The ball is tipped, and there you are. You’re running for your life. You’re a shooting SPUR.
Welcome to round one of Pounding the Rock’s All-Time Spurs 1-on-1 Tournament. It’s in these polls and comments that we’ll find out which Spur will have their one shining moment, and establish themselves as the best 1-on-1 player in the franchise’s history.
As a reminder of the rules:
- Each player is at the prime of their Spurs tenure. So someone like Kawhi Leonard or Dominique Wilkins would represent their peak season as a Spur, not the best of their career.
- Assume traditional 1-on-1 rules for the tournament. Half court, games to 11 straight up (ones and twos), no offensive rebounds, and checking the ball after a score. For this exercise, we’ll be alternating possessions, so no “make it, take it.”
- Single elimination tournament bracket. If a player loses, they are done.
A few housekeeping things. We made a mistake in the player count in our post introducing the tournament. The editors agreed on
28 players for the tournament, so we are taking the top four players from the poll in the last post. Stephen Jackson, Alvin Robertson, Stephon Castle, and Rudy Gay have entered the tournament as the final four seeds. Below is our final bracket for the tournament:
Now let’s get into the matchups.
(1) Tim Duncan vs. (32) Rudy Gay
Marilyn: While Rudy was a great signing — he felt like the missing piece as Kawhi’s backup — he was not in his career prime when he got here, and even prime Gay wouldn’t beat Prime Tim 9 out of 10 times.
Jacob: No disrespect to Rudy Gay, but this is a top-10 player all-time going against a late-career role player. I have Tim Duncan winning by a big margin.
Jesus: Prime Rudy Gay was a problem. I think everyone will agree with that. He had size, athleticism and a lot of ways to score. He averaged 18 points per game in his time in Memphis easily, and he could defend well when he was locked in. But he was a late-career role player in San Antonio and he’s facing prime Tim Duncan. Timmy when he had two healthy knees. The MVP version. Sure, maybe Rudy scores a few, but Duncan should have this with relative ease.
J.R.: I’ve given some thought as to whether Timmy will win this tourney. While it probably matters which of his years we decide is best suited for these rules, a topic for another day, there’s no doubt in my mind that whether we use the young-mobile-pre-knee-injury version, or middle-years-bank-shot-maestro, or late-career-jump-shooter it seems obvious to me that Rudy has no chance here. He won’t be able to score much on Tim, and he has no chance of stopping him.
(16) Derrick White vs. (17) Keldon Johnson
Marilyn: This a tough one, in a lot of ways a case of power vs. finesse. If we were talking about current Derrick vs. KJ, I’d probably take White with no hesitation. But KJ’s peak with the Spurs was higher, including as a shooter, and in one-on-one, as good of a defender as White is, Keldon can still overpower him with his size and bulk, so I’m going with him with a lot of uncertainty.
Jacob: This is the toughest matchup of the entire first round. White is a perfect team player who thrives as a spot-up shooter and defender. Johnson is a bowling ball scorer who is a liability on the defensive end. I’m leaning toward Johnson in a 1-on-1 setting, but I wouldn’t discount White’s ability to lock him down defensively and squeak out a win. 11-10 KJ is my final answer.
Jesus: I have to go with White, but it’s close. Keldon could use his size and, mostly, strength advantage against the lighter White on some possessions, but Derrick is no pushover. I think White’s handle and jumper make him a more versatile scorer, and while KJ can be a passable defender when he’s trying, he struggles against quicker players. I think White wins this mostly on defense in a tough battle.
J.R.: I’m going to go with White for sheer guile and unpredictability. Playing one-on-one is a lot like a playoff series for NBA teams. As the contest progresses, everyone knows what’s coming, and the question is who can either: a) keep going to the move/play that the opponent can’t find a way to stop, or b) who is able to come up with a new wrinkle or attack that changes everything in the end game. I love KJ of course, but I don’t think he’s winning with A, and I certainly have Derrick with the edge in B.
(9) DeMar DeRozan vs. (24) Bruce Bowen
Marilyn: DeRozan’s size and lethal pull-up shot would probably be one of the best one-on-one players in any tournament. Bowen was an all-time defender and exactly the type you’d need to stop a player like DeRozan in team play, but he doesn’t have the offense to keep up in this scenario.
Jacob: A true offense vs. defense matchup here. DeRozan has one of the deepest bags in the tournament. He’s a tough out for anyone, and Bowen’s limited offensive game is not up to the task. DeRozan takes this one easily.
Jesus: People forget that Bowen averaged well over 20 points a game in France before making the jump to the NBA, so it’s not like he could never score. But his lack of weapons against elite opponents was obvious in the league, and he’s going against a player who has one of the most diverse bags in recent NBA history. DeRozan scores routinely on elite defenders, so while Bruce would make him work, I think DeMar would prevail more often than not.
J.R.: Bruce is going to make DeRozan sweat to get his, no question, but whether it’s the spinning and slashing from DeMar’s early tenure in San Antonio, or the funky Eurostep-inspired drives from his later days as a Spur, Bowen’s going to hold his own, but still give up points. How’s he going to score though? Even against a mediocre defender like DmDr, Bruce won’t be able to do enough with the ball to make the next round.
(8) LaMarcus Aldridge vs. (25) Johnny Moore
Marilyn: Moore was a great passer and decent scorer, but there’s no way a point guard could stop a gifted low post scorer with the size of Aldridge.
Jacob: Moore is a bit before my time, so it was fun to go back and watch some of his highlights. Seemed like a scrappy guard who could really pass it, and in a modern setting, might have been a solid three-point shooter. I have to give this one to Aldridge, whose deep bag of post moves gives him the offensive advantage over the 6-foot-3 Moore.
Jesus: This is the problem with size mismatches. Moore has the handle, the jumper and the scrappiness to make it a battle, but Aldridge is so much taller that he can space him out to prevent him from getting past him while still contesting. Meanwhile, Moore has no hope against Aldridge’s silky left-post turnaround jumper, since LA used to get that shot off against seven-footers. Aldridge wins easily.
J.R.: The chance I think Moore has here would be to bother LMA’s dribble and turn him over enough to keep him off the block and give himself more opportunities to score. I see Moore being able to score pretty readily, to give himself a chance, but I don’t see his defense being able to keep Aldridge off his many spots. It’s LaMarcus for me here.
(5) Manu Ginobili vs. (28) George Hill
Marilyn: This may actually be a closer match-up than the seeding suggests, but ultimately this is peak Manu we’re talking about, while the Spurs did not get peak Hill. His size and creativity will be too much for the smaller guard to handle.
Jacob: This is a fun matchup! Hill was awesome early in his career for the Spurs. Unfortunately, he’s tasked with one of the most creative players of all time. Hard to imagine a better 1-on-1 player than Ginobili. Manu takes this one easily.
Jesus: Manu’s legacy is damaged to some degree by his longevity. Late-career Manu, which is the version many remember, would definitely struggle with young Hill. Prime Manu, however, should beat him easily. Don’t get me wrong, Hill would put up a fight on defense, but better men than him were made to look foolish by Manu’s unpredictable offense. And young Ginobili could defend too! Ginobili advances.
J.R.: It’s quite bad fortune for Hill to have to meet the Manu right off, otherwise he’d possibly have been able to make it to the 2nd or 3rd round, given an advantageous matchup. But here, there’s just not much to debate. I was sorry when the Spurs traded Hill, and I’m sorry again now for the poor draw. Fare thee well, Cubits! (That’s an 18-year-old nickname that prolly no one but me remembers, but I couldn’t resist.)
(12) Larry Kenon vs. (21) Boris Diaw
Marilyn: Kenon was a gifted scorer and All-Star. As good of a team player and play-maker as Diaw was (and reminder, the Spurs had the tubbier version of him), he wouldn’t stand a chance against Special K.
Jacob: Larry Kenon was a PROBLEM – A crazy athlete with awesome ball control. Dr. J vibes (I guess that’s why they called him Dr. K). Diaw is awesome, but is more of a team system player. In a 1-on-1 setting, I like Kenon.
Jesus: Boris Diaw was supremely talented. He also hated one-on-one basketball, so he might get past Kenon and to the bucket only to refuse to shoot, out of principle. Against most guys, he’d still have a solid chance if he played at his best, but Kenon was big, strong, and athletic on top of being a gifted scorer. It would be a beautiful battle with pretty buckets from both, but I think Kenon advances.
J.R.: One of the most enjoyable parts of the Spurs’ 2014 championship season was watching a motivated and dialed-in Boris back guys down starting from the three point line in what seemed like the fewest dribbles possible. Honestly, Diaw could take his man to the basket with most dumfounding series of moves that looked simultaneously goofy, antiquated, awkward and yet delightfully effective. Who else remembers tweets of “Cream Shake” whenever he’d put his defender in a blender and end underneath the rim to flip it in over his head? All that said, Diaw can’t stop Kenon from scoring, so I’m going with Dr. K.
(13) Mike Mitchell vs. (20) Patty Mills
Marilyn: Mills was speedy and made a lot of bigger defenders look foolish at times, but Mitchell was too gifted of a score to let a player 7 inches shorter beat him.
Jacob: I fear that Mitchell may be seeded too low. Against the smaller Patty Mills, I have the athletic forward with the soft touch dominating this matchup.
Jesus: Maybe Patty catches fire from three and makes this one close? If FIBA Patty shows up, it might be a good contest. Unless that happens, he’s not going to have a chance against a bigger player who could score in bunches.
J.R.: I must say that I went down the YouTube rabbit hole of Mitchell’s highlights for longer than necessary to research this project. I quickly went from wanting to educate myself to strict entertainment. I love Patty to death, but Mitchell’s moving on to the next round.
(4) Kawhi Leonard vs. (29) Stephen Jackson
Marilyn: Ahh, a grudge match. Jackson did not like that Kawhi eventually passed him in the rotation in his second stint here, but there was a reason for that. Even when you bring in 2003, finals hero Jackson, he would be no match for healthy, prime, DPOY Kawhi who had also found his offense.
Jacob: I don’t see how this version of Jackson scores on Kawhi in a 1-on-1 setting. Leonard, at his peak, may be one of the best defenders of all time. He will be a tough out in this tournament. Kawhi wins big.
Jesus: Poor Jack. The best version of Jackson, from his Warriors years, could have at least put up a fight against prime Leonard, but the Spurs version winning this would be a bigger shock than the We Believe Dubs beating the top-seeded Mavericks. Jackson is too tough to let it be a complete blowout, but Kawhi should win easily.
J.R.: This matchup might be the closest the first round comes to a fly-swatting. Kawhi will have his way with and without the ball, and after this defeat Jax will have all the ammo he needs to keep his Anti-Spurs podcasting gripefest going until 2035.
(3) George Gervin vs. (30) Alvin Robertson
Marilyn: Iceman, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Moving on.
Jacob: No real comments on Robertson. Gervin is an all-timer. I give this one to Gervin.
Jesus: Ice is one of the favorites to win it all, and he’d do us all the favor of taking out Robertson early.
J.R.: I was wrong. Here’s another fly-swatting. Sorry, Alvin. This just isn’t fair.
(14) Artis Gilmore vs. (19) Devin Vassell
Marilyn: This one is interesting because although Gilmore was an All-Star with the Spurs, he was past his prime. Meanwhile, Vassell should be just entering his prime, although injuries have stunted his growth a bit. It’s also a case of two very different positions. Gilmore can get his points if he can get down in the post, but can he keep up with healthy Vassell on defense? I believe in size an true advantage, so I’m going with Gilmore, but just barely.
Jacob: Gilmore was a bit older when he joined the Spurs late in his career. He’s great on the block and a good rim protector. But he was slow and had one spot on the floor where he was truly effective offensively (trust me, I’ve studied extensively on YouTube). Vassell is a frustrating player at times, but he’s a knockdown shooter with a deep bag of tricks that I don’t think Gilmore could keep up with. 1-on-1 starts at the top of the key, not on the block. I have Vassell with the upset.
Jesus: This one hurts, because Artis Gilmore is one of my favorite “before my time” Spurs and it almost feels disrespectful to have him losing to a good but not great player. But Vassell’s jumper gives him a massive edge. The no offensive rebounds rule also hurts Artis, who could have otherwise just shot and grabbed boards until he could get a bucket.
J.R.: This comes down to a clash of styles that can turn because of the one-on-one format. I’m big on Gilmore’s talent, and would have him topping Vassell if he’d joined the Spurs any younger than he did. But Devin can shoot well enough to pull Artis away from the basket, and then he’s quick and clever enough to drive past him. I see Vassell moving on.
(11) Sean Elliott vs. (22) Willie Anderson
Marilyn: Another tough one between two very similar players who happened to play together. Ultimately, I think Sean’s peak was a little higher and he was the slightly better shooter, give him a slight edge.
Jacob: Again, before my time, but these two were teammates, and my perception is that Elliott was the better player. They played similar positions, but Elliott seemed to be the better shooter, and he made a few All-Star games. Anderson looks like a good athlete and slasher, maybe a bit quicker and powerful off the bounce. I am leaning Elliott here, but wouldn’t be surprised to see it go either way.
Jesus: Elliott should win this, but it would be close. In a battle between two well-rounded players, I’m giving the edge to the better scorer. It would be a really fun matchup to watch, but I think Sean comes out on top.
J.R.: It’s a close one, and if there’s anything we learned from the Memorial Day Miracle, it’s that Sean has the clutch gene in spades. I’m going with Elliott in a hard fought contest.
(6) Tony Parker vs. (27) Malik Rose
Marilyn: This is a time when I believe the smaller player has an advantage over size. Rose will get some points and was a solid defender, but Tony’s speed and signature tear drop floater that was designed to face this exact type of match-up is too lethal to get enough stops.
Jacob: Parker is the best guard in the tournament. A hall-of-fame player doesn’t lose to a role player in the first round, even if he gives up size in a 1-on-1 matchup. Give me Parker in this one.
Jesus: It’s weirdly tempting to go with Rose, who could overwhelm Tony with size. But prime Parker could score from all over the floor against the top big men in the league, and while Rose is a fan favorite, he was never a star. I could see Tony raining jumpers and Malik missing enough to make this one relatively easy for Parker despite the height and strength disadvantage he’d face.
J.R.: If this tourney had rebounding, this might be a different result. But under these rules, it’s Tony all day, even though he’d have a hard time stopping Rose’s determined drives and clever use of his bulk.
(7) Victor Wembanyama vs. (26) Danny Green
Marilyn: Green’s best hope here is that Wemby tries to do some careless dribbling around him (which to be clear, you don’t do around him or he will swipe it) or he decides to play nice and make it a three-point contest. Green was a great defender and spot-up shooter, but he did not have a good driving/one-on-one game and would stand no chance in this one.
Jacob: This is a funny matchup. Not sure what Green can even do against Wemby. Not sure he’d be able to get one of his threes off in a 1-on-1 setting. I have Wemby winning 11-0.
Jesus: Danny Green was one of the best role players ever, a winner and a perfect 3-and-D guy who played his role to perfection. He also couldn’t dribble to save his life and struggled to finish inside. I’m not sure he could score one bucket against Wemby if the big man crowds him. He’d strip the ball from Wembanyama a few times with his quick hands, but has no chance of containing the 7’4 freak of nature for long despite being a great defender himself.
J.R.: This would be fun to watch just to see how creative Wemby would get while scoring his last few baskets. Would he use the attempts to practice his sky hook? Danny is the man, but what chance does he have against an alien?
(10) James Silas vs. (23) Avery Johnson
Marilyn: This is actually a funny match-up because it features two undersized players. Still, Silas has about three inches on AJ, and he was the more gifted scorer of the two, so he gets the win.
Jacob: Silas has a cool story as an ABA All-Star who made an impact in the NBA as well. I’ll give him the nod over Johnson.
Jesus: Johnson was smart and tough, a hard worker who maxed out his potential on the way to having his jersey retired. But he has no chance against Captain Late. Silas was bigger, more skilled, and a clutch god. I don’t think it would be all that close.
J.R.: Silas all week and twice on Sunday. Johnson was terrific as a floor general, but I don’t give him much of a shot at stopping James.
(15) Dejounte Murray vs. (18) Terry Cummings
Marilyn: Once again, I think I’m going with size for the upset here. Murray was one of the Spurs better point guards and defenders, but I’m just not sure he had the size to stop Cummings, especially in his first two seasons here.
Jacob: Two jumbo guards face off in the first round. I’ll take Murray in his all-star season over Cummings.
Jesus: Murray has a case here. He learned the midrange game from DeMar DeRozan and significantly improved his handle during his time in San Antonio. He was also a disruptive defender who could really bother ball handlers. Still, Cummings’ size might be too big a hurdle for Dejounte. I’m giving Cummings the edge, but it would be a little sad to see Murray bow out so early, because he was fun when he was a Spur.
J.R.: Terry was clever around the basket, had a full trunk-load of post moves, and given a tiny bit of daylight, single-dribble drive and slam with the best of them. He had a 51 point game for the Spurs, and it could’ve been more! He was a fully-realized player in San Antonio, and I don’t see Murray having much success against him.
(2) David Robinson vs. (31) Stephon Castle
Marilyn: Yeah, I’m very excited about Castle after one year, but he’s no match for the athletic freak that was The Admiral in his prime. Sorry, Steph.
Jacob: I’m a huge Castle fan, but there isn’t anything he could do against The Admiral. Robinson by a lot.
Jesus: With all due respect to the reigning Rookie of the Year, I don’t think we need to explain much here. David Robinson should advance.
J.R.: I love that Stephon made it into the field, and he’s such a gamer that he’d give full effort and might even make things interesting if his deep shot was falling, but there’s not much chance for him winning against Five-Oh.
