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Duncan's highlights :
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/play...098&src=sports
Too soon to bury Duncan just yet
By Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports
SAN ANTONIO – Shaquille O’Neal said he hopes the San Antonio Spurs “will compete rather just fall down.” He declared that “the floppers prevailed” and that the Spurs “know that we gave them one.”
Shaq also has reason to be upset. He goaltended a three-pointer by Michael Finley and turned his back long enough for Tim Duncan to throw in his own game-changing bomb, and that’s never good for business. Not when Shaq arrived in Phoenix two months ago with one goal.
“I need to get my fifth ring,” he told a teammate, “before Duncan gets his.”
That’s the way it’s gone with Shaq and Duncan. They’ve traded shots and les for nearly a decade now. Since Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls disbanded in the summer of 1998, the two have accounted for every championship but one. In all of those nine seasons, one of them has always played in the NBA Finals.
Shaq’s friends say he’s long bristled that Duncan could be remembered as the greater champion, so Saturday’s 117-115 double OT victory by the Spurs probably didn’t make him too happy. This time, Duncan stole back his .4 moment, as well as his standing.
The best big man in the game?
Duncan may not be ready to cede the le just yet.
The Spurs even drew up a new way for Duncan to torment the Suns. He totaled 40 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and tossed in the first three-pointer of his season just when it looked like Phoenix was ready to walk out of the AT&T Center with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Trailing by three in the final moments of overtime, Manu Ginobili turned the corner and headed toward the rim only to see Shaq lumbering behind him. Wide open, behind the three-point line, positioned exactly where he was supposed to be, stood Duncan. Ginobili rifled the pass, Duncan took the ball, measured his feet and let fly.
“He was the third option,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “… You can imagine my horror when it went in his direction.”
Duncan had attempted only four three-pointers all season, making none. In his nine previous playoff seasons, he’d hit a total of three. This shot felt good the moment Duncan released it. As the ball settled into the net, he spun on his heels, screamed and pumped his fist.
Said Suns coach Mike D’Antoni: “I guess he was due.”
Try four years due. As the clock ticked down in Game 5 of the Spurs’ 2004 Western Conference semifinal series against the Lakers, Duncan lofted a 21-foot moonball over O’Neal’s outstretched arm from nearly the same spot on the floor. With Shaq completely eclipsing his view of the basket, Duncan never saw the shot drop through the rim. He heard the crowd roar and turned to the Spurs’ bench.
“I made it?” Duncan mouthed to Popovich.
Four-tenths of a second later, Derek Fisher hijacked the greatest highlight of Duncan’s career. “One lucky shot,” O’Neal said at the time, “deserves another.”
That’s one of Shaq’s great traits: He has a line for every moment. Spend 30 minutes around the Big Funny, and you can’t help but like him. He’s been friendly with Duncan, too, over the years, even graciously nicknaming him the Big Fundamental when they shared the All-Star trophy in 2000.
Punchlines aside, Shaq and Duncan have also given the NBA one of its great bloodwars, even if neither cares to acknowledge their rivalry. Phoenix GM Steve Kerr knew as much from his days playing for the Spurs. If the Suns were ever going to get past Duncan they needed to get Amare Stoudemire a tag-team partner. Who better than Shaq?
Shaq immediately boosted the Suns’ confidence, frustrating Duncan as Phoenix beat the Spurs twice, including a 17-point verdict only 10 days ago.
“We’ve had many good battles,” O’Neal said after their first meeting this season. “He’s had to go through me. I’ve had to go through him. I pretty much know what he’s going to do.”
O’Neal also repeatedly proclaimed Stoudemire “the best big man in the game,” and even the Spurs had to wonder if Duncan’s time had come and gone. As Stoudemire rang up one 30-point game after another, Duncan’s play suggested only indifference. The Spurs scored just 64 points in Utah, were embarrassed at home by the Suns then embarrassed again in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
After a near-loss to the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings, Popovich had seen enough. He ordered the team’s bus to pull over then lit into the Spurs. Duncan was one target. “He’s the leader and sets the tone,” one team source said of Duncan. “He needed to play better.”
“I thought we lost a little bit of heart, which our team rarely if ever does,” Popovich said Saturday. “That’s what we’ve been working on, trying to get that back.”
In truth, Duncan probably had inherited some of Shaq’s regular-season malaise. Win enough les and everything before the playoffs is an 82-game grind.
Duncan appeared to catch scent of the playoffs during the Spurs’ season-ending rout of the Jazz, and his fire was more than sufficiently lit Saturday. He carried the offense in the first half and helped put three different Suns in foul trouble. In each of their two losses to Phoenix, the Spurs saddled both O’Neal and Stoudemire with fouls but couldn’t take advantage.
On Saturday, O’Neal played only a little more than four minutes in the first half and picked up his fifth foul with more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Stoudemire fouled out at the end of the first OT when he tried to plow through Kurt Thomas rather than shoot over him. As a result, the Spurs scored a staggering 72 points in the paint.
By now, the Suns have reason to wonder what they need to do to get past Duncan. In the opening game of last season’s second-round series against the Spurs, Nash was forced to the bench after splitting open his nose in a collision with Tony Parker. On Saturday, it was Parker who had to briefly leave. Stoudemire kneed him in the head on the one of the game’s first possessions, and Parker said his vision “went dark.” After a short stay in the locker room, the team’s doctors cleared him to return, albeit with a large welt near his left temple.
“The whole game my head was pounding and pounding,” Parker said.
Parker played through his fog well enough to score 26 points and the Spurs had other heroes. Finley forced the first OT with a late three-pointer. Brent Barry, who had played all of 13 minutes since Jan. 24, came in and promptly hit a three to stir the Spurs’ stagnant offense. Even Popovich junked his usual strategy and went with a “roll-the-bones kind of deal,” moving from “Hack-A-Skinny” in the first half to “Hack-A-Shaq” in the second.
Then there was Ginobili, who took over the point-guard duties after Parker fouled out in the second OT. Nash threatened to send the game into a third bonus frame with his own ridiculous three-pointer, but Ginobili simply drove left one more time. Raja Bell couldn’t stay in front of him and Boris Diaw didn’t come over to help, leaving Ginobili enough of a lane to slip through for the winning basket.
“That’s enough to kill you,” Popovich said, “if every game is like that.”
There’s nothing to suggest this series isn’t headed for another 10 days of similar drama. These teams are too close in strength, they know each other too well, for anyone to gamble an accurate prediction on what comes next. The Suns have their demons, but Shaq’s confidence likely wasn’t dented by one loss. He’s already vowed to come back more aggressive than ever Tuesday.
The best big man in the game? He’ll again be waiting. Standing up.
Last edited by JPB; 04-20-2008 at 05:46 AM.
Duncan's highlights :
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/play...098&src=sports
I hope TP's gonna fine.
Interesting to see that Shaq seems to really care about that fifth ring because of Duncan
Holy cow! I had the exact thought!Shaq’s friends say he’s long bristled that Duncan could be remembered as the greater champion, so Saturday’s 117-115 double OT victory by the Spurs probably didn’t make him too happy. This time, Duncan stole back his .4 moment, as well as his standing.
The best big man in the game?
Especially since I had just last night watched the 0.4 game on ESPN Classics yesterday.
And that for the first time since watching that game live on television.
So many things about yesterday's game reminded me of 04- like the Silver Dancer's doing a routine to "Yeah" by Usher.
This series is definately going to be epic.
That's hysterical!
Ok, Ive tried but my pc wont do it, who can put a photo of Timmys face after he sunk the three next to the pic from the King dude in the movie "300" when he yells "This is Sparta!"? Its the same facial expression!
Johnny reads too much SpursTalk.Originally Posted by Johnny Ludden
...and even the Spurs had to wonder if Duncan’s time had come and gone.
Nice article as usual by Ludden.
Spurs better be careful on Tuesday. if they somehow lose that one, this game 1 victory and effort would have been for nothing. Shaq and Amare are going to come out with a new force. Hopefully this time around, Spurs role players and Parker and Ginobili can carry the Spurs start to finish.
Duncan is already going to be known as the greater champion.
He's never had to have another MVP-caliber player next to him to win won.
And don't forget Shaq's le as the Most Swept Ever. When Shaq knows he's not going to win, he tosses in the towel . . . and the shower rack and the whole bathtub.
We don't have to imagine, Pop.
Can't wait for game two.
Ludden is still the best reporter who writes about the Spurs.
Oh yeah i love that , Shaq wants his fifth ring before Duncan gets his and he has only bounced around to 4 teams in search of those rings. He is now a complementary piece with the Suns but he thinks he is still the man and competing with all time greatness with Duncan who's still in his prime. Shaq's lack of respect for the opposition has always sickened me. He never gives anyone credit for a great game. Just talks and makes excuses for his lackluster play. Newflash Shaq "You played like yesterday, Duncan was incredible, you lost the game, move on to game 2"
Before I get flamed, this is not something I am advocating but.......
Can you imagine if Duncan and Shaq had been teamates in the late 90s, early 00s? Holy cow, how many consecutive les would that have resulted in?
D'Antoni could have even coached that to a le.
Nice article, thanks for posting.
I miss Ludden.
There's no doubt in my mind who the better Champion is. Duncan and Shaq are neck-and-neck as far as resume's go, but Duncan stands head and shoulders above Shaq in class. In at ude. In the right way to play the game.
I want Duncan to get his repeat for a lot of reasons. Separating him from Shaq in the history books is one of them.
^^ Definitely.
I have a feeling the refs will let Shaq play a lot more on Tues so we will see how Duncan can handle it.
“He’s had to go through me. I’ve had to go through him. I pretty much know what he’s going to do.”
If we win game 2, I think you could seriously see Shaq stop trying as hard. He COMPLETELY gave up last year in the series against the Bulls, and stopped even running up the floor.
Win game 2, and you'll see him loafing it a bit. Maybe not fully, but enough that he won't contribute as much. Shaq only gives effort if there is personal glory in it for him. If he thinks he's going to get beat, he just shrugs his shoulders and stops playing.
I miss Ludden
I always thought it was funny how people were saying Shaq was rejuvenated and ready for the challenge of the playoffs, but yet Tim Duncan who is much younger would not be able to get it done in the playoffs? Plus Tim is a defending champ. He has alot to play for to you know?
This is the response to Shaq's comments last night. Those he made so refs could hear.
It's good Ludden and others in the press make a statement as well that last night's victory had nothing to do with flopping and not competing. I think the most outrageous statement made by Shaq last night was the "compete" one. I believe because the spurs compete until the last second is that they got the win.
Everything else is nonsense.
Me too.I miss Ludden
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