Have the wheels fallen off?

[Harry Callahan]

I hope Tim can play another year and blend into the mix. I think he still has a very positive effect on the squad - he is a great teammate and will not be a distraction if his minutes are declining as they have recently.

Manu (I believe) is going to call it career this year since he is playing in the Olympics. He will leave everything out there on the floor for his country without worrying about the next NBA season.

Manu still has the ability to be a major positive factor for the Spurs in 2016-2017, but I don't think he wants to go through another season like this one with the tough injury he sustained. He has often mentioned the family time he is looking forward to.

I hate it that TD and Manu are just about at the end and one more year would be a great bonus. That sad day when they are both former Spurs is coming in either 45 days or next spring, that is for sure.

The Front Office may want to get younger in a couple of spots next to keep the Kawhi/LMA transformation/momentum going. If SA can add the right veteran player AND get a quality point guard to eventually take over, SA can be a high level squad competing for championships the next 3-4 years. That is a realistic possibility with a little good luck and right player acquisitions.

[spurraider21]

i would love for him to go out on top... in a future season

i never want the er to retire. let him be 48 years old playing 5 minutes a game, he'd still be an asset

[TheCerebral1]

He's playing what you need out of a 40 year old. We've got West and Diaw to cushion his blow to keep him gassed up for the rest of the run.

[hitmantb]

You don't want Tim to walk like Kevin McHale, or Gabriel Batistuta who begged the doctor to cut his legs off because he has no tendons/cartilages left (sounds very scary, almost just like the Duncan situation).

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comm..._so_much_pain/

So yes, I really feel this is the end, you don't want the wheels to LITERALLY fall off.

In hindsight I wish he retired on top in 2014, he may have done permanent damage to his post retirement health.

[SAGirl]

You don't want Tim to walk like Kevin McHale, or Gabriel Batistuta who begged the doctor to cut his legs off because he has no tendons/cartilages left (sounds very scary, almost just like the Duncan situation).

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comm..._so_much_pain/

So yes, I really feel this is the end, you don't want the wheels to LITERALLY fall off.

In hindsight I wish he retired on top in 2014, he may have done permanent damage to his post retirement health.

I agree. I was watching a section of the blowout first game in this series. It wasn't even a physical game in comparison to the rest, and he had rested for days after the Memphis series, about half way through the third I saw him hold the "good" knee and flex it as if it was bothering him. It's got to be age degeneration/degradation of some kind and not injury. Pop would not let him play injured. Age has caught up with him. It is time.

He's still a positive bc he's so savvy but he's in pain. I wish he stayed as an assistant coach. Maybe one of the assistant coaches gets hired over the summer to a HC job and Timmy gets to be one. I am not sure if he's interested, but he seems a natural teacher and motivator for young players.

[SpursFan86]

Looked up the numbers for the first time, and they definitely seem to back up the theory that it was the right knee injury that really sent him into this decline.

Pre-knee injury (36 games, 26.1 mpg): 56.4 TS%
Post-knee injury (24 games, 23.4 mpg): 48.5 TS%

As others have said, he was playing really well in the 1st half of the season. Hardly noticed any decline at all compared to where he was at last year. Then the knee injury came up and ever since he's struggled considerably. His offense is essentially non-existent, and even his defense has fallen off although he's still really solid in that aspect.

I still hope that he's capable of a few big games in these playoffs, but his days of consistently being a main contributor are definitely over IMO It's hard enough to play with one good knee, much less none. I don't see any scenario where he returns next year.

Hopefully Pop actually gives him some minutes in these next few games. We could use the rebounding and I don't want to see the GOAT go out playing 10 mpg.

[TDomination]

I see him battling for Rebounds against Adams and Kanter, deflecting the ball, pushing it so that it goes to a Spurs player.
Unless he is seriously hurting from his knees, I don't see why Pop wouldn't put Duncan in place of West in the last 6 minutes of the game. We'll see how he looks game 5.