Source www.NBA.com
Popovich: Spurs' Big Three will be healthy
Posted Aug 25 2009 8:40PM
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili left being busy this summer to the rest of the San Antonio Spurs.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday that his two aging stars have taken it easier than usual this offseason to get healthy, while the Spurs front office was unusually active and swinging deals for major additions like Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess.
Duncan, hobbled by knee problems down the stretch and in the playoffs, has pushed back the normal start of his normal preseason regimen by a month. The 33-year-old will begin workouts next week that the All-Star typically gets going in early August.
Ginobili, meanwhile, has limited his summer activity to a treadmill and some walks after appearing in just 44 games last season because of bad ankles.
"He is healthy," Popovich said. "He'll come back out of shape but healthy."
Popovich spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time since the Spurs ended their busiest -- and costliest -- offseason in recent history. The typically frugal Spurs will be hit with the NBA's luxury tax after picking up Jefferson's remaining $29.2 million owed over the next two years in a trade with cost-cutting Milwaukee.
San Antonio also used their midlevel exception, about $5.85 million, to sign McDyess and give Duncan a hand in the frontcourt. The Spurs also signed veteran big man Theo Ratliff and drafted Pitt All-America forward DeJuan Blair.
Popovich said spending money was a necessity.
"The face of the league has changed significantly over the last two years," Popovich said. "We've hung in there as long as we can, and this year we're going to have to spend money like some other people."
San Antonio approached the summer looking to spend and not squander the remaining years of the Duncan era. Between Duncan's ailing legs and a weak supporting cast, the Spurs limped into their earliest summer since 2000 after a first-round playoff loss to Dallas.
Duncan sat out several back-to-backs down the stretch because of a nagging right quad injury that Popovich said has healed.
"He's got more flexibility in that leg than he ever has," Popovich said. "Significantly more. He's cranking his knees during the day and at night when he goes to bed. It's paid off."
Tony Parker also gave the Spurs a scare this month when he hurt his right ankle playing for the French national team, but Popovich said the injury was minor.
I'm really excited to hear about Tim's health and that he is in good condition. As for Manu he said that he's coming back to SA today so it'll be interesting to find out what his real condition is now. Is he going to be doing any kind of rehab other than rest to prepare for training camp and the season or is it just rest that he needed?
Glad to hear that.
Great news to hear especially straight from the horse's mouth. I'm so excited about this upcoming season.
Great News.
It won't be that big a deal if Manu and Tim will take their time to reach game shape at the beginning of the season. This will give all our new guys a possibilty to prove themselves.
Thank you Mr. Holt for putting your money where your mouth is. I in return will help you with my purchase of a Mr. Blair jersey and some ticket packages. Thank you again Mr. Holt and I look forward to celebrating one for the thumb..
I'm glad Pop is confident, but when it comes down to it, he knows about as well as the rest of us if the Spurs will stay healthy or not.
The way I look at it, the Spurs have been snakebit by injuries the past two seasons. Not by piddling little injuries either; between Manu's two bad ankles and Tim's hobbled knees, the Spurs have effectively been taken out of contention by bad luck alone.
Sure, injuries strike every team, and last year was a notable year for it. But I wouldn't expect ANY team to have three straight years of injury woes (unless you're touting McGrady and Yao).
So by the chaos theory, I'd like to believe that it's somebody else's damn turn to deal with the major injury bug, and hopefully the Spurs will have a little better fortune this season.
The problem with the chaos theory is it's....well.....chaos.
Last edited by Dex; 08-26-2009 at 11:00 AM.
I'm glad they're getting rest, its much deserved. I'm sure they get cabin fever tho, and want to go and play a pick up game. I hope Timmy keeps it on the Xbox 360
he is out of shape but he also is 15 pounds lighter
I'm so anxious for this season I actually watched a WNBA game last night.
Pink jerseys, lipstick, and all (srs).
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