Comparing the Spurs’ ‘Twin Towers’ to the Cavs’ ‘Tower City’

One year or six?

The hardest part about comparing these four big men, is the fact that Robinson and Duncan played together in San Antonio for six years, and this is the first year Mobley and Allen have played together. So instead of comparing the six years of Robinson and Duncan to the one-year Mobley-Allen duo, we’ll take a look at both duos’ first season together. For the Cavs that is obviously this year, and for the other two all-time greats it was the 1997-1998 season.

So to start out with the baseline, Duncan and Robinson combined to score 42.7 points per game, along with combining to collect 22.5 rebounds per game, and blocking over five shots together. Now Allen and Mobley have combined to score less than the other two, only 31.1 points a night. They are also grabbing 19.1 rebounds per night and blocking just over three shots a night.

So, just looking at the statistics, it’s clear that Robinson and Duncan were the better offensive duo. There’s nothing wrong with that, as the two Spurs were a combined age of 53, which is much higher than Moley and Allen’s combined age of 43. Also, David Robinson was a seasoned NBA All-Star at the time, while Allen has yet to make an All-Star game. Also, the NBA game has changed tremendously since 1997-1998.

Most big men are asked to defend the rim, while also being able to handle the ball a little bit, and shoot from pretty much everywhere on the court. For example, Duncan and Robinson combined to shoot a total of 268 three-pointers in their entire career. Evan Mobley himself, has already attempted 59 three-pointers this year, and I would expect that number to eclipse 100 by the end of the season.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the defensive side of things.