"Punkin' Duncan" = Hack-a-Shaq

Duncan's line work doesn't show in Spurs' loss

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.39a046e.html

Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer



"It's the question no Spurs player, especially Tim Duncan, wants to answer: "What's with the free-throw shooting ... again?"

The Spurs made only 18 of 34 free throws in an 88-81 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at AT&T Center, though, so somebody had to ask."


Glad someone asked. At least we know he's working on that awful FT shooting form. Coaches are going to start "Punkin' Duncan" like Hack-a-Shaq if this keeps up. :depressed

Duncan REALLY is sucking balls when it comes to free throws. The main reason we lost. Pop should make everyone shoot nothing but free throws until everyone is shooting 75 and up.

Free throws are like a lottery.

Tim said last night that he changed some stuff in his form and shot 1000's and 1000's of free throws in the summer. And now it's a matter of putting what he did in practice into game time situations. He said it's hard for him to get knocked down hard and then regroup and refocus back at the line. It will come to him.

It takes some times to master a new shooting stroke.
Don't forget that Parker's was quite bad too in november 05 (63.8 FT%) when he started to shoot with his new shooting stroke.

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Originally Posted by #1elliottfan

Duncan REALLY is sucking balls when it comes to free throws. The main reason we lost. Pop should make everyone shoot nothing but free throws until everyone is shooting 75 and up.

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Actually, his FT shooting wasn't the main or perhaps THE reason we lost this one: If he'd shot 70% it would have only added 4 points, not enough to win the game.

But if teams decide to foul him to take him out of his rhythm and prevent his shooting from coming to bear, then that will be a problem, especially in tight games where the pressure is on and the difference between a FG and one point at the FT line is crucial.

Tim has a pretty fragile psyche if you ask me. That hugging the ball stuff is a way to hide from the crowd when he's embarrassed.

I hope he continues to work on the stroke. It's so easy to spot the flaw.

After 15 years, and 10s of 1000s of FTs, Tim has still absolutely no feel for the art and skill of shooting a basketball, to say nothing of his psychological fragility at the line.

Even his close-in "shots" are little more than tosses in the general direction of the basket.

Tim just isn't very cooridinated or athletic. It takes co-ordination to synchronize your legs, body, arms, wrist and fingers into one fluid, shooting motion so it's all contributing, and correcting, at the point of release.

Knowing his best years are behind him, I really think he has hit the wall of what he can do consistently from the FT line.

I don't expect that to change now. We'll jump have to limp along, Rumsfeld-style, with "the Tim we have" :lol

We've lost and won games and Titles with that Tim we have.

As disappointed as I was, it's still the second game of the season. Now if we are playing like this midseason, and Duncan is still crap from the free throw line, then I'll be worried.

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Originally Posted by themvp

Free throws are like a lottery.

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You are joking right???? :nope

When Tim shot near 80% that one year, he wasted no time shooting the free throw. He almost pauses too long before he shoots.

I think this season will be a watershed for Tim. If he's healthy and the work on his shooting pays off--especially the bank shots--he'll continue to be the Tim we know and love. (But God, how many wide-open 2-4 foot bank shots has he missed in the last couple of years, much less the outside shots that he hardly ever takes any more.)

Otherwise, he's gonna morph into Greg Ostertag, lumbering around the basket and picking up rebounds and points because of his size. He'll be serviceable and still a player into his thirties, but no longer the premier PF of the league.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

He said it's hard for him to get knocked down hard and then regroup and refocus back at the line. It will come to him.

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You mean Tim finally admitted that part of it is in his head?!

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Originally Posted by ploto

You mean Tim finally admitted that part of it is in his head?!

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Ben Hogan, the great golfer, once said about why he retired: "I'm as good as ever with woods and irons from tee to green. But when I have to putt, I get the yips."

(Yips being the psychological pressure of putting--a different sort of skill) Professional NBA players find the pressure on FTs is different from shooting naturally in the course of the game. Should be easier with no one guarding you, but it isn't for some.

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Otherwise, he's gonna morph into Greg Ostertag, lumbering around the basket and picking up rebounds and points because of his size. He'll be serviceable and still a player into his thirties, but no longer the premier PF of the league

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alright you people are going overboard now...

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Originally Posted by ploto

You mean Tim finally admitted that part of it is in his head?!

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I think Tim has always admitted that. Same with Bowen. They both have always shot pretty well in practice. Bowen had slight changes in his mechanics a few years ago. Timmy always changes his mechanics. It's both physical (mechanics) and mental and I think he's always said that.

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Originally Posted by T Park

alright you people are going overboard now...

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OK, maybe not Ostertag. How about Mark Eaton? :dizzy

The Spurs need a yips coach.

I always hope Tim hits 50% at the free throw line. That way I feel good when he splits the two.

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Otherwise, he's gonna morph into Greg Ostertag, lumbering around the basket and picking up rebounds and points because of his size. He'll be serviceable and still a player into his thirties, but no longer the premier PF of the league

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Ostertag "picked up" about 5 points a game....Duncan will only get that bad if he plays at 50.

I'm glad he's working to improve his shot, but why did he change it? He was doing pretty damn good last season, at least by his standards he was. I didn't really see a need to change it.

Well as long as he finds his stroke by the playoffs, we shouldn't worry.

70% for the Spurs as a team would have changed the game considerably last night.

If the Spurs would have been able to hit FT's in the 4th against Dallas that game would have been over long before it was.

That's ok. The Spurs looked sluggish and still had a chance to win last night. I remember thinking in '05 and '03 that they'd of won so many more games so much more easily if they could hit their free throws. I think it's just the Spurs way of keeping it interesting for everybody, because we all know they're winning it all this season.

Chip Engelland is the next Red Auerbach.

Personally, I like the "shoot the basketball as hard as you can at the hoop and make it look like a line drive coming out of your hands" approach that Duncan and Shaq use.................oh, and someone here said that he isn't athletic........I don't even like the Spurs and I know that he's damn near one of the most athletic big men to ever play in the NBA........that was just dumb.

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70% for the Spurs as a team would have changed the game considerably last night.

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Agreed...it would have changed a lot of games over the years as well!

Personally I don't get why Tim doesn't just bank it in. Though it was absent last year, that bank shot of his from 15 feet used to be his most reliable shot. Put him at the stripe and let him do the same there.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

Tim said last night that he changed some stuff in his form and shot 1000's and 1000's of free throws in the summer. And now it's a matter of putting what he did in practice into game time situations. He said it's hard for him to get knocked down hard and then regroup and refocus back at the line. It will come to him.

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I like that he is working with Chip England and admitting to himself that he needs to make changes. If he stays committed to getting help with it and does not get discouraged, he really should improve in his FT shooting.

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Originally Posted by Aggie Hoopsfan

Personally I don't get why Tim doesn't just bank it in. Though it was absent last year, that bank shot of his from 15 feet used to be his most reliable shot. Put him at the stripe and let him do the same there.

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I've thought the same thing. Move over to the extreme end of the FT line to give a little angle and pretend you're back on St. Croix as a teenager. :downspin:

That way he'd get some practice on the bank shot as well.:hungry:

on a shooting note, did you all see Tony Parker making all of those 15-18 ft. jumpers last night, without hesitation? I'm impressed, and would be ecstatic if he did that consistently.

It's not just his ft shooting. His top of the key and bank shots are gone too. In big games he won't even shoot them if he's left wide open.

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Originally Posted by Nero

It's not just his ft shooting. His top of the key and bank shots are gone too. In big games he won't even shoot them if he's left wide open.

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We are 2 games into the season, a little early for declaring something like that wouldn't you say.

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Originally Posted by wildbill2u

I've thought the same thing. Move over to the extreme end of the FT line to give a little angle and pretend you're back on St. Croix as a teenager. :downspin:

That way he'd get some practice on the bank shot as well.:hungry:

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That's going too far... it's extremely hard to bank in a free throw. Free throws are about repetition and rhythm - Tim thinks too much of it and doesn't allow himself to get into a routine or in a rhythm. Shaq has the same problem - they've been bad from the line for so long and have heard about it for so long that they are dreading it every time they get fouled. Once that happened - it's over. They won't shoot a high percentage for the rest of their careers. Just the way it is.

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Originally Posted by BeerIsGood!

That's going too far... it's extremely hard to bank in a free throw. Free throws are about repetition and rhythm - Tim thinks too much of it and doesn't allow himself to get into a routine or in a rhythm. Shaq has the same problem - they've been bad from the line for so long and have heard about it for so long that they are dreading it every time they get fouled. Once that happened - it's over. They won't shoot a high percentage for the rest of their careers. Just the way it is.

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Duncan shoots FT's like Rick Barry next to Shaq.

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Originally Posted by T Park

alright you people are going overboard now...

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Yeah, that was definitely exaggerating there....

tp's free throws took half a season
I expect duncan's will improve alot after allstar break like tp's last year

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Originally Posted by BeerIsGood!

That's going too far... it's extremely hard to bank in a free throw. Free throws are about repetition and rhythm - Tim thinks too much of it and doesn't allow himself to get into a routine or in a rhythm. Shaq has the same problem - they've been bad from the line for so long and have heard about it for so long that they are dreading it every time they get fouled. Once that happened - it's over. They won't shoot a high percentage for the rest of their careers. Just the way it is.

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I agree. One of Tim's trips to the line he actually stood there for at least five seconds holding the ball before he shot it. I thought he was channeling Sergio Garcia up there. That means he's thinking about it. He'd be better off stepping back a foot and shooting a jumper. I'm not sure why NOBODY in the league has decided to do that. Bowen would definitely improve if he did it.

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Originally Posted by dbreiden83080

We are 2 games into the season, a little early for declaring something like that wouldn't you say.

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I think a case can be made for the loss of his shooting skills by looking at last season. i couldn't believe how many shots from 2-4 feet he missed and as for his outside bank shot, even Tim admits he lost confidence in it.

He was getting most of his FG points by cleaning up garbage around the basket and putting it back in. And he'll always get a ton of FTs. Whether he makes them or not is another story.

i know he's free throw shooting sucked on the cavs game, but he is only human. i think as fans we should support him. come playoffs time, he's free throw shooting will kick ass!!. go spurs go!!!