21 vs. 21

WARNING: Long basketball post.

Both Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett share the same number, same position, same height, and similar statistics. Both are idolized by their respective communities.

Being a Spurs fan, people up here always assume I'm being a homer when I say that I think Garnett, as great as he is, has some punkish behavior. Without a doubt he is this year's Most Valuable Player. But for years, the Minnesota fans and reporters have been treating him like he is a saint and a true class act. When I point to his behavior, quotes, and anticts that contradict this, most reasonable Minnesota Timerwolves fans agree somewhat, but others call me a homer and think I am biased.

Well, once again, Buck Harvey is the man, and he articulated my issues with Garnett in his column today. Sure Buck's another Spurs homer just like I am. But he can express, better than I can, why I think, stats aside, Duncan is the superior overall player:

Tim Duncan will win again...

He's the stable image of a stable franchise, and the contrast was there last week. Then, the heir to his MVP award, Kevin Garnett, tapped a Denver player in his nuggets.

Duncan has always been private, and there was Garnett, public with someone else's privates. Garnett followed by howling Friday night and mouthing a compound word that began with "mother," acting as if he'd won a title.

Duncan's face barely changed expression when he beat No. 8 seeds in the first round, and that's him. As consistent as he is skilled.

Click here for the whole column (it's a preview of the Spurs/Lakers series).

Garnett talks trash and gets into petty squabbles all the time. This year he tied for third in the league in technical fouls, and years past he has been second, right behind the poster boy for poor sportsmanship, Rasheed Wallace.

Garnett is the best player in the NBA, and a fierce competitor. But some of the fans and reporters around here need to quit acting like he is also the classiest.

I also have read a few stories in the Minneapolis paper that cites how the Spurs and Wolves are such similar franchises, in terms of personnel.

Click here and try to imagine the Spurs being at the center of this story. I don't think so.

By the way, Spurs/Lakers starts today. I am feeling confident going about my team's chances. That has never happened before. But I am worried that Buck Harvey picked the Spurs to win. He is a great columnist, but not a great prognosticator. Last year he predicted Lakers in six, and it was the Spurs who won in six.