Harvey: Spurs' Recess — Life And Times Of Tim

[duncan228]

Spurs' recess — life and times of Tim (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_recess__life_and_times_of_Tim.html)
Buck Harvey

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — They say he likes to join his oldest child on the playground of her pre-school, then he acts like he does on the road in fourth quarters.

Tim Duncan acts like a kid.

He says this is what happens when you get old in this league. You become young. And the Spurs saw all of it Tuesday night. On a road trip that is supposed to be dreary, in front of a small crowd without much emotion, Duncan fully enjoyed himself.

It didn't hurt he came close to a triple-double.

There have been times in his career when he's dragged, especially at this time of the season. Before the All-Star break, with the playoffs far away, it's not hard to grow weary of hotel rooms and refs.

Duncan has legitimate reasons to tire, too. Gregg Popovich now says he benched Duncan in Denver last week because he had a sore knee.

“It's sore every day,” Duncan said.

Every day?

“Absolutely.”

But instead of limping, Duncan chose to come out for warm-ups Tuesday night with a bounce. He put in his work, then started to walk off the court as two loose balls rolled toward him in the corner.

He picked up one and threw in a 3-pointer, and he yelled to teammates. Then he picked up the other and made that one, too.

Duncan went directly to a line of kids wanting autographs. He signed for 10 minutes, then posed for a picture. Not long after he gave the Nets some memorabilia; he opened the game with his signature bank shot.

This Tim was the spiritual opposite of the animated one on the HBO series, “The Life and Times of Tim.” Everything goes wrong for the fictional one, although, it should be noted, the woman in his HBO life is also named Amy.

Everything went right for this Tim, and maybe that's what happens against a rookie center, Brook Lopez. Duncan had similar success earlier in the season against Lopez.

Duncan led the Spurs with 27 points, but the rest of his stat line was more telling. He finished with nine rebounds, four blocks and eight assists, and the assist total has become a trend. In the 18 games he's played since the start of the year, Duncan has had five or more assists 11 times.

He also centered the defense, as always, and once, Duncan swatted back a Vince Carter attempt. During the next dead-ball moment, Duncan sidled up to Carter.

“You gave me that one,” Duncan told him.

Carter grinned.

The other Spurs say they notice a change. “He's nicer to me,” Matt Bonner kidded.

Shooting as Bonner has the last two games, Duncan has reason to be nicer to him.

But it's more than basketball, and Bruce Bowen sees this. One of his kids attends the same pre-school, and Bowen says Duncan is going through what he is going through.

“You have to look at when we get older, and become parents, we realize some things are here for us to enjoy,” Bowen said.

Such as Carter. Bowen switched to him in the second half and, just like old times, Carter scored only four points the rest of the way.

But Bowen didn't mean that. “Sometimes the business side gets so misconstrued for us that you forget the reason you were attracted to the game. I think, being that he has kids now, he can appreciate these times more. Because the next thing you know, it can be gone.”

Duncan understands all of this. Someone asked him how much longer he wants to play, and he said 10 years.

“But my body won't let me,” he said.

So he savors what he has now. The previous two nights, the Spurs stayed in Manhattan, where Duncan won his first title. Then they bussed to New Jersey, the team Duncan had to beat to win his second.

He said the memories don't overwhelm him. “I don't shed any tears,” he said, with a smile. But he admits he goes through these arenas now with a sense of how much has happened before and how little time is left.

“It's the latter part of my career,” he said, “and I see things differently. I take it less seriously.”

With that, he filed out of one locker room and headed toward another.

There's a playground in Toronto, too.

[DieMrBond]

Didn't Timmy get voted one of the 5 worst players for autographs? Yet you always hear how he goes up and signs? Huh?

[TDfan2007]

Great article. Said it before and I'll say it again. There will NEVER be another Tim Duncan. He's one in a million. We fans should cherish every chance we get to watch him play. I know I do.

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Beautiful article...I feel so lucky to have witnessed such a great player through out these years.

:toast here's to a couple more years of TD.

[GSH]

I saw him stop after the game to take a picture with a kid, too. I know he can't play forever, and I've made a point of reminding myself to enjoy it while it lasts.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love the fact that he waits for every one of his teammates after the games are over, and gives them a high-five as they walk to the locker room. Or when he is on the bench resting and one of the "little guys" comes out of the game, and he rubs their head like he's their big brother.

It's good to know that he still enjoys the game for its own sake. He can retire when he can't take it physically anymore, but not a day sooner.

[spursfan09]

o geez, I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry. I am not gonna cry

[duncan228]

o geez, I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry. I am not gonna cry

Don't worry, I got us both covered there.

[Yorae]

One of my next to impossible wishes before I die is to watch duncan play live....

[duncan228]

One of my next to impossible wishes before I die is to watch duncan play live....

Keep the faith, it can happen.

[m33p0]

Didn't Timmy get voted one of the 5 worst players for autographs? Yet you always hear how he goes up and signs? Huh?
my thoughts exactly.

:lol@bonner

[Blackjack]

I saw him stop after the game to take a picture with a kid, too. I know he can't play forever, and I've made a point of reminding myself to enjoy it while it lasts.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love the fact that he waits for every one of his teammates after the games are over, and gives them a high-five as they walk to the locker room. Or when he is on the bench resting and one of the "little guys" comes out of the game, and he rubs their head like he's their big brother.

It's good to know that he still enjoys the game for its own sake. He can retire when he can't take it physically anymore, but not a day sooner.

That kid was a clever little bastard.

Brian Urlacher jersey...:lol

[Yorae]

Keep the faith, it can happen.

Yeah, if i ever hit the lottery. Thanks, anyway.

[EricB]

Thats a pretty depressing article.

[timvp]

Harvey loves to pull out that knee card. :td

But yeah, Duncan seems to be having more fun than ever. And this was yet another game where not only is he the best player on the court, he's giving the most energy. Great player. Great season. Hopefully he finishes this one off strong and has at least a few more left.

[EricB]

How longs that knee hurt, about 6 years now? :lol


I wish Duncan could play at this level another 5 years.

I know its not realistic, but it would be awesome if he could.

[TDfan2007]

fuck this article got me...emotional. Good stuff. And every time I hear about the knee I become more amazed that this guy can drop 20 and 10 just about every game. It's unbelievable how easy he makes basketball look.

[JWest596]

"The Dark Days" are approaching. The time when there will be no Duncan like when there was no longer the Admiral or the Iceman. Sooner rather than later.

This passing will be the worse and the Golden Age of the Spurs Basketball will be gone forever never to be repeated. There will other future teams and players and great seasons and probable championships but there will never be another Tim Duncan.

And too many fans won't truly realize it till after he retires.

[milkyway21]

Tim Duncan is just too good to be true.

I wish he'd be in the front office when he retires.

sniff*:cry sniff*:cry sniff*:cry

[Duncanoypi]

thats why he's my favorite. He's Tim Duncan. simple as that!

[dav4463]

"The Dark Days" are approaching. The time when there will be no Duncan like when there was no longer the Admiral or the Iceman. Sooner rather than later.

This passing will be the worse and the Golden Age of the Spurs Basketball will be gone forever never to be repeated. There will other future teams and players and great seasons and probable championships but there will never be another Tim Duncan.

And too many fans won't truly realize it till after he retires.



After the Iceman was gone, I was depressed. Then came David Robinson. Then came Tim Duncan. There will be others, but I agree that Tim Duncan is the best of them all and will be the toughest one to see go.

[m33p0]

what the hell is this? this is an emo thread, that's what this is. you all turned into crybabies all of the sudden.

the man is still here and having fun playing the game. he won't be retiring tomorrow! he will still be with us for a few more years!

you can all start crying WHEN he's gone! not before! so enjoy! dammit!
:ihit

[milkyway21]

Didn't Timmy get voted one of the 5 worst players for autographs? Yet you always hear how he goes up and signs? Huh?
But there was one article about Duncan during his FIBA practice held in NY. He watched a baseball game in in between practice with Collison in tow, there were so many New Yorkers who asked for his autograph, and Collison was amazed how accommodating he was then to his fans.

Maybe who made that survey was a Laker fan:lol

[Fernando TD21]

I liked the article. To a healthy and happy Tim :toast.

[Slippy]

Spurs' recess — life and times of Tim (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_recess__life_and_times_of_Tim.html)
Buck Harvey

Tim Duncan acts like a kid.



When he was quoted "fiba sucks" I had this feeling about Tim. :D

Seriously, nice article. At 32, I can totally understand what Bruce and Tim are talking about. Recently I snapped my achilles and became a father for the first time in the space of a few months.

Such is life. As you get older your out-look and approach to it changes. At the same time you learn - sometimes the hard way, to not take it for granted and enjoy the good things in life.

I.E. appreaciate that we got Tim playing for a while yet.

[50Bestspurever]

Great article again Buck. Fucking Harvey, dude always nails it on the head. I remember when I was stationed overseas and Big Daves number was being retired. Harvey wrote an awesome article about the whole celebration of big daves career. I was able to read the article online and it made me so proud to be a spurs fan and a big Dave fan. I even went so far as to email Harvey. I told him when I was stationed away from home, before articles were online, my mom (who is also a big spurs fan) used to mail me his articles when it pertained to the Spurs. Harvey got back to me with a pretty cool email. Anyways, this freaking article really hits home to my love affair with our San Antonio Spurs and Tim (the alpha and the omega) Duncan. And I, as so many other spurs fans, don’t even wanna think about Tim being gone. I mean Duncan put this organization on another planet. It is a privilege to enjoy this dynasty. Timmy’s play has brought so much joy and heartache into my family’s life. I remember the pure joy of the championships and the utter devastations of the playoff eliminations. Thank God the highs outweigh the lows. Big Dave is the best spur ever, but when it is all said and done, Timmy might be the best basketball player ever.

[sonic21]

timmy is ok :tu

[urunobili]

TD may play until he's 38/39... :) He can be the center and we can have the Gist at the 4 or maybe Cris Bosh in 2010 :stirpot:

[ElNono]

Spurs' recess — life and times of Tim (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_recess__life_and_times_of_Tim.html)
Buck Harvey

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — They say he likes to join his oldest child on the playground of her pre-school, then he acts like he does on the road in fourth quarters.

...

Duncan went directly to a line of kids wanting autographs. He signed for 10 minutes, then posed for a picture. Not long after he gave the Nets some memorabilia; he opened the game with his signature bank shot.

...



This is absolutely not true at all, at least last night. We were in the arena 2 hours before the game sitting right next to the player's entrance tunnel, and Timmy did not come out of the locker room until it was game time. The only thing I noticed Tim did different than previous years is when the game was over and he was exiting, he normally runs right through, but this time he acknowledged the fans around and gave high fives to a bunch of the crowd that was packed around the tunnel. The players that did a pre-game warmup were: Vaugh, Finley, Hairston, Hill, Bonner and Manu.
Pop is another guy that we really wanted to get an autograph from, but he just will lower his head and not acknowledge anybody.

[hater]

Duncan is immortal

[TDfan2007]

This is absolutely not true at all, at least last night. We were in the arena 2 hours before the game sitting right next to the player's entrance tunnel, and Timmy did not come out of the locker room until it was game time. The only thing I noticed Tim did different than previous years is when the game was over and he was exiting, he normally runs right through, but this time he acknowledged the fans around and gave high fives to a bunch of the crowd that was packed around the tunnel. The players that did a pre-game warmup were: Vaugh, Finley, Hairston, Hill, Bonner and Manu.
Pop is another guy that we really wanted to get an autograph from, but he just will lower his head and not acknowledge anybody.

Tim always warms up way before most fans get to the arena. The fans who paid the high $$$ and were let in early are probably the ones he signed for and that Harvey mentioned.

[angel_luv]

That was a great article. Thanks for posting it. :)

[Spurs Brazil]

Great read

TD is playing great this season, just like the last 12 years

[benefactor]

Very nice article...except for the knee thing. No one wants to hear that, Buck.

I agree with those that have said that this is a time to enjoy what we have. I have already had thoughts of my grandchildren asking me about some of the great players I got to watch. It will be a great feeling to get to talk about Duncan and the Spurs of this era. Here's to at least a few more years of greatness and hopefully a couple of more Larrys in the case. :toast

[spursfan09]

Don't worry, I got us both covered there.

:lol

Its so sad. He still has some good years thats for sure, but every year brings him closer to retirement. I need to buy season tickets for his last year. I want to remember watching him play forever.

[ElNono]

Tim always warms up way before most fans get to the arena. The fans who paid the high $$$ and were let in early are probably the ones he signed for and that Harvey mentioned.

I was in early, and paid dearly to do so. General public can only go in 1 hour before the game. When I got in, there were probably about 20 people in the stands. I wouldn't discount I missed him, but it's very doubtful.

[SuperDave]

I was in early, and paid dearly to do so. General public can only go in 1 hour before the game. When I got in, there were probably about 20 people in the stands. I wouldn't discount I missed him, but it's very doubtful.

Sorry you missed out, but does it seem very likely to you that the notoriously hard-working and methodical Duncan didn't warm up at all before the game?

Doesn't it seem even less likely that Buck Harvey would then fabricate an article including specific details from Duncan's non-existent warm-up?

Tim's almost always the first guy to get his work done. He does it way earlier than most players. That's his routine. Sounds like you just missed it.

[Thomas82]

Duncan is immortal

I would say he's already a Top 10 All-Time player, especially with his impact on the team since he got here.

[ElNono]

Sorry you missed out, but does it seem very likely to you that the notoriously hard-working and methodical Duncan didn't warm up at all before the game?

I've had early entrance to 5 Spurs games over the years in Philadelphia and New Jersey, been in the arena as early as 3 hours before some of those games, and never seen TD do a pre-game warmup. Not even once.
Does it strike me as weird? Sure. But then again, Duncan is a very private person, and so I take it that's what works for him. Maybe he does it during lunch break. :lol


Doesn't it seem even less likely that Buck Harvey would then fabricate an article including specific details from Duncan's non-existent warm-up?

Not only I saw Buck last night, but I saw him walking from the tunnel into the arena about 1:30 hours before the game started. This is exactly why this story sounds embellished on that point. Then again, maybe they were out there 3 hours before the game and I missed it, but there just weren't many people at all out there 2 hours before game time, so unless it was pre-arranged, I can't see where you would find these 10 kids.


Tim's almost always the first guy to get his work done. He does it way earlier than most players. That's his routine. Sounds like you just missed it.

I would have to guess I did. I love Tim and loved watching him play last night. We also won, and played well. So a great time was had. What Buck writes definitely won't change that.

[duncan228]

Did anyone else notice that Duncan came out after half time in Boston with the knee wrapped? He's not consistent with wrapping it, but I noticed it during the game and pics seem to confirm it.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x282/duncan228/2008-2009/2-8-093.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x282/duncan228/2008-2009/2-8-097.jpg

[timvp]

Interesting. Good job noticing :tu

[duncan228]

Interesting. Good job noticing :tu

I don't miss much. :lol

I'm not thrilled with Harvey tossing it at us all the time, but it's a valid concern to me. Everyone always says Duncan's game can hold up well as he gets older, but as Duncan was quoted, his body won't let him stay around maybe as long as he, and we, would like him to.

The knee does worry me, at least a little.

[ElNono]

Wasn't there an article a day or two ago stating the reason Pop sat TD on the Denver game was because his knee was sore? I still think that as long as we're keeping a decent lead over NOH, he should do the whole sit players down more often...

[duncan228]

Wasn't there an article a day or two ago stating the reason Pop sat TD on the Denver game was because his knee was sore?

It was in this Harvey article, I'm not sure if it was anywhere else before this one.


Duncan has legitimate reasons to tire, too. Gregg Popovich now says he benched Duncan in Denver last week because he had a sore knee.

“It's sore every day,” Duncan said.

Every day?

“Absolutely.”

[mexicanjunior]

The "Life and Times of Tim" mentions were great...I love that show.

[wildbill2u]

Harvey didn't quite put it this way, but I think what Tim and Bower are trying to say is that when you mature and face the prospect of the game ending for you forever, you start to remember why you played the game in the first place. . . It is the most fun they'll ever have in their life.

So they start playing the game for fun again, rather than seeing it as a grueling 82 night job. That's gotta turn your whole attitude around about fans, coaches, teammates and even opponents.

My God, how much fun can it be to play against all those other great players and show 'em what you got?

[ploto]

I've had early entrance to 5 Spurs games over the years in Philadelphia and New Jersey, been in the arena as early as 3 hours before some of those games, and never seen TD do a pre-game warmup. Not even once.

Does it strike me as weird? Sure. But then again, Duncan is a very private person, and so I take it that's what works for him. Maybe he does it during lunch break. :lol

Tim does do a pre-game warm-up but it is often really early. There were times I remember when Rasho was on the Spurs that the team would offer two different times to go to the arena for away games from the hotel on the charter bus, and Tim and Rasho would go more than 3 hours early. Maybe what Buck saw was people's kids who have suites and that you would not even see in regular seats in the arena.

I have seen Tim warm-up though at the AT&T about 1 1/2 hours before the game. Remember he got in trouble for wearing his headphones while he does it, so he may have pushed it even earlier. I know before games he really does not like to be "bothered." I have even seen him warm up in SA and exit the court through the visitor tunnel before.

[exstatic]

My guess is 2014. That would put him at 38, one year older than the Admiral was when he hung up his kicks. His tone sounds like he wants to play as long as possible. That would take him halfway (5 years after this season) to the mythical 10 seasons he still wants to play. He's a lot healthier at this stage of his career than Five Oh was.

[ElNono]

Tim does do a pre-game warm-up but it is often really early. There were times I remember when Rasho was on the Spurs that the team would offer two different times to go to the arena for away games from the hotel on the charter bus, and Tim and Rasho would go more than 3 hours early. Maybe what Buck saw was people's kids who have suites and that you would not even see in regular seats in the arena.

I have seen Tim warm-up though at the AT&T about 1 1/2 hours before the game. Remember he got in trouble for wearing his headphones while he does it, so he may have pushed it even earlier. I know before games he really does not like to be "bothered." I have even seen him warm up in SA and exit the court through the visitor tunnel before.

Thanks for the info. I'll try 5 hours earlier next time, I guess...

[Thomas82]

My guess is 2014. That would put him at 38, one year older than the Admiral was when he hung up his kicks. His tone sounds like he wants to play as long as possible. That would take him halfway (5 years after this season) to the mythical 10 seasons he still wants to play. He's a lot healthier at this stage of his career than Five Oh was.

That sounds reasonable to me.