FoxPerez
03-23-2011, 03:06 PM
From The Daily Six Shooter (http://bit.ly/evxTKF) at PlaymakerOnline.com:
As for Tim Duncan, he won’t be joining the team on San Antonio’s three-game road trip through Denver, Portland and Memphis because of the ankle injury he suffered in the team’s victory over Golden State:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ1_AiHi6wo&feature=player_embedded
Something occurred to me watching him go down with that injury, and that was the look on his face. And that look was confirmed to me by Joe Herrera, a good friend and Univision photographer who was right in front of Duncan when he went down at the AT&T Center. He didn’t look like he was in pain. He looked like he was mad and disappointed because he could immediately tell how badly he was hurt and what the implications would be for the rest of the season. You could see him doing the math in his head: “I’m going to be fine, but I’ll miss the next two weeks and probably won’t be 100% on this ankle until the end of the first round of the playoffs.”
X-Rays luckily came back negative and MRI’s suggest that there’s nothing structurally wrong with the ankle, which is sort of a best-case scenario. Duncan was seen on crutches recently, likely avoiding any pressure to the ankle so the swelling can subside quickly and he can speed up the healing process.
But whether Duncan could be ready to go in a week seems moot to a coach like Gregg Popovich. Expect Duncan to miss at least two weeks and to come off the bench once he does return. Because there’s so little time left in the regular season, I don’t think he’ll start again until the playoffs. Years of watching Pop handle injuries, especially with his star players, I’d predict that Duncan comes off the bench at home against the Sacramento Kings on April 6th. The game seems perfect since the Spurs will get two days off before playing again at home against Utah. He’ll likely come off the bench again, playing more minutes against the Jazz. Sadly, San Antonio ends the season on a back-to-back set on the road against the Lakers and Suns. So while Duncan could see significant minutes off the bench against LA, he and the rest of San Antonio’s key veterans will likely be in street clothes against Phoenix.
We’ll certainly learn a lot about this Spurs team over the next 12 games. Luckily, San Antonio probably only needs to win five or six of those games to secure the top spot in the west. But the games against future playoff teams will be telling. Duncan’s impact on the team goes beyond the numbers and they will miss him. All Spurs fans can hope for is that he recovers well enough to play well in the 1st round of the playoffs and can help the team advance and be close to 100% by round 2.
If San Antonio severely struggles without him, that’s fine. It’s almost expected. But if Duncan can’t heal in time, then that’s a recipe for disaster that would bring a disappointing end to a historic season.
For more Spurs coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas
As for Tim Duncan, he won’t be joining the team on San Antonio’s three-game road trip through Denver, Portland and Memphis because of the ankle injury he suffered in the team’s victory over Golden State:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ1_AiHi6wo&feature=player_embedded
Something occurred to me watching him go down with that injury, and that was the look on his face. And that look was confirmed to me by Joe Herrera, a good friend and Univision photographer who was right in front of Duncan when he went down at the AT&T Center. He didn’t look like he was in pain. He looked like he was mad and disappointed because he could immediately tell how badly he was hurt and what the implications would be for the rest of the season. You could see him doing the math in his head: “I’m going to be fine, but I’ll miss the next two weeks and probably won’t be 100% on this ankle until the end of the first round of the playoffs.”
X-Rays luckily came back negative and MRI’s suggest that there’s nothing structurally wrong with the ankle, which is sort of a best-case scenario. Duncan was seen on crutches recently, likely avoiding any pressure to the ankle so the swelling can subside quickly and he can speed up the healing process.
But whether Duncan could be ready to go in a week seems moot to a coach like Gregg Popovich. Expect Duncan to miss at least two weeks and to come off the bench once he does return. Because there’s so little time left in the regular season, I don’t think he’ll start again until the playoffs. Years of watching Pop handle injuries, especially with his star players, I’d predict that Duncan comes off the bench at home against the Sacramento Kings on April 6th. The game seems perfect since the Spurs will get two days off before playing again at home against Utah. He’ll likely come off the bench again, playing more minutes against the Jazz. Sadly, San Antonio ends the season on a back-to-back set on the road against the Lakers and Suns. So while Duncan could see significant minutes off the bench against LA, he and the rest of San Antonio’s key veterans will likely be in street clothes against Phoenix.
We’ll certainly learn a lot about this Spurs team over the next 12 games. Luckily, San Antonio probably only needs to win five or six of those games to secure the top spot in the west. But the games against future playoff teams will be telling. Duncan’s impact on the team goes beyond the numbers and they will miss him. All Spurs fans can hope for is that he recovers well enough to play well in the 1st round of the playoffs and can help the team advance and be close to 100% by round 2.
If San Antonio severely struggles without him, that’s fine. It’s almost expected. But if Duncan can’t heal in time, then that’s a recipe for disaster that would bring a disappointing end to a historic season.
For more Spurs coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas