If former MVP's ankle isn't ready, team won't win le
Tim Duncan will have to be healthy for the Spurs to win the le, according to columnist Michael Ventre.
COMMENTARY
By Michael Ventre
NBCSports.com contributor
Updated: 2:42 p.m. ET April 18, 2005
Pardon the wordplay, but the San Antonio Spurs’ Achilles’ heel is Tim Duncan’s right ankle.
Don’t think the rest of the league is unaware. As much as opponents outwardly offer their heartfelt best wishes to one of the game’s giants, deep down they long to see Duncan in street clothes on the bench, his right foot encased in a protective boot.
That candlelight vigil by compe ors to keep the joint throbbing and keep Duncan out of action will continue throughout the postseason, because it is the great equalizer in this year’s postseason dynamic. Certainly there are teams like Phoenix, Miami and Detroit who are accomplished enough to give the Spurs a tussle even with a healthy Duncan. But with him out of the way, a perilous road becomes a cottage lane.
Right now, it’s hard to say if the ankle injury suffered on March 20, causing the two-time MVP to miss 12 games, will be any factor at all. He’s back. He has played in two games thus far, and doesn’t seem to be limping in agony.
But you know how these ankle sprains are. Because of the constant pounding that an NBA game requires, there never really is enough of a rest period. Even though Duncan seems OK now, a twist here, a tweak there, and the Spurs’ season is suddenly hopping on one foot.
Duncan is San Antonio’s Shaquille O’Neal, only with less brute force and more skill and polish. He has a varied and effective low-post game. He has good range on his shot, and is one of the few modern-day players bright enough to use the glass on a regular basis. He isn’t an ace from the line, but he isn’t a stiff either. He leads his team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.
Yet with the playoffs just around the corner, he isn’t quite himself. In his first game back last Wednesday — a 93-91 loss against the Utah Jazz — he had a respectable 17 points on six-of-seven shooting and seven boards in 20 minutes, but played only three minutes in the fourth quarter. Then in his second game Saturday night against Memphis, Duncan shot only 3 of 11 from the floor and scored 11 points in 23 minutes. He told reporters afterward: “I’m getting better and better every day, but I’m still a little tentative.”
It is that tiny window of opportunity, that little foot in the door, that could make the difference between the Spurs claiming their rightful place again as Western Conference champs or bowing out because their superstar isn’t 100 percent.
Duncan’s latest injury came shortly after he injured the same ankle earlier last month and missed two games because of it. And last season he was limited to 69 games because of knee and ankle injuries. So he isn’t invulnerable.
Make no mistake, the Spurs are not a one-man gang. They have loads of talent. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Nazr Mohammed, Brent Barry and Robert Horry form a veteran assemblage. Most of them have been through high-stakes playoff battles, and know how to win. And now they’ve added Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, who is immensely talented but has been motivationally challenged throughout his career. Guys like Big Dog usually find rejuvenation and redemption when thrust into a winning situation with quality teammates. He should only help in providing scoring off the bench.
But there’s a difference between treading water in the postseason and making waves. Without Duncan, the Spurs sink.
It also depends on which teams San Antonio draws in the postseason. It looks as though the Spurs will finish with the No. 2 seed in the West, which means a probably first-round matchup with the Denver Nuggets. The Spurs probably could get by the Nuggets, who have an athletic front line but not a frightening one.
In fact, aside from Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets, there isn’t anybody the Spurs couldn’t dispatch with a less-than-perfect Duncan.
That means Duncan and the Spurs could be OK — until the NBA Finals.
By that time, Duncan would have to be in peak condition, because he’ll likely see either the Heat or the Pistons. With Miami, the obvious problem is Shaq. Duncan can’t check Shaq, but he can match him basket for basket, rebound for rebound. Without that counterbalance should Duncan’s ankle act up, San Antonio would be at a severe disadvantage.
The same holds true in a matchup with Detroit. Although Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace don’t pose the individual matchup nightmare of a Shaq, each is destructive in his own way. Duncan will have to be at his very best in order for the Spurs to match the Pistons’ intensity on both ends.
What are the chances that the ankle won’t affect him at all? You can answer that yourself — assuming you’ve ever sprained an ankle. Unless there is a long period of complete rest — like the summer months — the ankle will always be tender and vulnerable to re-aggravation. So just imagine what it’s like for a professional basketball player who has to run on it for 20, 30, 40 minutes or more during a game.
Kobe Bryant suffered a severely sprained ankle on Jan. 13 and missed 14 games. It’s hard to say he was never the same afterward, because he had some phenomenal scoring performances after his return. But he also didn’t seem to be the same defensive player, saving himself for the offensive end. Bryant nursed the ankle the rest of the season.
Duncan may be fine. But he may not be. The possibility of the latter is what keeps Spurs fans awake at night and gives hope to the NBA’s oppressed.
Michael Ventre is a frequent contributor to NBCSports.com and a free-lance writer based in Los Angeles.
What the ? The same could be said about any team...
The Suns won't win without Nash, the Heat won't win without Shaq, the Mavs won't win without Dirk...
All have had injuries in the past year, all are vulnerable. (Well, maybe not Dirk. Was Dirk injured this year?)
NOT YET....But we've all seen what happens to the Mavs.. They literally lay down and die an ugly death.. Now don't think I'm wishing injury on Dirk please. I'm just stating what has happened in the past. The Spurs need Tim no doubt about it. However we wouldn't go down without a long ugly fight that's for damn sure.....One word....
BELIEVE
duh
Dirk has missed a few games, including an ugly loss the Mavs had in Houston, where they scored something like 68 points.
He is very optimistic saying that we could beat anyone in the West without a perfect Duncan. I think that we will need a perfect Duncan in the WCF against Dallas, Phoenix or Houston.
Well, he does give props to Houston: "In fact, aside from Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets, there isn’t anybody the Spurs couldn’t dispatch with a less-than-perfect Duncan."
glenn robinson can carry this team to a le if duncan is at 75% which he already is so thats assuming he doesnt improve
LOL! So, you think the article is full of too, huh?
I just thought it was funny, because when you image-search "duh" on Google, that one of the first pictures that comes up.
I hope u're joking
Ventre gets paid to write this self-evident ?
Yeah. Sounds like an easy job. And free tickets to games to boot!
I am worried about Tim re-injuring his ankle. We need Denver to play weak in the first round so Timmy can rest.
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