Ludden: Seasonal slumping by Duncan

[Kip Fanatic]

So typical San Antonio. "Why does that doctor in the Dominion get to drive a Lexus while I drive my '84 Celebrity with primer fenders and no A/C? I bet I work harder than him. He just walks around his office all day writing prescriptions."

You got off of the topic a long time ago, but I'll respond. I don't live in San Antonio. I grew up in San Antonio and live a short drive away now. I don't drive a Celebrity or Lumina. I have three vehicles (owned) and own several houses. I did that by hard work and stepping out on faith to start my own business.

I use to envy those who lived in the Dominion especially when I had to spend my summers working there at times with my dad. However, my dad showed me the way to success. Hard work. Now I have live in a home that is paid for and worth a good amount and own a few others, but I pray that I sell them because that's what I do.

My point when I responded to this thread earlier this morning was that its weird to ME (not saying that everyone has to see it like ME) that it was stated that Tim was tired. I dont' understand how he can be tired when he took the summer off this off-season. I recall a lot of people here saying Tim should have a career year because of the time off and that he looks trim and in great shape. I also stated he doesn't and a few others on the team don't seem to be playing with that much passion this season. That was my point. I wasn't saying he job doesn't require skill nor that's its easy.

You took it to another subject when you said that people who have labor jobs don't have to use their heads as much as a player in the NBA does.

[pache100]

As for Kip - his statements are just silly. Duncan is not allowed to be tired because he's a millionaire and people work harder than he does making less money. What does that have to do with having a highly selective skill? Nothing. Anyone is allowed to be tired and his arguments otherwise are eye-roll inducing.

Yep!

And why you are on such a tear to rip apart the team and accuse anyone who disagrees with you of being a blind homer is beyond me.

[Kip Fanatic]

Please, enlighten me. How hard should they be playing? Because I think they are just fine. 19-5. That's really tragic, isn't it? Second best record in the league is such an awful place to be.

Would I like it if Timmy were more dominant? I guess, if that could happen without a decline in the performance around him. Would I like to see more consistent play? Yeah. I would. But I'm not going to be all that concerned in December. I've already seen improvement, and know that these close games are going to make them a better team.

Since Duncan has been with the team, they've never had that fire or desire that everyone is criticizing. Instead, they've focused on gradual improvement and been on fire in March. If this is still their at ude in late January or February, I'll be concerned.

It's such a ridiculous statement. I'll be among the first to criticize their lack of cohesive defense and bemoan their screwup turnovers. It's not about not criticizing the team, it's about recognizing a couple of things: There ain't much to criticize and when you've taken to ing about some perceived lack of effort and HCA in DECEMBER you should remember what is fun about basketball and rooting for a team and lose the sense of en lement. Also, there are no awards for hustling in November or December. What matters is what happens in April, May and ultimately, June. Their track record there is pretty good.

As for Kip - his statements are just silly. Duncan is not allowed to be tired because he's a millionaire and people work harder than he does making less money. What does that have to do with having a highly selective skill? Nothing. Anyone is allowed to be tired and his arguments otherwise are eye-roll inducing.

And why you are on such a tear to rip apart the team and accuse anyone who disagrees with you of being a blind homer is beyond me.

You missed my point. Its cool. I'm not going to lose sleep because you and a few others didn't understand my initial post.

To be honest I don't think you deserve to be successful if you don't work hard. Obviously Tim and almost all professional athletes work hard. I never said they didn't. Please take some time to read my initial post.

[E20]

Would the Spurs ever trade Tim like the Rockets did Hakeem?

[tim_duncan_fan]

If it's so much easier and pays so much better, then why aren't you in the NBA?

You must be extremely stupid if you think you can make a relevant point with this question. I'm not in the NBA because my basketball skills are not on that level. But what does this question have to do with whether or not an NBA player's job is easier than that of the average guy? Let me answer that myself:

Nothing.

[Kip Fanatic]

I don't think he's gonna answer that question, ES. He didn't answer when I asked it.

I wasn't born with the skill or athleticism to play a professional sport. Therefore, I can't play in the NBA, NFL, MLB and the like. God has given each individual a certain gift. Mine isn't putting a ball through a hoop or hitting a 96mph fastball.

However, that doesn't make me a bitter Mexican who lives in San Antonio that lives in a crappy neighborhood and drives a car with a broken taillight.

[pache100]

You got off of the topic a long time ago, but I'll respond.

You took it to another subject when you said that people who have labor jobs don't have to use their heads as much as a player in the NBA does.

Nope. Here's where all that crap came up:

In that article it says that Tim Duncan looks tired. Of what? Playing video games up until 3am? He didn't play any basketball this off-season. Many were saying that he looked like he was in great shape and had an extra bounce to him. What happend? All of sudden 20+ games later he's tired. That's a joke.

The dude plays basketball for 30+ minutes a game. They play no more than four games a week. I can understand him being a little tired, but come on. Give me a break. He gets paid 10+ millions of dollars a year to do this. Suck it up.

Before starting my own business, I was a plumber's helper making $13.25/hour. I had to work Monday thru Friday from 7am to 4pm and sometimes later than that. I was tired, but I couldn't slack or else I would be out of a job.

And, again...

I'm not saying that I don't understand the fact that having a newborn can be tiring. I'm just saying you make it seem like he's the only one. I don't have a regular desk job and worked laboring jobs before I started this small business.

I tied rebar with my dad from the age of 16-21 and was a plumbers helper after that for about two years. I would say working from sun up to sun down two or three days out of the week, bending over constantly to tie rebar, carrying loads of rebar on your shoulder, in the cold or hot is a lot harder on your body than running up and down a basketball court indoors.

As for all that other bull$#!* in that post above about your life...WTF cares??????

[pache100]

You missed my point. Its cool. I'm not going to lose sleep because you and a few others didn't understand my initial post.

Please take some time to read my initial post.

Again...WE UNDERSTAND; WE DO NOT AGREE. Just because someone disagrees with you, does not mean that they "don't get it". That's arrogant and assinine to assume that. Furthermore, because WE DISAGREE, does not mean that we are not reading your posts!

[Kip Fanatic]

Nope. Here's where all that crap came up:



And, again...



As for all that other bull$#!* in that post above about your life...WTF cares??????

You do, because you asked me if it were so easy to play in the NBA why didn't I. I answered you and wanted to clarify to Extra Stout and yourself that because I believe playing in the NBA is a lot easier than almost every other job out there doesn't make me a typical San Antonio resident who is bitter about other's being wealthy.

[pache100]

You do, because you asked me if it were so easy to play in the NBA why didn't I.

Have you ever heard of a rhetorical question? And, once again, you are wrong...you have me confused with someone who gives a about what you do, where you live, or what you drive. I could not care less. And again, none of that has anything to do with why, if you think it's so freakin' EASY, you are not a hotshot in the NBA.

[Kip Fanatic]

Have you ever heard of a rhetorical question? And, once again, you are wrong...you have me confused with someone who gives a about what you do, where you live, or what you drive. I could not care less. And again, none of that has anything to do with why, if you think it's so freakin' EASY, you are not a hotshot in the NBA.

I could care less if you care about what I'm about. I'm not here to do have you or anyone else care about me. I have family and friends that do that and its enough for me. I was not addressing you when I was writing all of that. I was addressing ES. And again, I never said it was easy to play in the NBA. Just was wondering what Tim Duncan was so tired from.

[Extra Stout]

You took it to another subject when you said that people who have labor jobs don't have to use their heads as much as a player in the NBA does.

No, I didn't say that Tim has to use his head more than a laborer. He's a basketball player, not a lawyer or a physicist.

What I said is that Tim has a highly specialized skill that almost nobody else in the world has. He does something that you or I never, ever, could have a prayer of doing, no matter how hard we worked. We would embarrass ourselves if we tried.

And he has proven over and over again that he is the absolute best at what he does. He got there despite not having the greatest athletic gifts in the world, but by practicing and working and practicing and working and sweating every last detail for years and years. And you're belittling it like it's easy, and ing because he is not performing at his absolute peak 100% of the time. You're acting as if he must just not care about his job because he goes into a little funk four months before the playoffs start.

And, yeah, I think it stems from that goofy populist mindset in the city where you grew up. You're all caught up in how much money he makes and how many perks there are in the NBA. They get those perks because their unique skills are so valuable to their employers. You expect their compensation packages to make them superhuman. Is it reasonable? No. But I think that's the point. You don't want to be reasonable because you were raised to have contempt for people in Timmy's shoes.

[pache100]

I was not addressing you when I was writing all of that.

Well, excuse the out of me.

[Extra Stout]

You do, because you asked me if it were so easy to play in the NBA why didn't I. I answered you and wanted to clarify to Extra Stout and yourself that because I believe playing in the NBA is a lot easier than almost every other job out there doesn't make me a typical San Antonio resident who is bitter about other's being wealthy.

It makes you a San Antonio native who was raised to resent that in the real world there is not a correlation between toil and pay.

[Kip Fanatic]

No, I didn't say that Tim has to use his head more than a laborer. He's a basketball player, not a lawyer or a physicist.

What I said is that Tim has a highly specialized skill that almost nobody else in the world has. He does something that you or I never, ever, could have a prayer of doing, no matter how hard we worked. We would embarrass ourselves if we tried.

And he has proven over and over again that he is the absolute best at what he does. He got there despite not having the greatest athletic gifts in the world, but by practicing and working and practicing and working and sweating every last detail for years and years. And you're belittling it like it's easy, and ing because he is not performing at his absolute peak 100% of the time. You're acting as if he must just not care about his job because he goes into a little funk four months before the playoffs start.

And, yeah, I think it stems from that goofy populist mindset in the city where you grew up. You're all caught up in how much money he makes and how many perks there are in the NBA. They get those perks because their unique skills are so valuable to their employers. You expect their compensation packages to make them superhuman. Is it reasonable? No. But I think that's the point. You don't want to be reasonable because you were raised to have contempt for people in Timmy's shoes.

You have no idea of how I was raised, but that's not the subject here. My point/opinion is that Tim Duncan seems less passionate than a lot of players in this league. My point/opinion is that its weird that the article states he seems to be tired. Once again. This is an opnion of mine. Not yours.

[Kip Fanatic]

It makes you a San Antonio native who was raised to resent that in the real world there is not a correlation between toil and pay.

Yeah. That's exactly how I feel.

You couldn't be further from the truth. Its cool though.

[Extra Stout]

You missed my point. Its cool. I'm not going to lose sleep because you and a few others didn't understand my initial post.

To be honest I don't think you deserve to be successful if you don't work hard. Obviously Tim and almost all professional athletes work hard. I never said they didn't. Please take some time to read my initial post.

And you also believe that your degree of success should be proportional to effort.

And yet instead, success is tied more to productivity, which for some people requires less effort than others.

And that pisses you off. So you rail on people when you think their wealth exceeds what you think they deserve based upon their effort. And in Tim Duncan's case, with what that son of a makes, he better be sweating blood every night and playing on two broken legs if that's what it takes.

[spurjur]

And you also believe that your degree of success should be proportional to effort.

And yet instead, success is tied more to productivity, which for some people requires less effort than others.

And that pisses you off. So you rail on people when you think their wealth exceeds what you think they deserve based upon their effort. And in Tim Duncan's case, with what that son of a makes, he better be sweating blood every night and playing on two broken legs if that's what it takes.

Damn! Who pissed in this guy's Capt'n Crunch?

[Extra Stout]

Y'know, if this were a conversation about Zach Randolph, I'd be all over him. There's a case of a guy coasting on his physical gifts.

But not Tim Duncan. Not the guy who's best in his field. Cracking on him is just playa hate.

But we heard a lot of the same crap about David Robinson ten years ago... from some. The spotlight comes with a bulls-eye.

[pache100]

So you rail on people when you think their wealth exceeds what you think they deserve based upon their effort. And in Tim Duncan's case, with what that son of a makes, he better be sweating blood every night and playing on two broken legs if that's what it takes.

And never EVER say he's tired. Because he has no right.

[Extra Stout]

And never EVER say he's tired. Because he has no right.

He has no excuse. When he gets his per diem check that should charge his tanks right up.

Winning the championship is no longer enough. For $14 million a year, he should be winning three NBA championships every season AND the MVP AND DOPY AND Coach of the Year. That bas .

[pache100]

He has no excuse. When he gets his per diem check that should charge his tanks right up.

Winning the championship is no longer enough. For $14 million a year, he should be winning three NBA championships every season AND the MVP AND DOPY AND Coach of the Year. That bas .

[Extra Stout]

I looked it up. Tim Duncan only shoots 50% from the field! Dammit, if only half the houses I build stayed standing, I'd be out of business, and I don't make near what he makes! He has it so easy! How hard is it to shoot a ball in a basket compared to what I do!

If he's not shooting 100%, then he's not working hard enough. He has no passion. Never mind that he has all that hardware and that other pedigreed NBA players are flocking to get one of the Spurs's roster spots so they can be his teammate. He goes through a funk a couple weeks a year, so he's lazy.

[kris]

I think that Kip is forgetting about the amount of practice time, warm up time, weight room time, rehab time, player appearance and mandated charity appearance time is required.

It's not just showing up three or four times a week and running around for thirty minutes while cashing their checks.

Yeah, NBA players bank. As do others who work in highly specialized fields outside of sports. , when my grandmother was a nurse, she didn't make what I do now. If I go to nursing school, I can get a hospital to pay for it, work part time and bank well over my current salary - because it's becoming a specialized field.

Your argument is not working, friend.

Being a NBA player is the easiest job in the world. You go out and play basketball. When you use signing autographs to make it sound taxing it really makes it sound easy.

Your argument is not working.

[Extra Stout]

Kip, I sure hope you don't follow baseball. Would you believe those guys get paid millions and yet they miss the baseball 70% of the time? Can you imagine if only 30% of your homes passed inspection?

And often they go through extended slumps, which they blame on the fatigue of playing every day! You work every day! Baseball would make your blood boil, I recommend staying away from it.