Duncan will be a year older next year, and seeing how he played last year, albeit with injuries and the olympics, will he ever be the same as he once was?
I was watching video of him 3,4, and 5 years ago, and he was truly unstoppable at times.
His moves seemed quicker and more refined.
I wonder if the injuries and olympics did that much damage, or if we are seeing a decline in Duncan's play.
Avery Johnson made a mention of it during this year's playoffs, how the old Tim was better than the current Tim.
It's hard to say that, since the guy puts up 20-12 consistently, but he is the franchise player and will be held to the highest of standards.
What do you think?
Well of course. A player who is 25 is gonna look a bit better than a player who is 30. Time will eventually take its toll on everyone. However, the Duncan you saw in the playoffs is a Tim Duncan who was playing with two bad ankles and a tired Timmy coming off the Olympics.
I think you will see a quicker and more youthful version of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili next year.
I think Duncan will be the same as he was this year for a few years before he really starts to decline more. He will sustain this level a little longer.
I honestly dont think we have to worry about decline with Duncan for a while. Unless the ankle injury never heals right he should be fine. He hasnt had any other problems with his body, besides his knee.
Whatever TD loses physically he gains it in experience. The truly great ones adjust their game to match their physical abilities. Jordan early in his career was more of a slasher and would clearly jump out of the gym for a slam. However, as the wear and tear started taking its toll, Jordan adjusted his game and became more of a jump shooter. He could still go the bucket but not nearly as often and not as spectacular as he did before.
Duh. His ankles were taped up like casts. I think you'll see a BIG difference in game 1 of next season. He played two 82 game seasons, plus deep playoff runs, sandwiched by an Olympic summer, and then there were the injuries. Teams (and some fans) are going to be shocked at how fresh and springy he is next season. That's why winning was so special this year. We had about an 80% Duncan, and still managed to take all of the marbles.
Ankles. Ankles. Ankles. TD is 29 not 39, people. Also, this summer he will actually have an opportunity to take a break from basketball for a while.
Lost in all of the offseason discussions in this forum thusfar has been the fact that next season the Spurs will have traded in a Duncan at 70% for a Duncan at 100%. To me that's worth more than any potential pickup this summer, including Scola.
"you'll see a BIG difference in game 1 of next season"
Don't Tim + Spurs always start slow, not really playing aggressively until February?
SPAM and all that "it's only one game" when giving away games to lottery teams?
It's great to hear Tony talking about "playing all year for HCA" (which absolutely won Finals Game7 a couple weeks ago), but let's see if the Spurs start strong this year.
I've wondered about this. Obviously, I've hoped and figured that exactly what you're saying is true..., but were those sprains that crippling? And if they were, might they always be nagging? Trying to assuage my inner skeptic here.
Tim will be back after a summer years rest.
Yes. No. He needed a couple of months for them to recover, which he obviously wasn't going to get during the season. Anyone who saw him miss the bunny putback at the end of regulation in Game 5 or a couple of other dunks, knows that he was about 80% at best. By the time the Finals rolled around, Tim could only dunk if he had momentum going towards the basket. It was ed up to watch.but were those sprains that crippling? And if they were, might they always be nagging?
He had no lift. It made watching him get "blocked" (smacked on the arms) by the Wallaces all the more painful. If he could only get a couple of more inches of air, these guys would have been in big trouble.
I hope the rest of the league believes that TD is on the decline.
Next year duncan will be the same old skinny duncan we all know, who defers to manu ginobili and doesn't know how to throw it down
oh wait
The problem was definitely his ankles...and I am sure he was fatigued from playing basketball non stop for 2 years straight.
I think the simple fact that he did last this long through that gauntlet of physical strain proves he's a freakin soldier and he's an athlete of hte highest quality. He'll bounce back. Don't you worry.
With tp's and manu's ppg increasing every year, we all know duncan doesn't need to put up 25+ like his early years. Priority number one for Duncan is to get healthy. Pop took a note of this because played td the lowest minutes in his career this past season. With decreased minutes, I still say a td comes strong in 05/06 and wins MVP.
A storyline for the next NBA season will be that of the 'resurgent' Tim Duncan. Yes, Manu and TP will continue to increase their share of the scoring burden for the Spurs but man, TD is nowhere close to being finished.
The best acquisition by the Spurs this offseason will be a healthy Tim Duncan.
I don't think that he will win MVP. Odds are on for Kobe to win it in LA. Phil Jackson should be able to massage that Laker team into a low playoff seed and that will be enough to get the media on the rapist's bandwagon. , if Steve Nash can win a MVP award this is not that much of a stretch.
I think TD was the first player to throw the ball of the back board to himself and dunk it in a telivised game. I was watching an old video i had of NBA ACTION and in the courtside countdown was the top 10 plays of 97 season. He shot the ball from about the free throw line off the right side of the back board ran after it while it was in the air and dunked it off the rebound. Amazing play that i didnt know he could do
I didnt follow TD much when he was a rookie..Did he dunk more often or have more explosiveness before the knee surgery??
So...should the same assessment be taken from Shaq's injuries?
Beautiful.
If Shaq comes back in shape and ready to wreck the league then yes.
Shaq's injury concerns are of much more concern, because of him being older and being in bad physical shape. Shaq has taken A LOT of beating over the years.
I expect the usual Tim Duncan in '05.
WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!
is this true
does Pop know?
Shaq carries WAY too much weight, and his injuries are arthritic. They'll never get any better than they are now. The BIG TOE is what it is.
Other than him not trusting it until probably Christmas that first season back, I've never noticed any effect of Tim's knee scope. They didn't really remove any cartilage, they just smoothed out the edges of the small hole that was torn in the middle.
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