Tim pretty much took himself out of those games. I don't think it had so much to do with his knee as his head up his ass.
Marc's Quote
"I don't think I'm exactly 100 percent, but I don't know that I will be. It's just the wear and tear of the season. This is just how I'm going to be for the rest of the way here."
San Antonio's Tim Duncan, acknowledging that his season-long sharpness hasn't been there since he took three games off to rest his ailing right knee.
Duncan shot 20-for-47 from the field in his first three games back and blamed himself for San Antonio's 107-102 loss in Dallas on Wednesday, insisting that he was "awful" at both ends.
He chastised himself for flubbing defensive rotations on a Dirk Nowitzki 3-pointer and a Josh Howard drive -- both in crunch time -- and acknowledged that he allowed himself to get too frustrated by a few non-calls on his own work inside … without acknowledging any of the referees by name on a night when Duncan and Joey Crawford were back in American Airlines Center some two years removed from the late-season game when Crawford ejected Duncan as he laughed on the bench.
It probably wasn't the best night, adding up all those details, to ask Duncan how he was feeling. He was undoubtedly being unusually hard on himself, in trademark Spurs fashion, after a tough loss to a team they still view as a rival … even if few league observers still have the Mavs in San Antonio's class.
But the comments about his knee have to be filed away, because the prospect of a compe ive Western Conference finals probably rests on Duncan's health. And Manu Ginobili's.
Should the Spurs be able to keep the newly signed Drew Gooden (and his dodgy groin) on the floor, along with smash-hit summer signing Roger Mason and the emerging Matt Bonner, they've quietly assembled what appears to be the most offensively potent supporting cast for Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker they've ever had in San Antonio. Add the scorers to the supporting-cast vets who have been well-drilled in the Spurs' ways -- Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas -- and you have the one team out West that can conceivably beat the Lakers in the seven-game series. Even if L.A. gets Andrew Bynum back.
But that's obviously only if the stars that flank Parker are reasonably sturdy in late May. Ginobili had surgery on his left ankle in the offseason and has been out since the Spurs returned from the All-Star break, when increasing pain in the other ankle forced San Antonio's medical staff to put his right foot in a boot for a week. Duncan's struggles were more surprising, even though he's 32 and Ginobili is 31, because Timmy looked so fresh and spry in November, December and January after a summer of boxing training and tossing tractor tires to prepare for his 12th season.
"He's Tim," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, insisting that he's not doing any extra fretting about Duncan's condition.
"There's no 'progress to be made.' It's not like he was out [so] long where he's got to get a rhythm back or anything. … Overall he's doing fine."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...dime-090307-08
Tim pretty much took himself out of those games. I don't think it had so much to do with his knee as his head up his ass.
Thanks Spurs Brazil.
I said it a couple of times last night, I'll just repeat it here. The tendonosis is here to stay. It's just going to be a matter of severity on any given night. Duncan has shown us he can play through pain. He won a le in '05 on two bad ankles, he played the entire '05-'06 season with Plantar Fasciitis. He will rise for the Playoffs like he always does.
Hopefully it doesn't get worse, and it will heal better in the off season.
poor timmy
plz take care of yourself
damnit another injury before playoffs
Yay! I hope your okay Timmy!
He will be, and watch out for him in the playoffs.
That's not good. The off season will help heal, but this is going to be a constant issue until he retires.
So I guess he is human.
Come on Timmy, we're all rooting for you. Let's hope he can fight through it come play-offs. Gooden and Ginobili too.
I see no logical reason to believe Duncan or Manu will be healthy come playoff time.
Damn it.
If there is one thing I would ever dare blame Timmy for, it's his tendency to get too frustrated about calls or non-calls.
Timmy is a warrior. Let's hope he will be able to fight through it in the playoffs, because otherwise we are doomed.
This is exactly why everyone should have been worried about the increased workload and extra minutes that Timmy has been carrying all season - especially earlier this season. Obviously, there was very little choice because he's not had much frontline help. KT got off to a slow start, yet has picked up the pace over the past few months. Hopefully, Gooden can help offload some of the heavy lifting on the frontline.
I'm sorry, but that has got to be one of the most idiotic posts I've read in awhile. Timmy was asked a question about his knee and how he felt, and gave a honest answer. Where in that statement can you read that he's "acting like he's 42?" He's carried the load upfront all season, and obviously starting to catch up to him. Hopefully, next season the front office will see this and not leave him (mostly) holding it down alone.
David Robinson, although great throughout most of his career, was a s of his former self by the time he retired in '02-03. David was ailed with (I believe) back and knee problems throughout that season, and his role was reduced to being strictly a rebounder and defender. Now, he did it better than anyone has managed to since then, but that still doesn't change those facts.
I wasn't offended by your statments, they're your opinion after all, but you seem to be giving Tim little credit for playing at less then 100%. And, when has Tim ever said that his current situation with his knee (which is degenerative) with continue to worsen? I've only read posters making such claims, but haven't seen anything coming directly from Timmy.
Lastly, there is no possible way that David could've averaged 15-10 his last season, bro. He only dressed for 64 games that season due to both knee and back issues (I believe) and couldn't play more than 28-30 minutes a night. David was a role-player at the end, not just because of what Pop thought was best for the team, but also because that's all his physical limitations could allow him to be.
Just ignore him. He is just an idiot who loves to hate on Duncan. I don't even think he is a real Spurs fan.
What did I say in the preseason? We need big men and that's why I wanted the Spurs to look at guys like Watkins instead of unproven outside shooters like Tolliver.
Yeah, idk about Watkins, but AT was a horrible choice, considering what he did in the preseason. Usually players get rewarded for playing better, but not so with AT. I wish Hairston had gotten the pick over him.
Hopefully Gooden can help in this regard. If not, I think the 2010 plan is too long to wait considering how much wear is being put on Tim and his degenerative knee issue.
manu being always injured is a problem for the spurs, even in the RS.
I mean with the usual PO Tim, Tony at his best, where he is right now, and manu doing his thing, we're fine.
but manu's injuries have put some extra pressure and minutes on tim and tony. and unfortunately, tim's and tony's own injuries have coincided with manu's ones, putting even more responsabilities on the last member of the big three (Tim at the beginning of the season, tony lately).
it would be great to have an healthy manu for the PO. But if him getting healthy cost us a TP or a Tim at full strenght, that's useless.
One day hopefully in the not-so-near-future Timmy will wake up, rub his knee and decide he'd rather lie in a hammock on a beach somewhere, cold beer in hand.. hopefully the new acquisitions by the Spurs postpone this scenario from becoming reality as long as possible.
Pops trying to rest him. I noticed he only played about 20+ minutes against the Wizzards.
Didn't Doctor J play his last ten years with bad knees?
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