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Originally Posted by ProdigyDub
This might be a valid comparison if they played the same position effectively on the floor (even when they are both at the 4 they don't truly play the same position). Duncan takes 3x the physical abuse that Dirk does. His body will wear down a lot more quickly.
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True. Duncan's also got a lot more post-season mileage on him. But to play devils advocate, Dirk's game is more dependent on athleticism than Duncan's is and it's the athleticism that goes with age. Dirk is so dangerous because in addition to that killer outside shot he's got the quickness to get by bigs that you try to put on him. As he slows down teams will be able to defend him more easily by just putting a big on him that he can't just shoot over, nor has the quickness to get around. Post players don't have that problem. That's why guys like Malone, Kareem, Hakeem and Ewing were still able to put up decent numbers well into their late 30s.