He can't actually believe that, can he?
I mean, I realize a lot of unqualified people, working for some very well-known outlets, were saying how he was just dominating Duncan, and I realize it's become the perception over the years (largely because it's always gone unchallenged) but it's absolute garbage.
First off, Amare wasn't even Duncan's assignment for the majority of the time. Pop actually had Tim starting off on Richardson.
The Spurs allowed Nazr, Rasho, and Horry to play Amare just about straight-up for the majority of the time. Amare's scoring wasn't the concern of the coaching staff.
The Spurs' plan was to take away the 3-point shot and change the rhythm of their offense by making the Suns play more of an inside-out game, with a guy who hadn't the understanding of, "out." Amare got his points but the Spurs' stategy got them a 4-1 series win.
Secondly, Do people forget the type of shape Tim was in?
The guy badly sprains his ankle three times during the season, enters the playoffs after just returning from the latest sprain, then, sprains the other ankle to end the Sonics series. Yeah, I know if that happened to me I'd be ready to go defend a 7-sec.-or-less Suns team, who's most athleticism resided in the frontcourt. Sounds just peachy.
Look, Amare's a of an athlete with great hands and a soft touch but to say Tim is not that hard to play against, and use '05 as your proof, is an absolute joke. I wonder if this guy even realizes that it's not the "norm" to get spoon-fed by one of the games great point-guards and be given the advantage of having his defenders on their heels/rotating, just about every time he's in scoring position.
Tim, on about half an ankle, put up something like 27 and 14 in that series and was a good fourth-quarter in game-four, of advancing with a sweep.
Tim and the Spurs got the stops and scores when they needed to, and Amare would be wise to, recognize, acknowledge, and learn from it.