Was last year's Tim the best he can be?

[tim_duncan_fan]

I know Tim's old, but are his physical issues fixable?

I mean, do you guys think he can be quicker than he was last year or is that as good as he can be this year?


If he can get his knees in better condition, that would go a long way toward improving our chances. But is that possible?

[TDMVPDPOY]

he should remove the brace

[Xevious]

Quicker? No. He is what he is. Remember that he dominated at the beginning of the season before deteriorating, which has happened the last two years. His minutes were reduced, but he was still having to carry the team. Hopefully the addition of Splitter can help down low. And if Manu and Parker can come into this season healthy and ready to contribute, he'll be okay.

He isn't getting any quicker though.

[greyforest]

he's not going to get any better, he's clearly in the decline of his career.

[objective]

He's going to be 35 next playoffs. With tons of miles on him.

Pop refused to sit him back-to-backs this past year even with Ratliff and Mahinmi. Went so far as to sit Duncan a first quarter only to burn him up against Toronto on the road in the last 3 quarters to try and overcome a double digit deficit.

The writings on the wall: if Pop refused to spell him this past season, there's no logical reason to think he'll start now. Splitter or no Splitter.

[Refocus]

He was a beast the first half of the season. As long as he doesn't have to carry the team again and gets some well needed rest during the season i think he can be better than last year.

[analyzed]

I compare Duncan's productivity with KG. Between the 2 Duncan seems to have regressed less , which makes sense as Timmy relies less on athleticim as compared to KG. The Advantage KG has had is Perkins. Hopefully Splitter give Tim what Perkins has provided KG

[quentin_compson]

As sad as it is, the days when Tim could deliver 25/12 in a playoff series are over.

Hopefully, he can get some more rest during the RS this year.

[ffcommish]

The positive thing about Tim is he does have the ability to pick up his game if he feels good. He's got to have the 2nd game of back to backs off and you can't play him too much in individual games because overplaying him takes a huge toll and he then needs more recovery.

In the playoffs, I'd actually vary his minutes from game to game. 35 minutes Game 1, 28 minutes Game 2, then 35 minutes Game 3 after a few days rest.

[L.I.T]

I subscribe to the theory that what has become important is the load that TD has been having to carry, even in limited minutes, is wearing him down. Not only the number of minutes, but the responsibilities so to speak have been wearing him out.

The hope should be that with dice and Blair in the second year in the system and the addition of Splitter will allow TD to, forgive the word, "coast" more in game. In effect, play a more complementary role at times.

So, maybe the raw numbers will be lower, but the quality of the minutes has the potential to improve. What he did demonstrate this year is that he can still be a highly effective and efficient player.

[Gagnrath]

As good as he can be? Yes pretty much he had a number of very good games especially early last season.. I think we can see that Duncan man nights are we going to get a Duncan capable of carrying the team alone night in and night out? No. With the emergence of Blair and splitter hopefully being very solid I think we can see a more rested healthier Duncan late in the season and at play-off time which will be a better thing. Think of Timmy as kind of a guy who will get you a solid 16, and 10 every night while playing good defense. If asked for more he's got about 20 games per year where he can do it but then don't expect much without 2 days rest.

[Solid D]

It may be the best he can be but as others have said, he is not the same dominating player he was in 2007 or before. It shows in the team defense and things like the spacing and the 3-point shooting percentages for the team. Last year, it was the worst the Spurs have been in several years (.358 regular season and .338 in the playoffs). They did not have anyone shoot over .400 from the arc for the first time in a long time, although Hill (.399) and Bonner (.390) were close. If you compare last season to even 2008-09, the Spurs had 4 players averaging over .400 from the arc (Mason, Bonner, Finley and Bowen).

It will help to have another big like Splitter to help Timmy out in the post and hey, maybe Pop learned a few new looks from going to school with the Phoenix Suns.