KG or Tim Duncan?

[Celtics18]

I'm stoked that we got Kevin Garnett during the summer of '07 and that he helped lead us to our first title in more than 20 years.

I can't imagine wanting to redo history to create a world where KG was never a Celtic.   

[Moranis]

I'm not sure the Celtics would have won the title in 07/08 with Duncan instead of Garnett. A big man rotation of Duncan-Perkins-PJ Brown-Posey-Powe... they'd have faced the same issues the Spurs - Duncan-Oberto-Thomas-Horry - had versus the Lakers that same year, not enough speed to handle Kobe's dribble penetration, the triangle side-shifts and Gasol and Odom's speed and offensive range. I think they'd have needed to play with Posey at the 4 as their default line-up - which would mean no Posey on Kobe, so no rest for Allen/Pierce and at the same time a lower quality team defense.

I don't think they'd have won in 08/09 either. Duncan was already too slow to pair up with Perkins and expect high-level defensive results.

In the last 2 years Garnett has been fairly superior to Duncan.

I think it's Garnett by a fair margin assuming the rest of the roster remains the same. With a different roster, well, it depends on the changes.

Pierce is a better defender then anything the Spurs had on Kobe that year. 

[CelticG1]

I'm not sure the Celtics would have won the title in 07/08 with Duncan instead of Garnett. A big man rotation of Duncan-Perkins-PJ Brown-Posey-Powe... they'd have faced the same issues the Spurs - Duncan-Oberto-Thomas-Horry - had versus the Lakers that same year, not enough speed to handle Kobe's dribble penetration, the triangle side-shifts and Gasol and Odom's speed and offensive range. I think they'd have needed to play with Posey at the 4 as their default line-up - which would mean no Posey on Kobe, so no rest for Allen/Pierce and at the same time a lower quality team defense.

I don't think they'd have won in 08/09 either. Duncan was already too slow to pair up with Perkins and expect high-level defensive results.

In the last 2 years Garnett has been fairly superior to Duncan.

I think it's Garnett by a fair margin assuming the rest of the roster remains the same. With a different roster, well, it depends on the changes.

Pierce is a better defender then anything the Spurs had on Kobe that year. 

Pierce defended Kobe for half a game in that finals the one we made that comeback in. Why do people think that he guards Kobe regularly? Ray Allen guards Kobe and always has. Just because they switched for half a game doesn't mean much

[ayer]

I would pick KG over TD entire of their career.. More aggressive and more intensity..

[Boris Badenov]

Reading through all the comments two stand out at most important:

1. Garnett had the ability to turn everyone else into much better defenders, with his attitude and intensity. Turn back the clock to 2007 and I just don't see Ray and PP responding to Duncan the way they responded to KG, in terms of upping their own efforts.

2. Garnett's versatility as a defender was critical to us, in terms of beating the Lakers and also probably the Cavs.

The only argument I can see going the other way that no one has mentioned is this: I think we'd be a much more efficient offensive team with Duncan. Rondo would get him tons of easy baskets, and having a Duncan low-post option with PP and Ray spotting up for threes would be devastating.