy handles the ball and takes it straight to the hole, he doesn't just camp out all day with kickouts. And attacking the rim he's scoring at 47%...that's sick for 1) a guard 2) unassisted playmaker. Wade also attacks the basket and also shoots 47%, the same clip.

Of course SAS wouldn't be champs w/o TD, but they wouldn't be champs w/o Ginobli either, because he wins the tough games. The clincher game for SAS vs Sonics was Ginobli's play, resulted in an assist to TD for the easy layup. The win for game 5 was a Ginobli play. He lost Prince in another zip code off a TD screen, which is why Sheed jumped at him, which resulted in a assist to a wide open Horry.

Perhaps co-MVP is the best option here, because both guys carried the team on their backs during different times.