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Tim's very hard on himself. Like Game 6 in the Sonics series, when he overcame a very crappy performance to make the game winning basket.
Watch he gets that quadruple-double tommorow.
Series notebook: Duncan's struggles don't worry Popovich
Web Posted: 06/21/2005 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....2cda98d4.html
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich let his players stay home and rest Monday. His hope, he said, was that they wouldn't even think about basketball.
Popovich also doesn't plan to pull Tim Duncan aside and refine his free-throw stroke. Duncan missed six foul shots in Sunday's fourth quarter.
"I'll give him static, but I won't do any coaching. I'll just make jokes with him," Popovich said. "I'll figure out something to say to him and he'll say something back to me and we'll move on. We won't make a big deal out of it.
"Some nights he's going to be 15 for 15 and other nights he's going to be like he was (Sunday) night. I don't think there's any kind of a drill I'm going to do to make him go one way or the other. We've been doing drills for 100 games. That stuff is over."
Duncan's foul shooting marred an otherwise impressive 26-point, 19-rebound performance. His 26 points were only four fewer than he totaled in Games 3 and 4.
Popovich also hinted that Detroit's physical defense on Duncan might be taking its toll. The Pistons have rotated Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess on him.
"His back is sore, his kidneys hurt," Popovich said. "But he's used to it. It's kind of like (Shaquille O'Neal) when you have an inside threat, you know you're going to use it.
"Those guys know that they're going to be in a battle all night long and everybody is going to go after him. I think the poise (Duncan) shows and the way he takes it night after night is a tribute to his character."
Focused on the present: Pistons coach Larry Brown was asked Monday how much thought he gave during Game 5 about the notion that Sunday night's game might have been his last at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
"None," Brown said. "My little boy did not come to the game, he was not feeling well, it was Father's Day — I was concerned about that. But I was thrilled to be in that environment.
"I have a team that has given everything they got since I have been here and even before I have been here, they have shown great character. It's about them. It isn't about me. I'm just proud to be part of this."
Short bench: For most of the playoffs, Antonio McDyess and Lindsey Hunter have been the only reserves to have played effectively for the Pistons. In Game 5 on Sunday, they were the only reserves to play at all.
Detroit used only seven players in Game 5, marking the first time a team has used only two backups in the NBA Finals since 1992. In that year, Portland used only seven players in a 97-93 Game 6 loss to Chicago.
The seven Trail Blazers who played? They were Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, Clyde Drexler, Buck Williams, Cliff Robinson, Danny Ainge and Kevin Duckworth.
What's in a name? Setting the record straight, the Spurs' Robert Horry insisted after Game 5 that he prefers to be known as Robert or Rob, but never Bob, even when it is part of the widely used nickname "Big Shot Bob."
"You can make it Rob," Horry said not long after teammate Tim Duncan had made several references to "Big Shot Bob," and twice referred to Horry as "Bobby."
"'B-o-b,' that's not me. But Timmy, you see, he found out about that, just killing it, rubbing it in ... 'Bob, Bobby.' Tim is just a jerk, man. Wait until I see him."
Trouble is, Robert, "Big Shot Bob" rolls off the tongue so much easier.
Ham's wife gets probation: Pistons forward Darvin Ham's wife was sentenced Monday to a year's probation for hitting him on the head with a wine bottle in March, the Associated Press reported.
Deneitra Ham also was sentenced to 30 hours of community service and an anger management program.
Auditions: The Spurs are holding a free-agent minicamp this week. The session will give the team's coaches and scouts an opportunity to look at potential players in case a lockout cancels the NBA's summer leagues next month.
Tim's very hard on himself. Like Game 6 in the Sonics series, when he overcame a very crappy performance to make the game winning basket.
Watch he gets that quadruple-double tommorow.
please dont let aggie see this"I'll give him static, but I won't do any coaching. I'll just make jokes with him," Popovich said. "I'll figure out something to say to him and he'll say something back to me and we'll move on. We won't make a big deal out of it.
please dont let aggie see this
please dont let aggie see this.
MVP PERFORMANCE TOMMAROW!!!! BOOK IT duncan lightin it up for quadriple double
hope he goes 15-15 at ft line then u dont have this threads about him being overrated cose of his crap freethrow shootin
i think it's NOT JUST Duncan who struggled in game 5. Even though Manu made that remarkable pass to Horry for that winning shot, he was a bit struggling too! Tim was 45% in FGs, only he missed his FTs. but had 16 rbds and 2 blks.
Whereas, Manu shot only 31%(5-16). So, if they lost the game it would be unfair to put all the blame on Tim but shld be on TP(6 TOs), & Manu as well.
Ginobili and Duncan both had unforced and execrable turnovers in the OT, which should have lost the game for them. They both were clearly rattled.
Id say it was more good defense than being rattled.
Perfect oppurtunity for Duncan to step up with an MVP esque performance.
But I doubt it.
prob 14 points 10 boards
whining to the refs all night while the Pistons just body up on him.
They were definitely rattled. Did you watch Duncan's hands when he had to shoot a freethrow? It was like he contracted palsy. And Manu's zip pass through Horry out of bounds on the semi-break was a play of desperation.Id say it was more good defense than being rattled.
Goddamnit... how many times has this at ude come back and ed the Spurs over? This is the same apporach he took with LA in 2001.Spurs coach Gregg Popovich let his players stay home and rest Monday. His hope, he said, was that they wouldn't even think about basketball.
Duncans turnover with minute and half left in OT had nothing with good defense. His defender was a few feet away and the ball just sliped out of Duncans hands... I have nothing against it but you simply cannot pin that one
on the defense.
As for Manu it is true that he was sttruggling a bit last night and hes shots that ussualy go in weren't falling. But people seem to ignore the thing that he dished out 9 assists last night.
Last edited by Ozzy; 06-21-2005 at 04:03 AM.
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