33-year old Tim Duncan still has a lot left in the gas tank but he will be in the Hall of Fame when he retires. He is the face of the San Antonio Spurs. He played in 75 games for the Spurs last season and he averaged 33.6 minutes, 19.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. There is no reason to expect Duncan to not put up double-double numbers again bringing along solid D in the middle. 36-year old Theo Ratliff will back up Duncan this season. He played in 46 games for the Sixers last season and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Ratliff can still defend and rebound so he will likely be a asset for the Spurs this season. 22-year old Ian Mahinmi last played with the Spurs in 2007-08 when he appeared in 6 games and averaged 3.8 minutes, 3.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Don’t expect much out of him this season. Antonio McDyess could also slide to center for some minutes so that Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair could get some more minutes this season when Duncan needs a breather.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: A+