Monroe: Duncan's rare mistake is costly

[Kori Ellis]

Duncan's rare mistake is costly

Web Posted: 01/25/2007 12:42 AM CST

Mike Monroe
Express-News

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA012507.08C.BKNspurs.duncan.222ab4e.html

Tim Duncan, a patient man, gave in to an impulse in the final seconds of the Spurs' 90-85 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at AT&T Center.
Trailing, 88-85, and knowing a quick two-point basket with 15 seconds left would have put the Spurs in position to complete a comeback from a 13-point deficit in the final 4:50, Duncan opted to kick the ball outside to 3-point shooter Brent Barry, hoping for an instantly tied score.

It was one of Duncan's few miscues on a night he scored a season-high 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but he regretted it nonetheless.

"I was thinking three at that point," Duncan said. "Honestly, that was a mistake on my part. We should have been attacking, seen if we could get a quick two and then fouled and set a play on the side if they made one and missed one, or whatever would have happened. It was just a missed communication on my part. I just didn't understand what we were trying to do."

Barry said he thought briefly about attempting the 3-point shot. Instead, he kicked the ball right back to Duncan, still open. When Duncan missed a 5-foot bank shot from the left side and Houston's Rafer Alston grabbed the rebound, only 9.5 seconds remained. The Spurs had to foul Alston, and when he made both free throws, the Spurs' eighth home-court loss of the season was sealed.

"I thought we were going to look for a quick two there, but I probably should have pulled the trigger on that shot," Barry said. "In my mind, I thought we still had enough time for a quick two, and I was more or less reading a play for Tim, because when he first caught it, he had a shot. But he threw it to me, and I threw it right back because there was still nobody there.

"In hindsight, I probably should have tried to look at that (3-point) shot, but it was a bang-bang play and something we just have to learn from."

Barry said he and his teammates knew Duncan had given them an opportunity to steal a victory in a game in which they had been outplayed for most of three quarters. Duncan took a season-high 28 shots, and the Spurs ran most of their offense through his position in the post.

"That's a good sign for us," Barry said, "just to see that kind of focus from Tim on a night where we needed it. Hopefully, that's a good sign from Tim and he will stay after that."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich lauded both Duncan's effort and his patience.

"Timmy was fantastic," Popovich said. "He's got the patience of Job in a lot of different ways. He's been magnificent."

Duncan has had to be patient with teammates whose defensive effort has been spotty. The Spurs, according to Manu Ginobili, still lack the requisite "fire edge" on defense.

"You can see that we have had it when we are in deep trouble," Ginobili said. "The team that you saw the last five or six minutes is the team we are trying to be. The only way to find it is when we are desperate, and that's what we are trying to change."

"The patience has to be there," Duncan said. "We're still up and down right now. We have to stick with what we have here and find a way to win with the guys we have here. We've won in years past with the same system and the same way we're doing it. ... I always talk about getting to the point we can play 40 minutes the right way, and right now, we're not anywhere close to that."

[MannyIsGod]

Thats fucking horrible. Have some nuts to win the game. No Barry, its not a good sign. Its a weak sign.

[Please_dont_ban_me]

But with 9 seconds on the clock, and two guys passing up on the 3...him taking it to the hole and getting 2 then fouling isn't too horrible. I don't think it was a mental error on his part. I hope not at least...unless he commented in the postgame otherwise.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Tim and Manu are right.

The team plays soft for the first 3 quarters.

Why the heck has Barry not learned to pull the trigger?

[Kori Ellis]

But with 9 seconds on the clock, and two guys passing up on the 3...him taking it to the hole and getting 2 then fouling isn't too horrible. I don't think it was a mental error on his part. I hope not at least...unless he commented in the postgame otherwise.

The mistake wasn't him taking it to the hole. The mistake was that he thought that they should be going for 3 when they didn't need to be. They are talking about with 15 seconds left, not 9. Did you read the article at all?



"I was thinking three at that point," Duncan said. "Honestly, that was a mistake on my part. We should have been attacking, seen if we could get a quick two and then fouled and set a play on the side if they made one and missed one, or whatever would have happened. It was just a missed communication on my part. I just didn't understand what we were trying to do."

[Please_dont_ban_me]

The mistake wasn't him taking it to the hole. The mistake was that he thought that they should be going for 3 when they didn't need to be. They are talking about with 15 seconds left, not 9. Did you read the article at all?

Ah...oopsie. I figured (after watching the game) that the miscue was him going for the 2 instead of the tie. But is it really that big of a miscue? If he makes that basket they still have plenty of time to foul and get the ball back for another 2 or 3 point attempt.



But I guess 6 seconds do make a big difference when there's only 15 seconds left.

[ploto]

Barry is right.

"In my mind, I thought we still had enough time for a quick two, and I was more or less reading a play for Tim, because when he first caught it, he had a shot."


Duncan has had to be patient with teammates whose defensive effort has been spotty.
Duncan might want to look in the mirror.

[angel_luv]

Duncan has had to be patient with teammates whose defensive effort has been spotty. The Spurs, according to Manu Ginobili, still lack the requisite "fire edge" on defense.

"You can see that we have had it when we are in deep trouble," Ginobili said. "The team that you saw the last five or six minutes is the team we are trying to be. The only way to find it is when we are desperate, and that's what we are trying to change."

"The patience has to be there," Duncan said. "We're still up and down right now. We have to stick with what we have here and find a way to win with the guys we have here. We've won in years past with the same system and the same way we're doing it. ... I always talk about getting to the point we can play 40 minutes the right way, and right now, we're not anywhere close to that."

I'm with you guys! :)

[MoSpur]

This team does not have a guy who wants the ball in the end. They were both scared and that's why one passed to the other and the other passed it back. Neither one of them wanted to be responsible for taking the last shot. They're both at fault. Duncan more because he is the franchise. He is the superstar. However, if Barry had the three after Duncan passed it to him, he should have taken the three.

[Cherry]

Duncan has had to be patient with teammates whose defensive effort has been spotty. The Spurs, according to Manu Ginobili, still lack the requisite "fire edge" on defense.

"You can see that we have had it when we are in deep trouble," Ginobili said. "The team that you saw the last five or six minutes is the team we are trying to be. The only way to find it is when we are desperate, and that's what we are trying to change."

"The patience has to be there," Duncan said. "We're still up and down right now. We have to stick with what we have here and find a way to win with the guys we have here. We've won in years past with the same system and the same way we're doing it. ... I always talk about getting to the point we can play 40 minutes the right way, and right now, we're not anywhere close to that."

Spurs Fans: read this quote every day.

[VaSpursFan]

This team does not have a guy who wants the ball in the end. They were both scared and that's why one passed to the other and the other passed it back. Neither one of them wanted to be responsible for taking the last shot. They're both at fault. Duncan more because he is the franchise. He is the superstar. However, if Barry had the three after Duncan passed it to him, he should have taken the three.

barry = scared, timmy just had a brain fart.

barry has been hesitant as of late to pull the trigger on his shot. he useless if he's not going to shoot the 3 when he's in the game because he's average at everything else. if anything this speaks to Pop's coaching. I beginning to think that the team is tuning him out.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

They were both scared. Man, wish we had Buckets back, or even better would have been to put the ball in Manu's hands, he's as clutch as we have right now.

[duncanchick21]

I'm with you guys also!!!!

[TDMVPDPOY]

tim duncan shouldve just gone for the 3 ball, no one really dares him to take it anyway even though he can hit them in

[GrandeDavid]

Its a shame the Spurs got themselves in such a damn big hole in the first damn place...AT HOME, needing a confidence building win at home against a good playoff team missing their star center. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

[MoSpur]

barry = scared, timmy just had a brain fart.

barry has been hesitant as of late to pull the trigger on his shot. he useless if he's not going to shoot the 3 when he's in the game because he's average at everything else. if anything this speaks to Pop's coaching. I beginning to think that the team is tuning him out.

People need to quit making excuses for Tim. It wasn't a brain fart. He got scared and passed up the shot.

[johnpaulwall21]

HE wasnt scared, rockets bigs were all over him, he would of had to throw up a crazy shot or get blocked. so he passed it out to barry who was the least guarded, and that was all she wrote.

[MoSpur]

Noticed he did get the ball back and took it up and got fouled. That's what would have happened in the first place if he had taken it to the rim instead of passing it. He would have been fouled, but with more time left on the clock.

[MoSpur]

HE wasnt scared, rockets bigs were all over him, he would of had to throw up a crazy shot or get blocked. so he passed it out to barry who was the least guarded, and that was all she wrote.

What would Kobe have done? He would have never passed it. Why? He's fearless. You could say the same for Manu. He wouldn't have passed it up.

[johnpaulwall21]

if manus so bad ass why didnt he get himself open. yeah manu would have taken that unsmart shot that wouldnt go it cause he was cold the whole game.

[MoSpur]

if manus so bad ass why didnt he get himself open. yeah manu would have taken that unsmart shot that wouldnt go it cause he was cold the whole game.

Why do you take it so personal? I am not saying Duncan is the worst player or scared overall? I'm not saying trade Duncan. Just an opinion that at that moment, Duncan got scared or nervous and passed up a shot he should have taken. Calm down.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

if manus so bad ass why didnt he get himself open. yeah manu would have taken that unsmart shot that wouldnt go it cause he was cold the whole game.

That's like saying why didn't he take the lost shot of those earlier games where Bonner and Bruce bricked last shots with a chance to tie or win.

It's because Pop didn't run the play for him. Duh.

[johnpaulwall21]

plays hardly go as planned when the game is on the line, with the right defense it all changes.

[jbspurs]

Ah...oopsie. I figured (after watching the game) that the miscue was him going for the 2 instead of the tie. But is it really that big of a miscue? If he makes that basket they still have plenty of time to foul and get the ball back for another 2 or 3 point attempt.



But I guess 6 seconds do make a big difference when there's only 15 seconds left.

huh?

[kskonn]

Noticed he did get the ball back and took it up and got fouled. That's what would have happened in the first place if he had taken it to the rim instead of passing it. He would have been fouled, but with more time left on the clock.


I don't believe tim got a foul call on the last shot he took, I think he just missed the shot and then the spurs had to foul alston on the rebound.

[kskonn]

huh?

that was the miscue. tim thought they were going for a three to tie and Barry thought they were going for the quick two, hence why he passed it back to duncan. Tim said he should have gone for the quick two but was not clear on what the plan was. To me it means Pop did not communicate well enough with the players in the huddle prior to them getting the ball back. Or maybe the players were not listening.

[nkdlunch]

"In my mind, I thought we still had enough time for a quick two, and I was more or less reading a play for Tim, because when he first caught it, he had a shot. But he threw it to me, and I threw it right back because there was still nobody there.

Unfortunately Barry does this about 75% of the time.

Shoot the fucking ball!!!

[timvp]

Duncan's mistake was passing it to someone who was scared to shoot.

[texbound]

I always talk about getting to the point we can play 40 minutes the right way, and right now, we're not anywhere close to that.-Duncan"

How about playing 48 minutes the right way, but hey 40 minutes is better than 24 minutes.