ShoogarBear
05-25-2005, 08:03 AM
A little something for whottt in here:
Robinson knows no way to keep Duncan down
Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
May. 25, 2005 12:00 AM He knows Tim Duncan as well as anyone.
The elbows.
The footwork.
"The consistency. He's an assassin. He'll work and work until he gets something right, and he'll be relentless at it. He's incredible."
It is just hours before tip-off of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals and Texas' most famous minister, David Robinson, is settling in at his San Antonio home to watch Must See TD. Even for a man whose post-basketball life is filled with playing carpool dad and building and running a school for underprivileged children, Robinson says this series has his attention.
It may also have something to do with the fact that he's now an investor in the team.
Robinson laughs when asked what the Suns can do to stop Duncan.
"The thing about Tim is you're not going to stop him," Robinson said. "If you cut one thing off, he'll do another thing. He'll shoot jumpers all night long, but if you get up on him, he'll make great passes.
"If I had to coach against him, I would just do everything I can to get the ball out of his hands. The more touches he gets, the more he gets into a rhythm and look out . . . "
It turns out Robinson's analysis was right on the money. Early on in Tuesday's 111-108 loss, the Suns were effective at keeping the ball out of Duncan's hands. They fell short in the fourth quarter, and Duncan made them pay.
In the first half, the Spurs forward was 1 for 7 with five points. In the fourth quarter alone, he was 5 for 8 for 14 points and was a force in the final minutes. Duncan is the biggest reason the Spurs head to San Antonio with a 2-0 series lead.
"You get the ball in his hands and he just makes the right decisions," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.
For much of this game, the Suns were effective against the two-time MVP. Their defense was focused on keeping the ball away from Duncan, as opposed to defending him once he got his hands on the ball. That's where teams get into trouble, because Duncan is so strong and so smart that he'll make a great offensive move and score or he'll pass it to an open teammate and the Spurs will benefit from the same result.
The Suns were also more aggressive inside than in Game 1, and with 8:14 remaining in the third quarter, Duncan found himself with four fouls. The Suns outscored the Spurs in the paint 58-52 on Tuesday after being outscored 62-40 in the paint in the first game.
But the difference came down the stretch, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich credited Duncan "with leadership when it counted."
"We always talk about playing 48 minutes," Duncan said afterward. "Even though we didn't play well early, we knew we had to stay with it."
"That's the kind of guy he is," Robinson said. "He'll never quit. We used to play video games and I used to just kill him. He's one of those plodding guys who says, 'I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to figure it out.' In the end he was just killing me."
As it got closer to tip-off, Robinson's thoughts turned to Steve Nash. Robinson admires teams that communicate well, that put individual desires aside for a common goal.
He sees that in the Suns and appreciates how much Nash has had to do with it.
"I think how if I had Steve Nash early in my career it would have been a world of difference," Robinson said. :wow "I'm very impressed. If you had to pick the guy who was most valuable to a team, it was definitely him. He made them a championship contender."
Nash did his best to even this series Tuesday. He finished with 29 points and 15 assists.
He didn't have an answer for Duncan, though. Nobody did.
"Really, there are no answers," Robinson said.
Link (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0525boivin0525.html)
Robinson knows no way to keep Duncan down
Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
May. 25, 2005 12:00 AM He knows Tim Duncan as well as anyone.
The elbows.
The footwork.
"The consistency. He's an assassin. He'll work and work until he gets something right, and he'll be relentless at it. He's incredible."
It is just hours before tip-off of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals and Texas' most famous minister, David Robinson, is settling in at his San Antonio home to watch Must See TD. Even for a man whose post-basketball life is filled with playing carpool dad and building and running a school for underprivileged children, Robinson says this series has his attention.
It may also have something to do with the fact that he's now an investor in the team.
Robinson laughs when asked what the Suns can do to stop Duncan.
"The thing about Tim is you're not going to stop him," Robinson said. "If you cut one thing off, he'll do another thing. He'll shoot jumpers all night long, but if you get up on him, he'll make great passes.
"If I had to coach against him, I would just do everything I can to get the ball out of his hands. The more touches he gets, the more he gets into a rhythm and look out . . . "
It turns out Robinson's analysis was right on the money. Early on in Tuesday's 111-108 loss, the Suns were effective at keeping the ball out of Duncan's hands. They fell short in the fourth quarter, and Duncan made them pay.
In the first half, the Spurs forward was 1 for 7 with five points. In the fourth quarter alone, he was 5 for 8 for 14 points and was a force in the final minutes. Duncan is the biggest reason the Spurs head to San Antonio with a 2-0 series lead.
"You get the ball in his hands and he just makes the right decisions," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.
For much of this game, the Suns were effective against the two-time MVP. Their defense was focused on keeping the ball away from Duncan, as opposed to defending him once he got his hands on the ball. That's where teams get into trouble, because Duncan is so strong and so smart that he'll make a great offensive move and score or he'll pass it to an open teammate and the Spurs will benefit from the same result.
The Suns were also more aggressive inside than in Game 1, and with 8:14 remaining in the third quarter, Duncan found himself with four fouls. The Suns outscored the Spurs in the paint 58-52 on Tuesday after being outscored 62-40 in the paint in the first game.
But the difference came down the stretch, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich credited Duncan "with leadership when it counted."
"We always talk about playing 48 minutes," Duncan said afterward. "Even though we didn't play well early, we knew we had to stay with it."
"That's the kind of guy he is," Robinson said. "He'll never quit. We used to play video games and I used to just kill him. He's one of those plodding guys who says, 'I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to figure it out.' In the end he was just killing me."
As it got closer to tip-off, Robinson's thoughts turned to Steve Nash. Robinson admires teams that communicate well, that put individual desires aside for a common goal.
He sees that in the Suns and appreciates how much Nash has had to do with it.
"I think how if I had Steve Nash early in my career it would have been a world of difference," Robinson said. :wow "I'm very impressed. If you had to pick the guy who was most valuable to a team, it was definitely him. He made them a championship contender."
Nash did his best to even this series Tuesday. He finished with 29 points and 15 assists.
He didn't have an answer for Duncan, though. Nobody did.
"Really, there are no answers," Robinson said.
Link (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0525boivin0525.html)