Tim Duncan : How many good years does he have left?

[Lebowski Brickowski]

I remember last year when all the talk was that Duncan needed all summer to heal from his sprained ankles. Everyone (me too) was saying how badass Timmy would be after an entire off-season of rest. Then he starts this year w/ pf and has had a season well below his own standards. Everyone is saying, "He needs a whole off-seson to really heal from pf. Assume another long season and intense gameplay for the playoffs, how will Tim come back next year? His ankles are healed. His pf should be healed. What's next? Could playing hard on pf this year and through the playoffs cause another nagging injury from over-compensation or over-use? Or will he again be the best player in the NBA? Impossible to tell. But I think Timmy will play for at least 3 more years whether he is at the top of his game or not. And a TD at the level he's playing now is better than good enough to contend. He just makes eveyone on the team that much better. TD is still The Man.

Rack

[boutons_]

'Then he starts this year w/ pf"

IIRC, he did start this season looking MVP-fantastic for a couple weeks max, then the PF flared up.

[Jimcs50]

5 or 6.

Depends on health. I do not count this year's injury as career threatening, because it is not. After the off season, his feet should be healthy. Barring any knee injuries or back injuries, he should be in the league at least 6 more years and a dominant force for 4 of them. The twilight of his career should be on par with DRob's last couple of years, a good, complimentary player.

BTW, TD is every bit as dedicated, compe ive and fiery as any of the greats.

[polandprzem]

'Then he starts this year w/ pf"

IIRC, he did start this season looking MVP-fantastic for a couple weeks max, then the PF flared up.

Yes he was looking great.
He started the season good and was getting better until the December when PF starts to disturb his rythym and movenment. Dam I was pissed off.

Now he is looking better and hopefuly he will recover. well at least to the optimal shape.

[MoSpur]

I say he has four more left. He seems like he would want to go out before getting all broken down.

[TDMVPDPOY]

He has untill his contract runs out and i can see him play on another few seasons playin a defensive role just like drob or camby.

[callo1]

I think Tim will get bored before his body retires him.

His weak interest in the first half of seasons is sort of a premonition, imo. He's not the super-compe ive, fiery emotional, alpha male type. I think he will be satisfied with a repeat, maybe go for a 3-peat, then after that, take his 10s of $Ms, his wife and kid(s), and go hang out on the beach until his jersey retirement ceremony.

His injuries the last 3 seasons, even if not quite him breaking down with age, have to be discouraging, esp when compounded with the boredom of oct/nov/dec/jan every year, going through the motions until the playoffs.

I don't think it is fair to judge somebody elses compe ive spirit based on your standards. TD is simply not going to be the guy that pounds his chest, or scream after every dunk and stares at the camera (Kenyon Martin), like some players do.

Tim's fire burns deeper within. It is not skin deep.

Anyone who can be an Olympic level swimmer, then change to basketball and rise to be a 2 time MVP, a 2 time Finals MVP, and get 3 rings has to have a fire burning somewhere.

It is rare, but sometimes TD does show that emotion in a more traditional sense. I will never forget a game in Portland back in '02 or '03 (not sure on the year). The Spurs were trailing the Blazers, David Robinson had just been ejected after some horrid bs call, and Timmy got mad as and absolutely destroyed the Blazers single handedly.

Shoot, just last week during the Laker game, TD got that "ok playtime is over" look in his eyes when he felt that Turiaf was getting away with too much. Tim proceeded to take over.

I think just the fact that Timmy has played all year through the PF shows just how compe ive he is.

What about last year in Seattle? That was one of an ankle sprain, but Timmy got up (while the crowd cheered his dimise) and stepped to the line, then later got the game winner.

TD not compe ive, not hardly. He simply is the kind of guy that doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve...the kind of guy that people wonder "what is going through his head right now?" --those are actually the scariest people-- haha

[exstatic]

I remember last year when all the talk was that Duncan needed all summer to heal from his sprained ankles. Everyone (me too) was saying how badass Timmy would be after an entire off-season of rest. Then he starts this year w/ pf and has had a season well below his own standards. Everyone is saying, "He needs a whole off-seson to really heal from pf. Assume another long season and intense gameplay for the playoffs, how will Tim come back next year? His ankles are healed. His pf should be healed. What's next? Could playing hard on pf this year and through the playoffs cause another nagging injury from over-compensation or over-use? Or will he again be the best player in the NBA? Impossible to tell. But I think Timmy will play for at least 3 more years whether he is at the top of his game or not. And a TD at the level he's playing now is better than good enough to contend. He just makes eveyone on the team that much better. TD is still The Man.

Rack

Actually, someone posted something ironic when we were discussing the PF: The heavy taping of his ankles to reduce lateral motion may have caused the PF.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i dont really care, look at this season his playin with PF and his stats/mins are down but hoopsworld still has him in top5 of the top25 players in the league this season. Even if he continues playin like this i dont care cose with or without pf his still goin to be top5 player in the league.

[Dre_7]

As long as the Spurs can make the playoffs and have a decent seed the rest of Duncan career, I dont care if he gets 15ppg and 10rpg. Just as long as he dominates in the playoffs like he usually does.

Whatever happens stat wise from now on will not negatively effect his place in NBA history. He will go down as the greatest PF ever, and one of the best players ever. Top 5. Top 10 at very worst.

[Louie Vega]

i must say again
these are stupidest, most pointless threads anyone can make

no matter what anyone says everyone else will be dummer from having read it

I didn't even have to say anything. You made a complete ass out of yourself.

[mavsfan1000]

I think Duncan should retire at the end of this season. Give the rest of the league a chance.

[TOP_MODEL_M]

Timmy is the cornerstone of our franchise.He doesn't deserve any hate or doubt by anyone because he has done more for this team than anybody would have expected or even dreamt of.Even if he doesn't get 25 and 12 anymore he'd still be The One. He contributes much more than his stats show.We're not stat s, no spur on this team is, and no spurs fan should be.We're a TEAM.And as long as we're winning we should be enjoying the best times of this franchise to the fullest.It might not happen again that we get another Tim Duncan.
He's deffinitely a Top 10 all time player, and with a few more les he could easily become a Top 3 player.We couldn't wish for more than that. He's as compe ive as anyone can get.Ask the so-called-compe ive Marbury or Iverson how many rings they have...
Tim has a whole lot more left in the tank.And even if he gets 5ppg, he'd still be doubled by any team.He's the leader, he makes everybody around him better and he'll bring us more les, pride and great memories.