duncan228
12-04-2007, 09:17 PM
http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/Mavs_note_120407.html
Mavs prepare for Spurs without Duncan
Art Garcia | Mavs.com
SAN ANTONIO – News flash from the Obvious Times: “Tim Duncan remains the center of the Spurs universe.”
“How long did it take you to come up with that one?” Mavericks coach Avery Johnson cracked Tuesday after being asked if the Spurs still revolve around the Big Fundamental.
In fairness to the reporter who offered it up, the question was posed with the bigger picture in mind. Duncan is the San Antonio’s third leading scorer, falling behind Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but his impact remains second to no one.
He may have been scoring 17.6 points and grabbing 8.9 rebounds, both are easily career lows, before hurting his right ankle and knee Sunday. Somehow, though, the numbers lie.
“Even if he’s not averaging the numbers,” Johnson explained, “it still feels like he’s getting 27 and 15 every night because he draws so much attention.”
The Spurs (15-3) won’t have Duncan when the Mavs (12-6) make to their first AT&T Center visit of the season Wednesday night. It’s a definite blow for San Antonio, which had started the same lineup the first 18 games.
But it’s not killer one might think. Parker has emerged to the point where he was the Finals MVP back in June. Ginobili, who may be out with a hand injury, is having a career year. Duncan’s stats are down, but the Spurs’ start ties the best ever in franchise history.
So the Mavs head into their second matchup with San Antonio in three weeks determined not to fall into the Duncan-is-not-here trap.
“We should be up for this game just because of who it is,” Johnson said. “If Ginobili didn’t play or Parker didn’t play of Duncan, it’s still the Spurs and it’s a big game because they’re the champions.”
Dallas won the previous meeting and would pull within two games in the Southwest Division with another victory. Though division races seem trivial the first week in December, wins now count as much as those in April in the standings.
“Anytime we can win a game here, no matter who’s playing or who is out, it’s still a big game,” said Devin Harris, who was cleared to play after hurting his neck Monday at Chicago.
And should the Mavs win again, it doesn’t change the dynamic between these I-35 rivals.
“I don’t think there are no statement games,” Johnson said. “Right now until somebody beats them in the playoffs, they can do whatever they want. At the end of the day that’s all that matters.”
The Mavs, not so incidentally, are the only team to beat San Antonio in the postseason in the last three years. The Spurs titles of 2005 and ’07 are sandwiched around Dallas’ seven-game triumph in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals.
The development of Duncan’s supporting cast draws a natural parallel with the evolution in North Texas. Coming off his MVP season, numbers are down for Dirk Nowitzki across the board.
Many of those same numbers happen to be up for Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Harris.
“We all know this league is too good that you can win by yourself,” Nowitzki said. “You’ve got to have a great group of guys together. Guys that can take over games.
“Just one guy by himself is not going to get it done in this league. If you want to win the championship, you have to be solid defensively and offensively you have to know how to attack from a lot of angles.”
That much should be obvious.
Layups
• Devin Harris practiced Tuesday after taking an elbow to his neck from Bulls forward Joakim Noah the previous night. Though he’s sore, he wasn’t limited at practice. “Stiff or not, I will play,” he said.
• Devean George and Eddie Jones also participated in the workout to different degrees. George could return before the end of the week. Jones’ target date is sometime next week at the earliest.
Mavs prepare for Spurs without Duncan
Art Garcia | Mavs.com
SAN ANTONIO – News flash from the Obvious Times: “Tim Duncan remains the center of the Spurs universe.”
“How long did it take you to come up with that one?” Mavericks coach Avery Johnson cracked Tuesday after being asked if the Spurs still revolve around the Big Fundamental.
In fairness to the reporter who offered it up, the question was posed with the bigger picture in mind. Duncan is the San Antonio’s third leading scorer, falling behind Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but his impact remains second to no one.
He may have been scoring 17.6 points and grabbing 8.9 rebounds, both are easily career lows, before hurting his right ankle and knee Sunday. Somehow, though, the numbers lie.
“Even if he’s not averaging the numbers,” Johnson explained, “it still feels like he’s getting 27 and 15 every night because he draws so much attention.”
The Spurs (15-3) won’t have Duncan when the Mavs (12-6) make to their first AT&T Center visit of the season Wednesday night. It’s a definite blow for San Antonio, which had started the same lineup the first 18 games.
But it’s not killer one might think. Parker has emerged to the point where he was the Finals MVP back in June. Ginobili, who may be out with a hand injury, is having a career year. Duncan’s stats are down, but the Spurs’ start ties the best ever in franchise history.
So the Mavs head into their second matchup with San Antonio in three weeks determined not to fall into the Duncan-is-not-here trap.
“We should be up for this game just because of who it is,” Johnson said. “If Ginobili didn’t play or Parker didn’t play of Duncan, it’s still the Spurs and it’s a big game because they’re the champions.”
Dallas won the previous meeting and would pull within two games in the Southwest Division with another victory. Though division races seem trivial the first week in December, wins now count as much as those in April in the standings.
“Anytime we can win a game here, no matter who’s playing or who is out, it’s still a big game,” said Devin Harris, who was cleared to play after hurting his neck Monday at Chicago.
And should the Mavs win again, it doesn’t change the dynamic between these I-35 rivals.
“I don’t think there are no statement games,” Johnson said. “Right now until somebody beats them in the playoffs, they can do whatever they want. At the end of the day that’s all that matters.”
The Mavs, not so incidentally, are the only team to beat San Antonio in the postseason in the last three years. The Spurs titles of 2005 and ’07 are sandwiched around Dallas’ seven-game triumph in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals.
The development of Duncan’s supporting cast draws a natural parallel with the evolution in North Texas. Coming off his MVP season, numbers are down for Dirk Nowitzki across the board.
Many of those same numbers happen to be up for Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Harris.
“We all know this league is too good that you can win by yourself,” Nowitzki said. “You’ve got to have a great group of guys together. Guys that can take over games.
“Just one guy by himself is not going to get it done in this league. If you want to win the championship, you have to be solid defensively and offensively you have to know how to attack from a lot of angles.”
That much should be obvious.
Layups
• Devin Harris practiced Tuesday after taking an elbow to his neck from Bulls forward Joakim Noah the previous night. Though he’s sore, he wasn’t limited at practice. “Stiff or not, I will play,” he said.
• Devean George and Eddie Jones also participated in the workout to different degrees. George could return before the end of the week. Jones’ target date is sometime next week at the earliest.