Reply With Quote
If anyone missed it, the interview the Duncan quotes come from:
http://www.nba.com/spurs/multimedia/091102_duncan.html
Blowouts allowing Spurs' Duncan more rest
Jeff McDonald
The Spurs' two victories this season, both blowouts, ended with a scene sure to warm Gregg Popovich's heart: Tim Duncan, already sweat-free and already decked in his warm-ups, leaning back in his chair long since done for the night.
In the Spurs' 113-96 win over New Orleans and their 113-94 trouncing of Sacramento, Duncan's third-quarter retreat to the bench has been the equivalent of a silver-and-black victory cigar.
“Whenever there's a game when you're getting your fanny kicked, or you're kicking someone else's fanny, you can rest some players in the fourth quarter,” Popovich said. “That's usually a good thing.”
When it comes to the 33-year-old Duncan, whose knees betrayed him down the stretch last season, any rest is a good one.
For the bulk of his Hall of Fame career, how Duncan has gone is often how the Spurs have gone. Three games into the new season, the All-Star power forward is still the best barometer of the Spurs' success.
He's scored in single digits in each of the Spurs' two victories, mostly because he spent the fourth quarter of each attached to the bench. In the Spurs' lone loss, a 92-85 affair at Chicago, Duncan logged 34 minutes, and finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds.
“You always want to be on the floor — that's just a player being a player,” Duncan said. “But in the long run, it's going to be great to have these minutes low in the first half of the season. Hopefully, that pays dividends at the end of the season.”
Duncan averaged 33.6 minutes last season, not an overwhelming workload, but they were often tough minutes. The Spurs' point differential was a scant plus-3.8, meaning most games were in doubt in the fourth quarter.
With a deeper team this season, and the possibility of more blowouts, the Spurs hope to keep Duncan fresher for the more rugged portions of the schedule, such as the upcoming back-to-back at Utah and Portland that begins Thursday.
Any dip in Duncan's overall numbers will be a small price to pay.
Boosted by his line against the Bulls, Duncan is averaging 14.7 points and 12.7 rebounds.
In the Spurs' two victories, he averaged eight points and 11 rebounds in a shade more than 22 minutes. It was only the third time in his 12-plus seasons that Duncan had scored in single digits twice in the span of three games.
Before the season, Manu Ginobili said he expected another Groundhog Day-like season from Duncan, who has only once averaged less than the 19.3 points he notched the past two seasons.
“He's still going to be an All-Star,” Ginobili said. “He's still going to give us 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds). And if it's not 20 and 10, it's going to be 19 and 91/2.”
If Popovich's perfect-world plan comes to fruition, however, and Duncan is able to rest more this season, he might have trouble approaching those benchmarks. That, more than anything, is why Duncan found his name on ESPN.com's preseason “All-Decline Team.”
Never one to obsess over statistics, Duncan joked he's “distraught” about the early drop in his numbers.
“I'm going to start doing the thing where I just throw it off the backboard and get my own rebounds, and try to get my numbers up,” he said.
This being the NBA, the Spurs realize they can't always count on winning games by 18 points apiece. At some point, they will find themselves in a tight game in the fourth quarter, needing a big basket or a big stop or a big rebound to put it away.
Then, too, Popovich hopes to see a scene that warms his heart: Duncan, on the floor and fresh.
“Obviously, you're not going to see it from game-to-game and day-to-day,” Duncan said. “But over a stretch, you'll see the dividends.”
If anyone missed it, the interview the Duncan quotes come from:
http://www.nba.com/spurs/multimedia/091102_duncan.html
I hate seeing Tim's point total in single digits. I know it's for the greater good, but I just can't stand the inevitable recap or highlight claiming Duncan was 'held' to single digits.
I guess it's just a fan thing..
There will always be dumb journos and fans who'll see his numbers and blindly put him in the declining category, but who cares. Duncan in single digits and on the bench during the 4th quarter usually indicates good things for the Spurs.
Like I said, it's just a fan thing; I'm a fan of Timmy individually, so I like to see him portrayed in an accurate light. Even if it means little to nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Trade him while we can still get a high 2nd rounder for him...
Hope this can last for the entire regular season.
It's funny seeing the word 'fanny' in an interview, as in Australia it means 'vagina'... not quite the same meaning
LOL! My wife is from England and she said the exact same thing...she hates it when people use that word!It's funny seeing the word 'fanny' in an interview, as in Australia it means 'vagina'... not quite the same meaning
What re makes the schedules? Why give 4 days off then a Back to back? Give 3 then a travel day then the next
It will be interesting to see how the season pans out. I think if all cylinders are clicking, this team is only really challenged by the Lakers in the Western playoffs.
If the team continues to get the occasional blowout, then Tim's 20+ season avg minutes vs. Kobe's 40+ season avg minutes could be a factor.
The Thunder gave the Lakers all they could handle last night. Just what a young talented, fired up team at home can do. (see Bulls) I am hoping the Spurs can pull out a good win against the Blazers on Friday. It would be a good sign of things to come.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Always gets a chuckle when I read it. Must be the 8 year-old in me!It's funny seeing the word 'fanny' in an interview, as in Australia it means 'vagina'... not quite the same meaning
blame it on the dinosaurs....arena was booked a year in advance...well before the nba schedule came out
Is it tomorrow yet?
Jeebus C, this is like the offseason all over again.
I would imagine (minus the rodeo) that the NBA gets first dibs on the arena when it comes to scheduling and that they have schedules at least sketched out for more than a year. Right?
No . It feels like those first three games were more preseason ones.Is it tomorrow yet?
Jeebus C, this is like the offseason all over again.
Cinco rests entirely on those knees.
I hope this trend continues. With the acquisition of RJ, Dice and Theo along with drafting Blair I believed we now have probably the deepest team in the TD era. Since TD's knees were a problem last eason this only bodes well for the Spurs. Frankly it seems obvious that Timmy sees this situation as a ppositive and sacking some of his numbers a good thing.
I would be extastic if his minutes per game were to drop under 30. More rest for TD means more minutes for others to develop and get comfortable in the Spurs system. TD will get his numbers when the game is on the line. This team isn't going to blow out everyone. If the Spurs can dominate the sub .500 teams thereby giving TD the 4th Q off would be fantastic.
Watching blowouts are indeed refreshing... I really missed that last season... I guess it was definitely an indicator of things to come...
Pop starts by saying “Whenever there's a game when you're getting your fanny kicked” and continues with. “That's usually a good thing.”
what more proof do you need to fire a coach.
Would love to see Pop activate Ian and get him some minutes during those anticipated blowout wins against hte inferior teams of the NBA.
The important thing actually will be the per 40 mn stats.
? Hopefully that was sarcasm. If not then you misquoted Pop. You left out the middle of the statement which went -
or you're kicking someone else's fanny, you can rest some players in the fourth quarter.
The Spurs are going to get blown out in some games. That's the NBA. So when that happens then you just wave the white flag and rest your older players and move on to the next game. Nothing new in this. Look what he did in Denver ( the 2nd game of a B2B) last year when he sat TD, Manu and played TP sparing IIRC. There was some debate in the NBA as to whether that was appropriate or not since the fans came to see the other teams stars play against their home team.
If is was sarcasm then "never mind"
you can take games of in the regular season since it is 82 games.
Shaq and the lakers have proved it is a good strategy.
However in football with less games in playoffs you have to come ever night to compete.
It is one thing to say we are pulling or our QB in this game since we don't want him injured. Versus it is good when we lose. you know the whole point is to win. so it is NEVER good to lose.
Way to misunderstand the statement.
He's saying that the rest is a good thing, not winning or losing big.“Whenever there's a game when you're getting your fanny kicked, or you're kicking someone else's fanny, you can rest some players in the fourth quarter,” Popovich said. “That's usually a good thing.”
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
