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Duncan steady, consistent as ever
Jeff McDonald
EDWARD A. ORNELAS/[email protected]
Spurs forward Tim Duncan, driving around the 76ers' Samuel Dalembert, is averaging 20.8 points, his most in five seasons.
The topic of conversation Wednesday afternoon at the Spurs' practice facility was Tim Duncan — his offensive numbers and how they have gone up for him at age 32 instead of down.
The consensus among the gathered media types was that this was a Big Deal. A lone voice sounded in dissent.
“Why are we even talking about this?” Duncan said, quickly transforming himself from interviewee to interviewer. “I don't think my numbers are that much different than in years past.”
Duncan, of course, is right. And perhaps that is the biggest news to come out of the Spurs' season so far.
Thirty-four games into his 12th NBA season, Duncan appears to be as fresh and as limber as he did 34 games into his first.
Heading into tonight's home game against the injury-decimated Los Angeles Clippers, Duncan is averaging 20.8 points, his most since 2003-04, and shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Those numbers are up slightly from 19.3 points and 49.7 percent last season.
On his way to an 11th consecutive All-Star appearance, Duncan has quarterbacked the Spurs to a 23-11 record, good for a virtual share of first place in the Southwest Division with New Orleans and third in the Western Conference behind the vaunted Los Angeles Lakers.
Duncan shrugs off the incremental increase in his offensive statistics. He doesn't know what the fuss is about.
“Everything is kind of running through me right now, maybe more so than in the past,” Duncan said. “It helps that the ball is going in a little bit more than usual.”
With fellow All-Stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili sidelined for much of the first month of the season, and with much still in flux since their return, the Spurs have leaned on Duncan even more than usual. He has obliged by turning in his best season in four years.
It is not supposed to be this way for NBA big men, who typically have the shelf life of unrefrigerated cottage cheese. At an age when many of his forefathers were beginning a hasty decline, Duncan is putting together a season worthy of MVP consideration.
In addition to scoring, Duncan is also grabbing 10.4 rebounds per game. He is one of only two players in the league to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, joining Minnesota's Al Jefferson.
Duncan has also seen an uptick in his nightly workload. He is averaging 35.4 minutes per game, again his most since 2003-04, and is the Spurs' only player to start every game.
Before you go scrambling for Duncan's birth certificate — “I am as old as you thought I was,” he assured the media Wednesday — consider coach Gregg Popovich's explanation for his star forward's midlife anti-crisis.
“His body is the best it's been in a long time,” Popovich said. “He got in great shape over the summer. He worked very hard, and he has been our most consistent player to this point.”
Some of Duncan's best work came when his team needed him most.
The Spurs were 1-4 on Nov. 7, and Parker had just sprained an ankle to earn a spot next to Ginobili on the injured list.
With their Big Three reduced to just one for the next seven games, Duncan carried the Spurs to a 5-2 mark, averaging 19.3 points to help them stay afloat in the ultra-compe ive West.
During that time, Duncan was as vital off the floor as he was on it, tutoring and encouraging rookie point guard George Hill and newcomer Roger Mason Jr., whose roles ballooned radically.
“He's done with this group exactly what he's done with every group we've had,” Popovich said. “He's like a chameleon. It's just incredible, the empathy and leadership he shows to make those guys feel comfortable.”
Duncan kept it up after Parker and Ginobili returned, opening December with a string of eight consecutive double-doubles, part of the 21 he's posted this season.
Over the course of the Spurs' upcoming three-game homestand, Duncan will have his mettle — not to mention his scoring numbers — tested again.
Tonight, he will face the game's best shot-blocker in the Clippers' Marcus Camby. Sunday brings a visit from Superman himself, Orlando's Dwight Howard.
Wednesday, Duncan gets to tangle with the Lakers' twin 7-footers, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.
If recent history holds, Duncan will hold his own. He has been to the Spurs this season what the North Star once was to wayward sailors.
“You know he's going to be there every night,” Popovich said. “He's so consistent, you take him for granted.”
And, despite Duncan's protestations to the contrary, that is something worth talking about.
Last edited by duncan228; 01-08-2009 at 12:19 AM.
A lot of the quotes came from this morning's Practice Report. The video is here.
Thanks for that comment - I skipped the article
tough crowd.
Dwight Howard was at 19.9 PPG before the Atlanta game stats were updated.
Now there are 3.
Timmy has played better then his normal during the season. But once last season ended, Timmy didnt have another level of play. That was one thing everyone noticed. We were all waiting for Timmy to turn it up a notch. And it never happened. I thought for sure the FO would look into getting him some help. But Manu screwed his ankle and we put a big on hold to find Manu some help. I dont expect Timmy to find another level this coming Post Season. Not with the same bigs we had last season. Timmy has found his zone night in and night out. But make no mistake, that zone will remain the same until Timmy has someone to lift his play. I still believe Timmy plays to the level of the guys standing next to him when, we play teams with 2 or 3 real bigs. Timmy plays lights out when we play against teams that use small bigs like the Heat etc. Timmy cant guard West and Tyson by himself. And thats just one team out there who wants to win it all. And is in our division.
You forgot Boozer and Randolph. Bosh and Yao are also very closed.
Duncan turned it up a notch. Maybe not as dramatically as we're used to, but he played great except the 2 games he was sick in the Hornets series. I don't think stats ever tell the whole story, but his numbers do reflect that notch up.
Duncan regular season '07-'08:
points: 19.3
boards: 11.3
assists: 2.8
Duncan Playoffs '07-'08:
points: 20.2
boards: 14.5
assists: 3.3
By series:
Suns:
points: 24.8
boards: 13.8
assists: 2.6
Hornets:
points: 15.3
boards: 13
assists: 2.7
Lakers:
points: 22.4
boards: 17.4
assists: 4.8
Steroids.The topic of conversation Wednesday afternoon at the Spurs' practice facility was Tim Duncan — his offensive numbers and how they have gone up for him at age 32 instead of down.
This guy's a moron. Everyone knows that big men can play at a high level for longer than small men.It is not supposed to be this way for NBA big men, who typically have the shelf life of unrefrigerated cottage cheese. At an age when many of his forefathers were beginning a hasty decline, Duncan is putting together a season worthy of MVP consideration.
hes been playing great
Amen. This is a recurring challenge that is presented by some other potential Western Conference playoff teams (i.e. Portland, Phoenix, Fakers). We saw the outcome of this movie last year. I can't wait to see what Pop and the brass do to address it for the stretch run.,
I agree. They should open up more. Sometimes it's good to express your feelings.
good post, duncan228!
Duncan also finished the playoffs with a triple-double and 10 straight 13+ rebound games, and 9 straight 14+ rebound games.
I bet you could go back 30 years and not find anyone who did that in the playoffs.
If you take out the 2 games Duncan was sick, he had double digit rebounds (and a double-double) in all 15 games, with an average of:
15.7 boards
21.3 points
3.6 assists
It should also be noted that the Spurs won 9 of the 15 games that Duncan was not sick.
Last edited by Galileo; 01-08-2009 at 05:23 PM.
Dwight Howard doesn't do and hasn't done anything of note. He's not a 20/10 player.
Don't bother correcting the guy. Let him stew in his own stupidity.
You're right, actually...
He's 20/14...
ing moron
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