http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/p...st-trimester-2
Defensive Player of the First Trimester: Tim Duncan, San Antonio
Gregg Popovich made it pretty clear the other night what he was hoping for this Christmas.
A few more Spurs, namely, playing with as much tangible care and desire as Tim Duncan.
Pop understands better than most that Duncan is giving San Antonio more than any team should reasonably expect from a 38-year-old, who happens to turn 39 during the first week of the playoffs in April. And he doesn't want Duncan's age-defying effort and effectiveness to go to waste.
A third of the way through his 18th NBA season, Duncan has been the league's most impressive defensive force. Despite the frequent injury absences of key defenders Tiago Splitter andKawhi Leonard, San Antonio ranks No. 6 in the league in defensive efficiency, thanks largely to Duncan's work as the Spurs' anchor.
Duncan remains one of the league's top five shot-blockers despite his advanced age and is surely playing more (at 32.1 minutes per game) than his coach wants to be using him during the regular season. But it must be hard for even Pop to resist when Duncan sits atop ESPN.com's shiny newDRPM table, which estimates a player's on-court impact defensively based on points allowed per 100 possessions.
Golden State and Houston have consistently ranked in the top two in defensive efficiency throughout the season's first 30 (or so) games, but Andrew Bogut and Dwight Howard have missed eight and 12 games, respectively.
Chicago's Joakim Noah, Memphis' Marc Gasol, Milwaukee's Larry Sanders, Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka, Dallas' Tyson Chandler and the Los Angeles Clippers' DeAndre Jordan are six more big men who have undeniably made their presence felt defensively -- as has Sacramento's oft-chidedDeMarcus Cousins when healthy -- but it has to be Duncan leading the DPOY race, on this scorecard, heading into Trimester 2.
So what? He's shooting 15% on post-ups!
Seriously though, Tim's defensive impact is still among the best as the numbers prove. Amazing considering he's 38. I don't remember any player having this kind of longevity on defense. He should've won DPOY a long time ago. It's a shame that Marcus freaking Camby has one and Tim doesn't.I also thought he deserved to win it back in 2013.
If you click the link, there's also a bunch of comments disagreeing with Stein's pick. They'd rather have Anthony Davis just because he leads the league in blocked shots. People just don't realize how great Timmy is...
Hes a joy to watch. Growing up as a kid I was always more drawn to Manu's flashy style but Ive learned to appreciate Timmy's greatness as I've gotten older. Wish more players on the team had his desire and heart. Specifically the supposed team leader, 32 yr old PG who babies day-to-day injuries for an entire month.
Sadly, tim might run out of gas in the long run because a certain PG has a torn asscheek.
Not even torn, brah. Just a mild asscheek strain.
smh
I don't know if Duncan is DPOY so far, he's certainly in the convo, but@ Anthony Davis being anywhere near DPOY..the 27th ranked defense in the NBA
..
Saw that too. Ang he has the stats to back it up. Will be glad if he can sustain 'til March. He lost but battled young Anthony Davis to a T.
I remember so many games watching thinking has Timmy scored any this game? Then looking at the box score seeing that he has 20+ points. He was so subtle I would not notice him scoring but when I would go back I would see all the pure greatness he had in every possession.
We are never going to see another Tim Duncan, not in our lifetimes at least.
Spurs player who are given minutes but do not play to their full potential should be ashamed. This future HOF is working so hard each game to carry this team to repeat & to greatness and all you have to do is contribute he needs help, he's no longer the Duncan in his 20s, so he can retire on top like DRob and it looks like you are spoiling the chance.
When will the next 1st pick in the draft for San Antonio be? 5 yrs? What about the character? What if he won't be another Duncan? What if he's more like Yao Ming or Greg Oden, big man but injury-prone? Or locker-room cancer AI?
Interesting. Considering so many posters here complain about how bad Timmy is on D. You guys really don't understand what you are witnessing. Of all the places he should be appreciated he is disrespected most...
Pop needs to rest Tim. No more b2b's when the team is playing like this. Wasting him for the post season. He'll be the next guy hurt if Pop doesn't throttle him back. I get it, we're trying to win, but if there's one guy that Pop shouldn't deviate from his fixed game rotation plan, regardless of the team's record, it's Timmy.
Maybe Tim told Pop this is his final go-round so just play him...who knows, but I've seen him on more back-to-backs than feels comfortable. It's too bad he's the only Spur playing with any ballz right now.
Of course he is DPOY but seriously he needs rest, even if the other two are ting their pants crying
Duncan is playing far too many minutes
Sad that he doesn't have 2, tbh. lulz who got that the last two years?
It's crazy when he can play just as good defense as a 23 year old unibrow, tbh.
You should. TD is the main reason why the Spurs franchise has 5 championships. Without him we have ZERO championships. It all starts and will end when #21 retires. Too bad a lot of Manu s don't appreciate Timmy's greatness.
Like Manu hasn't gotten injured through out his career and hasn't cost us three tles.
Too bad Manu wasted a terrific 2012-2013 and NBA Finals MVP year that Duncan had in Game 6.
To everyone else ing about Timmy's offense, I honestly don't give a what he does on offense. It is Duncan's defense that has kept the Spurs championship conteders for the past three years. Anything that Timmy can provide on offense is just a bonus at this point in his career. What's most important to the team is that Duncan rebounds, blocks shots, and plays defense. We've seen as of late what happens when Duncan does not rebound.
This IMO TBQH sons
Wut. I saw people complaining about his offense, but his defense is just as good as last season...
No man, you can read the all over this site! I know what you are getting at, the complaints about his post offense and mid range game. But I don't know how many times posters here about him being too slow on D and having no lateral quickness! It's unreal the lack of appreciation some fans exhibit, he is playing otherworldly for his age. He is still a top big in the NBA! In large part everyone here is extremely greatful for Timmy, but you get a few of these dip s running their mouthes.Wut
^^
Pointing out a few posters is nitpicking, since there are far more haters here of every other Spurs player, especially Parker and Ginobili..
I still don't believe it's Tim's last year.
Oh boy, here we go again with the Manu trash, I think everyone agrees TD > Manu, but you can't say without him we have zero championships, you are annoying. And no, I don't think this ends when TD retires, if you think that then you are not a Spurs fan, get out of here kid.
You must be one of those re s who believes the "system" wins games. If you think the Spurs can be good without Duncan, kys. Why do you even care anyways? You'll probably quit watching basketball once Evita retires, seeing as I only see you comment on anything that involves the word Manu.
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