Is Tim Duncan capable of scoring 20+pts in this series?

[Basketball Power]

He's getting the minutes, so what's the excuse? I remember when playoff time hit we saw another level from him, now we are just seeing the same Duncan we see all season (NOT A GOOD THING)

[thispego]

yes

[TDMVPDPOY]

problem is his not either demanding the ball, or the ballhogs on the team wannab like mike

[DMC]

When the offense hasn't run through you all year, I cannot see how you can just change it suddenly.

[Basketball Power]

He needs to put up 20+fg a game, help spread the floor, tired of these damn jump shots

[Fireball]

He needs to put up 20+fg a game, help spread the floor, tired of these damn jump shots

Duncan can only spread the floor by taking jump shots himself ... he should get a little more touches (then 20 PPG would be possible), but should not be the #1 scoring option because this wears him out and catches up with him on the defensive side.

[bresilhac]

It's not minutes played that counts it's touches. If you limit the touches of any player the scoring will not be there. Yes Tim is capable of scoring 20 points or more in a playoff game. He just needs to put up more shots. Tim should get at least 20 shots a game imo. Ditto with Manu.

[Kuestmaster]

capable? of course. The problem is that the offense don't run through him anymore, and I think that's a problem sometimes. Timmy could really get Marc into foul trouble.

[dbreiden83080]

Not if they won't give him more touches..

[rmt]

In this series, I think the bigs should just concentrate on defense - control the paint/boards, limit Zach/Gasol and stop penetration. Let the wings/guards on both sides do the scoring. I like our chances then.

[Thomas82]

not if they won't give him more touches..

+1

[Nick Manning]

He's capable, but he's also the only capable low-post defender they have, so much of his energy is expended there.

[Thomas82]

He's capable, but he's also the only capable low-post defender they have, so much of his energy is expended there.

Another good point.......which means, at 35 he's too old to carry the load he has to carry.

[DesignatedT]

lol of course he is capable. He has been fantastic on the block so far this series. He doesn't get the ball nearly as much as he used to down there though.

[pgardn]

Touches also include the self made type. It known as offensive rebounding. But Duncan must get back on D, he is not allowed to loiter under the basket for easy put-backs. Duncan is the only guy we have that can guard the basket on the defensive end. Its his role this year. Unfortunately I believed that Splitter would allow Duncan a more diverse role. Dead wrong, whatever the reason might be.

[Reck]

Yes but he'd be gassed by the end of the game and not fresh for the next.

I'd say keep playing him in burts.

[100%duncan]

gnsf

[TDfan2007]

He's getting the minutes, so what's the excuse? I remember when playoff time hit we saw another level from him, now we are just seeing the same Duncan we see all season (NOT A GOOD THING)

Are you being serious? You must not be watching the games. Very few people in this league can score 20 points on 12-14 shots a game. He needs more touches, and when he gets them he needs to be aggressive with them. He needs to attack Gasol immediately instead of waiting.

[bigdog]

Of course he can. The offense this year isn't beneficial to Timmy's points per game, but beneficial to his health and conditioning. If he got the touches, he'd easily get 20 points in a game. He's shooting very well from the field.

[K-State Spur]

More to the point:

Why, when the newer/faster more guard oriented offense was one of the biggest reasons for the resurgence this year are people calling for a return to something closer to the old 4 down days?

If Tim gets 16 on 60% shooting - that's perfectly fine. We just need Tony/Hill (along with a healthy) Manu to produce like they are capable of. Especially Tony - who should be giving the Spurs strong edge at the PG position, has only scored 32 pts on 30 shots in this series (1.06 pps). That number needs to be much closer to 1.3-1.5 pps for the San Antonio offense to be working.

[Dex]

More to the point:

Why, when the newer/faster more guard oriented offense was one of the biggest reasons for the resurgence this year are people calling for a return to something closer to the old 4 down days?

If Tim gets 16 on 60% shooting - that's perfectly fine. We just need Tony/Hill (along with a healthy) Manu to produce like they are capable of. Especially Tony - who should be giving the Spurs strong edge at the PG position, has only scored 32 pts on 30 shots in this series (1.06 pps). That number needs to be much closer to 1.3-1.5 pps for the San Antonio offense to be working.

Agree. Timmy definitely needs to be established in the post, but if you take guys like Hill, Neal, and Bonner out of the rhythm they've developed all season long, then they will struggle to contribute or find their shots.

[z0sa]

Timmy is playing with-in the offense. He's not gonna go Kobe and demand more shots, especially if the Spurs are winning. Additionally, Tim trusts completely in Pop obviously so he will do whatever Pop asks him to.

[howbouthemspurs]

Not his fault! He needs more touches.....its very simple!

[Basketball Power]

nope

[gospursgojas]

When the offense hasn't run through you all year, I cannot see how you can just change it suddenly.

This. Tim gave up the reigns to Tony and Manu this season and now that its the playoffs hes supposed to "step up"? Tim's one of the few playing decent this series.

[Spurs Brazil]

Not his fault! He needs more touches.....its very simple!

This. We can't score now. Only Manu is playing well and aggressive in the offensive end. I'd rather see TD taking 20-25 shots now. Give the ball to TD and let him work

[Mal]

He lost some weight, so he is weaker. With obvious lack of speed due to his age, he cant compete even with unathletic, chubby white dude like Marc Gasol. He still can hit jumper and finish after pass or in pick and roll. But with Parker as his PG, he cant score 20+.

With great passing PG, he would score 20+ easily. Parker isnt this type of player.

[Basketball Power]

Wow, Duncan couldn't hit 20pts in a fucking best of 7 playoff series, he may just need to give it up

[TDMVPDPOY]

pathetic performance from him

had a good run in first quarters and no touches for the rest

[TDMVPDPOY]

pathetic performance from him

had a good run in first quarters and no touches for the rest

[TDfan2007]

That second quarter fucked up all of his momentum. He didn't see the ball the entire quarter. Even so, he played soft and scared. Manu and Tony bailed his ass out. At least he provided solid passing and rebounding.

[Basketball Power]

11pts in the 1st QT and 2 after that? how the fuck does that happen, he was missing open layups, just terrible

[Spurtacus]

I thought the Spurs were going back to Duncan in the post for the entire game. They abandoned that after the first quarter. I'm not really sure why Pop gave it up...fatigue or ankle bothering Duncan?