Duncan Laughs Off Dirk's Comment

[SA210]

Duncan laughed!? Suspend him!

Where is the Joey Crawford troll?

[Mavs<Spurs]

Duncan laughs off Dirk's comment
Kate Hairopoulos
Dallas Morning News

Tim Duncan - of course - didn't bite on questions at this morning's shootaround at the AAC about what the Mavs have been mouthing off about lately.

Duncan was actually downright funny when told about Dirk Nowitzki's comments yesterday defending teammate Erick Dampier and then casually mentioning that San Antonio has a dirty player - whom Nowitzki didn't name.

"Was he talking about me?" Duncan deadpanned.

"Was he talking about Tony [Parker]?"

"You're going to have to specify who he was talking about."

A reporter mentioned Bruce Bowen, the Spurs' feisty defender with a much publicized dirty rep.

"Oh, Bruce. I didn't think about him," Duncan said. "I'll have to think about that and get back to you."

Duncan also shared his wisdom on why he's not worried about whatever adjustments the Mavs try to make in defending Parker tonight - whether they knock him on his back or not, as Dampier famously alluded to on Monday.

"Tony can take care of himself," Duncan said. "He's alright. He's a big tough guy...

"Not just scoring the ball, he's become more intelligent as a basketball player, just understanding what's available. He'll adjust accordingly to what they do tonight. If they try to take him out of the game he'll attack a different way."

You talkin about me ? You talkin about me ?

ROFL !

[duncan228]

Duncan: Dampier's Parker plan works for Spurs
By Jeff McDonald

DALLAS -- The Erick Dampier-Tony Parker brouhaha appears to have been defused. Dampier said he regrets his comments about planning to put Parker on his back in Game 3, and the NBA has absolved him of those remarks.

But, of course, the story won't die. It was a topic of conversation at Spurs shootaround this morning.

Tim Duncan said he hadn't heard of Dampier's promise, but he's not going to dissuade the Mavericks center from trying to carry it out.

"He's knocked (Parker) down before," Duncan said. "If he knocks him down again, that's great. It will get him in foul trouble and get him out of the game. So good for us."

Asked he felt an added responsibility to protect Parker from harm, like a big brother, Duncan shrugged.

"Tony can take care of himself," Duncan said. "He's a big, tough guy."

Duncan also played coy in response to another brewing mini-controversy. A day earlier, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki defended Dampier by saying he "certainly doesn't have the reputation of being a dirty player. They got one, we don't."

Nowitizki didn't elaborate on which Spurs player he thought to be dirty. Duncan wouldn't speculate, either.

"Was he talking about me? Was he talking about Tony?" Duncan said. "You're going to have to specify who he's talking about, because I'm not sure."

It's just a guess, Duncan was told, but you have to believe he was talking about Bruce Bowen, a player who has drawn the Mavericks' ire before.

"Oh, Bruce," Duncan said, as if he'd just had an epiphany. "I didn't think about him."

[JoeyCrawford]

Duncan laughs off Dirk's comment
Kate Hairopoulos
Dallas Morning News

Tim Duncan - of course - didn't bite on questions at this morning's shootaround at the AAC about what the Mavs have been mouthing off about lately.

Duncan was actually downright funny when told about Dirk Nowitzki's comments yesterday defending teammate Erick Dampier and then casually mentioning that San Antonio has a dirty player - whom Nowitzki didn't name.

"Was he talking about me?" Duncan deadpanned.

"Was he talking about Tony [Parker]?"

"You're going to have to specify who he was talking about."

A reporter mentioned Bruce Bowen, the Spurs' feisty defender with a much publicized dirty rep.

"Oh, Bruce. I didn't think about him," Duncan said. "I'll have to think about that and get back to you."

Duncan also shared his wisdom on why he's not worried about whatever adjustments the Mavs try to make in defending Parker tonight - whether they knock him on his back or not, as Dampier famously alluded to on Monday.

"Tony can take care of himself," Duncan said. "He's alright. He's a big tough guy...

"Not just scoring the ball, he's become more intelligent as a basketball player, just understanding what's available. He'll adjust accordingly to what they do tonight. If they try to take him out of the game he'll attack a different way."

WHAT!?

[ElNono]

WHAT!?

Take your meds Joey... it's gonna be a long night.

[Thomas82]

I love being a Duncan fan.

Me too, my all-time favorite basketball player.

[Spursfan092120]

lol...God I love this guy.

[BillMc]

Duncan laughed!? Suspend him!

Just wait, Joey Crawford might tonight! NO Laughing allowed!

[Please_dont_ban_me]

Lol, I love his sense of humor man.

[EricB]

The Mavs laughed last then.

Duncan laughed at the end of that post season.

He laughed even harder at the end of the next year.