How does the slimming down...

[Hooks]

Of both Duncan and Blair affect their game? Does the weight loss make them more or less effective?

Duncan's lost 20lbs this summer, does that make him more agile what about his endurance? That's gotta be good for his knees, along with the long regular season he'll be a lot fresher when the playoffs begin yah? I'm guessing he's gotten a lot stronger as well, shedding fat, getting leaner.



Blair depends on his physicality, he's dropped a considerable amount of weight, 20+lbs yes? Does the extra weight loss affect his ability to bang down low?


Also, anyone know the last time Duncan was @ 240lbs?

[qiuyizeng]

Of both Duncan and Blair affect their game? Does the weight loss make them more or less effective?

Duncan's lost 20lbs this summer, does that make him more agile what about his endurance? That's gotta be good for his knees, along with the long regular season he'll be a lot fresher when the playoffs begin yah? I'm guessing he's gotten a lot stronger as well, shedding fat, getting leaner.



Blair depends on his physicality, he's dropped a considerable amount of weight, 20+lbs yes? Does the extra weight loss affect his ability to bang down low?


Also, anyone know the last time Duncan was @ 240lbs?




i think lost 20lbs affect duncan's power,post defense and offense,duncan should get more muscles while shedding fat.

[Spursone]

I think the weight loss will help Duncan's agility and ability to get up and down the court. It will also reduce knee strain. Also Duncan doesn't need weight to post up like he used to. I believe Duncan has that LAST CHANCE mentality and is going to be a beast when it counts! Blair should not slim down to much since he is a rebounder and a banger, but more importantly it's what's happening between his ears that counts and I think we are going to see something real special from this youngster.

IM GOING CRAZY WAITING FOR THIS THING TO START.

GO SPURS GO!:flag:

[Bulwark]

Of both Duncan and Blair affect their game? Does the weight loss make them more or less effective?

Duncan's lost 20lbs this summer, does that make him more agile what about his endurance? That's gotta be good for his knees, along with the long regular season he'll be a lot fresher when the playoffs begin yah? I'm guessing he's gotten a lot stronger as well, shedding fat, getting leaner.



Blair depends on his physicality, he's dropped a considerable amount of weight, 20+lbs yes? Does the extra weight loss affect his ability to bang down low?


Also, anyone know the last time Duncan was @ 240lbs?

How do you know that Duncan has lost 20 lbs.? Link?

[Fabbs]

How do you know that Duncan has lost 20 lbs.? Link?
Same Q. but on Blair.
Link to Blair losing 20?

Agree pounds/schmounds. Its more about fat and muscle %.

[mookie2001]

i heard he did he so he can play PF now instead of center

for example

here is what the best lineup would look like if he played center

parker pg
manu sg
RJ sf
mcdyess pf
duncan c

and here is what it would be if he played PF

parker pg
manu sg
RJ sf
duncan pf
mcdyess c

[SpurCharger]

Duncan Will Be Fine..... He Has Mcdyess, Blair, and Now Ratliff To Do Alot Of dirty Work Now. He Didnt Have That Luxury The Last Few Years. Now Tim Can Focus On Scoring, Playing Good Help Defense, And He doesnt have to Snag Every Board Anymore With Blair And Mcdyess there. Plus The Less Weight On his Knee the Better..... And With Blair, Even If He lost 20 lbs, He is still Gonna be Heavier then Just ABout Every Power Forward in the game.

[MoSpur]

I think it was mentioned in the Johnny Ludden article that Duncan shed weight. Not sure how much though.

[thispego]

i heard he did he so he can play pf now instead of center

for example

here is what the best lineup would look like if he played center

parker pg
manu sg
rj sf
mcdyess pf
duncan c

and here is what it would be if he played pf

parker pg
manu sg
rj sf
duncan pf
mcdyess c

what will it look like with bonner in the lineup?

[whottt]

I think they're fucking up by making Blair lose weight. The last Spur they wanted to lose weight just for the sake of losing weight that actually did so was Malik around 2004...was a disaster and he was never the same player again.

I can sit there and watch the guy play and see easily that his weight and how he uses it is a big part of his game and power.

If it aint broke don't fix it.

[boutons_deux]

Fat is an advantage for sumo wrestlers.

Tim and Blair will be fine with 20 - 30 pounds less weight, amplified by rapid acceleration/deceleration, on their weak knees.

Moving to position and to the ball are the most important.

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't know about Blair, we'll see..

As for Duncan..if it didn't benefit him, he wouldn't do it..simple as that..

[DaBears]

I would think losing weight would be Beneficial in TD’s case making him more agile and quicker first step. In the case of Blair I think it helps to a point as well in his overall athleticism, but not to over due it.

[vander]

i heard he did he so he can play PF now instead of center

for example

here is what the best lineup would look like if he played center

parker pg
manu sg
RJ sf
mcdyess pf
duncan c

and here is what it would be if he played PF

parker pg
manu sg
RJ sf
duncan pf
mcdyess c

I LOL'ed

[Rummpd]

Duncan inherent strength is his mind + legs and a broad backside (plus long arms) + he will be fine!

[Riverwalkman]

For one thing, If you wanna stay sharp, the weight you've lost should be fat, and I suspect that Duncan's body fat stays at a high level over the last couple years, that's why his knees are strained.

Speaking for myself, I lost about 20 lbs in last 3 months and that did not affect my power in paint. I used to be 40 lbs more than today, and in those days, when I played basketball for about 2-3 hours, I felt pain in my knees, Which is no longer a problem today. So my conclusion is, The lost of fat will make Duncan much more durable, while his dominance in paint won't hurt.

[angelbelow]

Yea, they are cutting fat which is a huge plus Their cardio will be a lot better and they should be stronger and quicker as well.

[duncan228]

How do you know that Duncan has lost 20 lbs.? Link?

It's 15 pounds according to Ludden. Don't know where 20 came from.


Popovich said Duncan has lost 15 pounds and now weighs 240...

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132942

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Kenny Thomas slimmed down so he could play power forward in the NBA, and the extra quickness served him well. He was one of the few tweener forwards to average a double-double in the league back in his Philly days.

Blair probably has more potential than Thomas did, but the two have similar builds. Losing weight does not necessarily translate to losing strength.

[benefactor]

Kenny Thomas slimmed down so he could play power forward in the NBA, and the extra quickness served him well. He was one of the few tweener forwards to average a double-double in the league back in his Philly days.

Blair probably has more potential than Thomas did, but the two have similar builds. Losing weight does not necessarily translate to losing strength.
Indeed. Both Duncan and Blair have extremely strong bases so I don't see either being affected by the weight loss.

[DPG21920]

Exactly. In the NBA, quickness becomes just as important as well. Blair was lacking some quickness and not lacking any strength. He has improved in one area by losing weight while not losing anything of importance in another. Just a smart move.

[bugoy]

less pressure on the knees maybe?

[callo1]

i heard he did he so he can play PF now instead of center

for example

here is what the best lineup would look like if he played center

parker pg
manu sg
RJ sf
mcdyess pf
duncan c

and here is what it would be if he played PF

parker pg
manu sg
RJ sf
duncan pf
mcdyess c

Lineups and matchups are a bit different. TD has verbally stated many times over the last two years that he doesn't want to play the other teams 5, so I think you oversimplify it a bit. I have no doubt that late in games TD will be on the other teams best big no matter what, but grinding all game long appears to have taken a toll on him into the latter part of the season.

The loss of the 15 lbs hopefully saves those knees a bit, and being that the western conference is laking bruising bigs like Shaq and Yao this year I would think it made the decision to shed some weight a bit easier...just a guess on my part.

Either way, logic says it will improve his first step some. Early last year his first step looked the best it had since the Mavs series in '06, but alas, the tendonosis caught up with him late in the year:(

From the article, it sounded like Pop was going to have Timmy do much less pre-season work that he normally did. I think Pop probably sees the big picture and knows that Timmy's body can't take the load it took before.

I will never forget when Tony Dorsett got picked up by the Broncos and was running a simple route in practice and blew his knee out. From all accounts that I can recall his knee just gave way from all the stress that had come before. Age seems to do that with us old people:)

[manu_maniac]

They weren't finished with their conditioning after losing 15 lbs apiece, anyway. I'm sure they're both continuing their workouts and will probably be in the best shape of their lives, save their knees.

[mookie2001]

how could you have not gotten that joke?

it was the one of the most idiotic things ever typed on spurstalk, you took it seriously and all you came with was


I think you oversimplify it a bit

[SonOfAGun]

Blair needs to beef up.

Maybe he can stay slim during his early years while he can still run the floor, but a beast like that needs muscle.

[manu_maniac]

Blair needs to beef up.

Maybe he can stay slim during his early years while he can still run the floor, but a beast like that needs muscle.

I could see him adding a slight amount of muscle, but he's strong enough already. He's the same height as, if not slightly shorter than, Manu, but has a good 35-40 lbs more than him.

I'm not sure what weight Blair's at right now, actually, but what I said above is most likely underestimating.

[Da Spurs]

I think they're fucking up by making Blair lose weight. The last Spur they wanted to lose weight just for the sake of losing weight that actually did so was Malik around 2004...was a disaster and he was never the same player again.

I can sit there and watch the guy play and see easily that his weight and how he uses it is a big part of his game and power.

If it aint broke don't fix it.


In his initial interview, Blair said he weighed 270. He must have gained alot right after the college season and then went on a diet. He's in great shape--quit worrying about.

[Spurs da champs]

He looked huge in the summer league.

[lurker23]

I wouldn't worry too much about Blair's weight. If it turns out he needs to be 300 to do what he's used to doing, the weight is easy enough to put back on. However, I was just reading a blurb from DraftExpress (from the combine results back in June) that says he compares well size-wise and athleticism-wise with Paul Millsap and Craig Smith.

DeJuan Blair:
Height w/o shoes: 6'5.25"
Weight: 277 (he says he'd like to get down to 260, 265)
Wingspan: 7'2"
Standing reach: 8'10.5"
Body fat: 12%
No Step Vertical: 26 inches
Max vertical: 33 inches
Bench press: 18 reps
Lane agility drill: 11.50 seconds
3/4 court sprint: 3.45 seconds

Paul Millsap:
Height w/o shoes: 6'6.25"
Weight: 258 (now listed at 250)
Wingspan: 7'1.5"
Standing reach: 8'9.5"
Body fat: 9.7%
No Step Vertical: 28.5 inches
Max vertical: 32.5 inches
Bench press: 15 reps
Lane agility drill: 11.67 seconds
3/4 court sprint: 3.30 seconds

Craig Smith:
Height w/o shoes: 6'5.5"
Weight: 259 (now listed at 250)
Wingspan: 6'9.5"
Standing reach: 8'7.5"
Body fat: 12.2%
No Step Vertical: 30 inches
Max vertical: 29.5 inches
Bench press: NA
Lane agility drill: 11.59 seconds
3/4 court sprint: 3.40 seconds


Personally, I'd be fine if Blair were to match Craig Smith's rookie year numbers of 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 19 minutes per game.

[callo1]

how could you have not gotten that joke?

it was the one of the most idiotic things ever typed on spurstalk, you took it seriously and all you came with was


I think you oversimplify it a bit


Hard to judge intent through a keyboard when I don't know the poster well...after looking again, it seemed more like sarcasm than a joke. I was simply engaged in the original post and responded.

Sometimes I don't know which way is up or down...taking so many medications at the moment theres no telling...tomorrow I could wake up a Mavs fan...naw, it would take a whole lot more meds to make me do that:)

Such is life.


Go Spurs Go !! :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2::lobt:

The Drive For Five is Alive !!

[itzsoweezee]

easier on his legs

[peskypesky]

maybe Pop wants more dunks

[Man In Black]

From an athletic standpoint, the generalities apply:
The lighter weight should amount to less wear and tear physiologically. Maybe, Pop envisions a running option. If he has one, 1st & 2nd break opps would also lessen the wear and team of a team that runs a deliberate half-court offense primarily.

If you're worrying about court positioning due to the lost weight, it's really more about timing and fundamentals. I remind you that great post players named Robinson & Olajuwon did the bulk of their damage at 250 pounds. If you think about it, Darrell Dawkins aka Chocolate Thunder was Pre-Shaq, the guy who ripped down backboards after dunks. 6'11 251 pounds.

DeJuan Blair is already better than Craig Smith. I think he can better those numbers if given the minutes. If the Front Office is serious about maintaining their big 3 throughout the season, then having such a deep team isn't a luxury, it's a neccesity and one they need to use. I've been watching tape of Blair from his Pitt Days and if you watch intently, you see a player who is in motion constantly to get position. It's not wasted motion, it's more like a keen awareness to where the ball should go. He doesn't get every rebound, he's not like Rodman that tips, jumps, tips to get a rebound. He's more Elton Brand than Charles Barkely. I don't expect a large amount of blocks but I expect that if he gives us moments like when he punked Thabeet, well...let's just say that the length LA has that's an advantage, might only be perception and not truth.

[raspsa]

It has little to do with slimming down but I hope Timmy continues to complement his post game with more medium-range jumpers. I'd even be happy if he attempted a 3-pointer now and then if he's feeling bored.