It pains me to say it, but if his knees are that bad bad, to where he can't even log 32 mpg with the occasional game off and last more than just over half a season, then maybe he should think about retiring. I know he's owed a lot of money for two more years and he's still one of the best players in the league, but honestly, this organization has taken every precaution they can with him and it doesn't appear to be helping much.
The only other thing they can do is bring in a legit big next to him to allow him to settle into a Robinson-esque role defensively. But that's not happening. Splitter can't be the anchor of a defense and there's probably no one the Spurs can realistically acquire that can be. Camby is old, injury prone and determined to stay with whatever teams he's on at the moment (he get's attached easily), but he'd probably be the Spurs best bet in this area. Short of that, he's going to continue to be this teams anchor defensively, asked to cover oodles of ground and it's going to continue to take it's toll.
I don't think it's that far though..
If Duncan had even A LITTLE help inside, his body would last a lot longer..it's actually ridiculous to ask a 34-year old with knee problems and tons of mileage to anchor the D all by himself, rebound all by himself AND play interior basketball all by himself..
His knees would be a lot better off and hold up longer if he had somebody to give him some minutes off..I'm not a big, so I can't comment on how it is to play that type of role in compe ive, organized basketball(let alone at the highest level), but I imagine having somebody to help take off the wear and tear would help..
It also hurts that he's had to take a much bigger role than he was supposed to..ideally, Duncan was supposed to be the #2 option this season, and even occasionally the #3 or #4..unfortunately with Tony's injuries, Manu's slow start and RJ being neutered, he's had to take on a much bigger role than he's supposed to..
Says a lot when nobody would take Mason off our hands when Pop & RC were willing to just give the bum away for next to nothing.
But it's tough, because he's not quite strong enough to be a true center, but he's no longer anywhere near mobile enough to be a power forward, which means he has to guard centers and play primarily in the shadow of the basket, so even if he has a Camby next to him, more often than not he'd end up as the last line of defense. Where this type of big we're describing could help him is on pick-and-rolls. Teams force him to come out from the paint, move his feet AND recover and he just doesn't have the mobility for that anymore.
This organization took his greatness for granted for too long and because they knew (after '00) that there was no threat of him leaving, they continued to surround him with . Up until '08, he was great enough to somehow make it all work, so they thought they could continue to get away with that, as if he wasn't human and wasn't going to age. Only he did and his knees were worse than he previously let on and now he's so hobbled that he can barely move out there and he's got a 6-9, fellow old big with knee problems, who can't block shots, as his primary partner. And why? Because he can make 15-18 footers. That's all that matters to this organization. It's funny, I seem to remember Mohammed and Oberto, two non shooting bigs, being solid partners for Duncan. All of a sudden there's this idea that he has to have a shooting big next to him to stretch the floor. In case the front office hasn't noticed, he's rarely doubled anymore, so he generally has enough space to operate.
Agreed. He just gave a lot of points away with lazy defense.
Just to this point: The info on his knees was pretty clear when the tendonosis was diagnosed last February. It's degenerative. It's not going to get better, and it was going to be a matter of severity on any given night.
We may not be told day-to-day how he feels, but we were told how the tendonosis could effect him this season. Add his chronic left knee, the one he has braced, to the mix and it's no surprise that his game can be impacted.
You took what I said out of context. I wasn't referencing this year, but rather his supposed knee soreness that he's had for years. Pop said it a year-year and a half ago, something to the effect of (to paraphrase): "Timmy plays with a lot more pain in his knees than people know". We know he doesn't like to whine about injuries and I sense that he kept it under wraps for a long time and that contributed to the organization surrounding him with worse and worse bigs because he continued to single-handedly hold down the paint effectively until '08.
I did, I read it as just the tendonosis. Sorry.
Duncan may have under-played the trouble with his left knee. We heard a few things over the years, stiffness, that it didn't straighten completely, but nothing that alerted me to how really bad it was. We'll never know what he did or did not tell the team, but he does hate to use injury as an excuse.
If he contributed in anyway to the state of this team I assume he knows it. And imo it hits him the hardest. It's his window that's closing fast. I think his season has been okay overall, I hope he can maintain the level next year. Maybe we'll see some changes in the cast.
Duncan had some bad mental lapses. Physically he seems fine - otherwise I don't think he'd be running around and dunking like he did this game. Unfortunately he made a pretty boneheaded pass in the closing moments of the 4th that costed the Spurs a clutch possession; however he only had two turnovers.
His impact on the statsheet does seem lackluster when it comes to points (13 on 50%) and rebounds (5, 4 Offensive). However when he was on the court the offense seemed to find its way to Manu since he had a hot hand and I think his rebound total reflects the amount of jumpshots that were being attempted by the Spurs. He did get 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks to round out the statsheet though (also only two fouls).
Hopefully Manu's vintage play will further motivate Duncan. He didn't exploit his physical advantages like you think he would but then again he was also sharing the court with a red hot Ginobili and trying to dish out to other guys that were open due to drawing double-teams.
Maybe Duncan just doesn't like to play hard when Joey Crawford is around?
No problem.I did, I read it as just the tendonosis. Sorry.
Duncan may have under-played the trouble with his left knee. We heard a few things over the years, stiffness, that it didn't straighten completely, but nothing that alerted me to how really bad it was. We'll never know what he did or did not tell the team, but he does hate to use injury as an excuse.
If he contributed in anyway to the state of this team I assume he knows it. And imo it hits him the hardest. It's his window that's closing fast. I think his season has been okay overall, I hope he can maintain the level next year. Maybe we'll see some changes in the cast.
Don't get me wrong, I don't blame Duncan for the state of this team. His only crimes were being so great that he could be surrounded with virtually anyone who was even close to being half decent and make them look like a championship caliber player and the fact that he's a nice, humble guy and he probably didn't put a ton of pressure on the front office over the years to surround him with better talent. Because they were cheap anyway and continuously won, they took him for granted. It's the front offices' fault that this team is in the state they're in; Duncan is the last guy who deserves blame.
Okay overall? For a 33-year old with two bad knees, the mileage he has on his body and the lack of help he has in the paint, his season has been nothing short of incredible overall. If you compare it to his peak or, say, James' current level of play, then of course he falls well short, but I don't make such comparisons (other than my just doing so, which was merely to cite an example). Look at PER (he's third-fifth, depending on the day). Here he is, up there with (and in many cases, ahead of) all of these guys who are in their athletic prime.
With all due respect, his knees don't keep him from putting up his hands when someone goes into the paint.
TRADE TD!!!
This was well known since last season. I would even go as far as quoting Marcus Bryant when the season ended last year that it was the big elephant in the room. As much as Pop curtailed Tim's minutes, playing small and having nobody to help him out there really puts a bigger strain on Tim and his knees.
Some people here expect Tim to snatch 25 boards a game, and all I have to tell them is that they're really delusional. He needs help, and it wasn't given to him all season long.
He played lazy, but if i'm gonna rag on Duncan for one lazy game when Some key players have been like it all season.
I blame Pop. Duncan never got in rhythm because of Pop's dumb rotations
Mason led the spurs +/- with +5
lol
i'm still waiting for the mcdyess second half of the season explosion to occur.
LMAO What??
We'd be like 20 under .500 without him..
Tim was supposed to be 'longliver' in NBA as his game was not based on dynamic and athleticism.
Look where Hakeem or KAJ was at his age
Tim deserves to have a lazy night, he's been playing hard all season long
At ages 33 and 34 those were actually Hakeems last 2 big years in the NBA, He went way downhill fast after that..Tim was supposed to be 'longliver' in NBA as his game was not based on dynamic and athleticism.
Look where Hakeem or KAJ was at his age
Tim is still giving them 19 and 11 on 51% shooting and if he took more shots he'd be well up over 20 a game..
You know, where I worked, I didn't get to take time off because I 'had been working hard all year'. Why does Tim?
Is this sarcasm?
the dude makes $20 million for 82 games a year!!!!!
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