Jeff McDonald: 'Losing doesn't feel good,' Duncan says

[Spurs Brazil]

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/
Jeff McDonald: 'Losing doesn't feel good,' Duncan says
Tim Duncan, the only member of the Spurs' "Big Three" able to stand on two healthy ankles, addressed the media after practice Monday morning. Here is a Q & A glance at what he said:

Q: How does the team's mindset change with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out of the lineup?
A: Obviously, the mindset changes a bit, the rotation changes a bit. We're going to lean on a lot of young guys to step up and play a lot of minutes for us.

There's no time to sit and sulk about it. You have to try to turn it around as much as possible. We've kind of dug ourselves in a hole, and every game counts right now. Losing the way we have doesn't feel good. We're going to try to turn things around. We'll bide our time until Manu and Tony get back.

Q: Sam Smith wrote a piece today on bulls.com intimating that maybe a lot of teams around the league are happy at the bad luck that has befallen the Spurs. Are you surprised nobody's feeling sorry for you?
A: They never will. Nobody's going to feel sorry for us, and we're not either. We're just going to have to play through it.

Q: George Hill, the rookie point guard, is going to have to a carry a larger load with Parker out. What advice have you given him?
A: (It's) just being comfortable out there and not trying to press things. Maybe you make a mistake or two ... (it's) letting the mistakes go, moving on to the next play and not dwelling on what's happened already.

Q: How important is it going to be to have a veteran like Jacque Vaughn at that position, too?
A: He's going to be huge for us. He's going to have to be a mentor to George, as well as being a point guard out there running our team. He knows everything that we do, and how to do it the right way. He's going to have to pick up a lot of the slack.

Q: There's been some talk that maybe Gregg Popovich's new beard is the source of your team's bad karma. Any thoughts on that?
A: I thought it was my beard, that's why I shaved. We'll start there.

Q: And if the losing continues, will you take a razor to Pop's follicles?
A: That will be the next step.

[timvp]

the rotation changes a bit. We're going to lean on a lot of young guys to step up and play a lot of minutes for us.

I wonder if he is simply talking about Hill or if Pop is actually going to go with more of Tolliver and Hairston and less of Thomas and Finley.

[Obstructed_View]

I wonder if he is simply talking about Hill or if Pop is actually going to go with more of Tolliver and Hairston and less of Thomas and Finley.

Freudian slip, yo. I'm winning you over.

[timvp]

Freudian slip, yo. I'm winning you over.

:lol

Yeah, you got me there. I've been Hairston brainwashed. Although if Hairston lights up Austin in a couple weeks, it may become a reality . . .

But yeah, more Farmer and Tolliver? At least they are energetic and in theory, at least, capable offensive threats.

[Obstructed_View]

:lol

Yeah, you got me there. I've been Hairston brainwashed. Although if Hairston lights up Austin in a couple weeks, it may become a reality . . .

But yeah, more Farmer and Tolliver? At least they are energetic and in theory, at least, capable offensive threats.

I'm right there with you. The vets need to earn their way back into the rotation. I'd like to see a situation where nobody, including Duncan, is immune from bench time when they give poor effort on defense. I really don't like this thing where Timmy's started sniping at his teammates on the court.

I also want to find out if any of the new guys suck so Hairston can take their spot before someone else realizes how good he is. ;)

[td4mvp21]

:lol

Yeah, you got me there. I've been Hairston brainwashed. Although if Hairston lights up Austin in a couple weeks, it may become a reality . . .

But yeah, more Farmer and Tolliver? At least they are energetic and in theory, at least, capable offensive threats.

What do you think of Tolliver? I wasn't really impressed with his shot, it looked really really raw to me.

And Farmer at least has potential IMO. He had some good drives, he just didn't finish and he can hit the outside shot.

[bdictjames]

LOL @ Duncan's beard.

[angelbelow]

I wonder if he is simply talking about Hill or if Pop is actually going to go with more of Tolliver and Hairston and less of Thomas and Finley.

hah, for a second i thought we waived someone for hairston...

[Gino2882]

hah, for a second i thought we waived someone for hairston...

Also what I thought. However, if Farmer throws up another 2-9 I would hope we get to see Hairston.

Farmer HAS to be hitting his shot, or he is of NO value to this team.

[Manufan909]

2-9 is better than 1-22. Give him a couple of games with serious minutes, instead of 1.

[timvp]

What do you think of Tolliver? I wasn't really impressed with his shot, it looked really really raw to me. He looked a lot better than he did during preseason. Active defensively, smart offensively. An ability to hold his position defensively against physical players will be something to watch for, as he struggled with that during summer league and preseason.

Regarding his shooting, it's obviously still a work in progress. In summer league, he hit just about every open shot he took. In preseason he couldn't buy a shot. I'm guessing the true Tolliver is about a 35% three-point shooter. For him to be a successful NBA player, he'd need to be about a 38% three-point shooter while also showing an ability to defend and rebound at higher levels than he's previously shown.

I don't love him as a prospect but when compared against the Stiff Three, he suddenly doesn't appear to be that bad of an option.

[m33p0]

They never will. Nobody's going to feel sorry for us, and we're not either. We're just going to have to play through it.

That's what we're here for: to feel sorry for the team, to rant, to demand, to go bonkers when things go wrong.

[SenorSpur]

Regarding the earlier mention of Hairston, it's no secret the Spurs are off to their worst defensive showing in the Popovich era. That said, is there anyone else, besides me, that believes Hairston would be a better roster prospect simply because of his ability to defend? He could certainly help out guarding some of the more athletic SFs the Spurs will face and could provide some occasional offense.

[mrspurs]

He looked a lot better than he did during preseason. Active defensively, smart offensively. An ability to hold his position defensively against physical players will be something to watch for, as he struggled with that during summer league and preseason.

Regarding his shooting, it's obviously still a work in progress. In summer league, he hit just about every open shot he took. In preseason he couldn't buy a shot. I'm guessing the true Tolliver is about a 35% three-point shooter. For him to be a successful NBA player, he'd need to be about a 38% three-point shooter while also showing an ability to defend and rebound at higher levels than he's previously shown.

I don't love him as a prospect but when compared against the Stiff Three, he suddenly doesn't appear to be that bad of an option.

Dont forget he slimmed down alot as well. And what we havnt seen, that we saw in the summer league is his post up game. He can back you down and is very quick when he goes left or right. (and in the POs you will need 1on1 players). Right now all he needs is playing time to build that confidence. There is no reason to play Kurt or Fab or Matt but, for backups. Pop knows what he is doing. He says the right things like(the vets are ticking me off) so the media thinks they suck. When what he really justs wants todo is see what he has. There is no pressure to win games when 2 of your starters are out. Imo whether we tank games or not will depend on how the other clubs are doing. If the top 8 teams keep losing games they're supposed to win we might just still be around when our 2 starters get back. But in any case, play AT because he's worth it. If he knew the system he would easily be a starter. The problem would easily be whos coming off the bench. And the worst part of it is. AT wont get to play with the starting 5. He will basically be in with the second squad. With noone but Jacque to run the team, it wont look pretty out there. Hope for the 3s togo in, and give AT some NBA experience is the best we can hope for.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i guess duncan hasnt heard his team mates masons "feel so good" from mase hahahahahha

double up?

[wcmay5555]

Q: There's been some talk that maybe Gregg Popovich's new beard is the source of your team's bad karma. Any thoughts on that?
A: I thought it was my beard, that's why I shaved. We'll start there.



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