He's just in a slump
He's declining as the season goes on
He's just waiting for the playoffs to begin
Spurs don't need Duncan to dominate against the Lakers, they just need him to defend the middle and for the rest of the Spurs to be able to hit shots. Which they will be able to do most of the time. Last Sunday was the exception, I am more and more convinced. They don't have the best record and a 2-1 lead on the Lakers out of luck.
Also, I agree that Duncan will take his bad game out on our next opponent...book it.
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...gainst-lakers/Look for TD to bounce back after his struggles against Lakers
Tim Griffin
...In his career, Duncan has scored six points or less in 25 games. In the games following, Duncan has averaged 17.5 ponts, 9.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots. He’s also hit 50.9 percent from the field.
228
His numbers after those games should be higher if we don't take into account this year. He has scored 6 or less 7 times this year.
I don't think he's in a slump, nor do I think he is declining as the season goes on. It's clear he is physically not the player he once was, but his decline in stats this year are directly attributed to a new offense that no longer goes through him and a calculated preservation of his energy and minutes. Duncan is in Horry mode and the Spurs are good enough to allow him to coast.
Every few games he reminds you that he still has it. You get used to him never leaving his feet, mistiming blocks and rebounds and being step slow on rotations, but all of a sudden, he will look like the old Timmy. Spry and bouncy, aggressively pulling down boards and blocking shots, hustling down the floor, shaking off defenders in the post . . .
We saw him do this last year, albeit with a much less talented team that required more production from him, but as Benefactor illustrated, you can't count out Tim Duncan. It isn't wise.
I am, hopefully, voting for the third option.
Ohm dropping knowledge on the doubting greys.
It's obvious he's declined drastically, there's no spinning that. However, this warrior has such heart and determination that during the Playoffs he's going to give it everything he's got, and that's much more than we've seen of him all season.
I thought even pau gasol outplayed him in 08. Maybe stats say otherwise, but that's just how I saw it.
Sorry, but you're just wrong. His stats are pretty close to his career averages when you consider his limited minutes. Basketball reference has a "per 36 minutes" column, and it's pretty enlightening as to how good he's been defensively while he's on the floor. His shot attempts, his field goal percentage and his free throw attempts have gone down this season, which isn't a surprise. With the focus on keeping him healthy and fresh for a playoff run, the offense isn't going through him. This is a deliberate attempt to keep wear and tear to a minimum. In every other category he's at or above his career averages. Think about that for a minute before you defend your statement that he's "declined drastically".
There should be a "none of the above", because all of those choices are inaccurate.
I'll give you that I didn't take minutes played into account, but come on... Timmy used to be freaking unguardable. He could get to the basket at will and finish with explosive dunks, when he wasn't busting that bank shot in fools faces. he used to own Shaq in the paint. He's still got a lot left in him, but to say that he hasn't declined at all is just silly.
Last edited by Budkin; 03-09-2011 at 12:07 AM.
Players slow down. It's the nature of things. There will come a day when Kobe slows down and players he used to dominate get the best of him and yell " " in his ear after bustin a 3 in his face. If it happened to Jordan it sure as is going to happen to him. I for one will giggle my ass off when that day comes.
I don't think anyone said he hasn't declined at all. Somebody said he'd declined drastically without checking the stats first, and that person was completely wrong. Duncan hasn't relied on his athletecism in a long time. Even though he hasn't gotten the ball much on offense, he's probably had more explosive dunks this year than the previous four or five, which bodes well for the playoffs.
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