Duncan is not scoring or defending how he did last year. Period.
Not that this is the only thing bad going wrong, but wow Duncan is really getting exposed against elite athletes.
Sucks.
end rant
Yeah. Duncan is practically useless at this point but a distraction and possible rebounder (if he's not against better athletes). It's sad, but it's not that surprising, we've moved away from Duncan as the main option for a long time now — he's more complimentary than D-Rob in his last year tbh.
Pretty much all Duncan is good for is a midrange J and a screen setter.
Sadly, last year was really it I guess
game 5 my friend lets c what r guys are made of
This. All the Spurs are gonna hear for the next day and a half will be about 2012. They've put themselves in this position, now it's gonna be up to them to show just how bad they truly want to get back to the Finals.
Game 5 is everything. Simple as that.
Oh damn, you said it. But I felt it too, especially today. A step late on all counts. Getting read by the D. Our beloved Timmy is in the "some nights he got it, some nights he don't" zone.
It sucks to see, but it was gonna happen eventually. Hope he can dig deep for 6 more wins...
Tbf, since they were up 2-0 2012 has been brought up and so far it's been a repeat.
he is a center, it's pointless to ask him to be a pf anymore.
He's been disappointing all playoffs. His defense in particular ... So slow to react, so stiff, so late compared to years past ... Here's to hoping he can deliver still
well the last time i checked, duncan is 38. haha. do u think durant or ibaka will be in the league at 38 starting while being one of the top players on their team?
Game 5 it is, we shall see what our guys are made of. I do believe the Spurs can pull off the win and shut everyone up about 2012 and the warrior spirit of Serge Ibaka
Why are we playing this dude 35 minutes?
Do we only want to win a championship if Duncan is in a featured role or do we just want to win a championship?
For all the talk about a selfless team, this team is ing selfish. If Duncan was a true leader, he'd tell Pop to play the other guys more.
Reason we have more success in regular season is cause Duncan plays 28. That extra 10 minutes he plays in the playoffs KILLS us. this . Duncan should be playing Perkins minutes. No more, no less. It's a total joke.
Calling out Pop, and all these Spurs fans "I want Duncan to get 5" no off. I want the Spurs to win the chip. I don't give a damn who plays or starts.
It's not just Duncan. It's the entire freaking team. They're playing soft on both ends, physically and mentally.
It's not about playing soft. It's a 38 year old who can't move. How the is he supposed to play "strong"?
This bench showed starters how to be next game theory is stupid. You think Duncan isn't trying his hardest? This is all he has and it's not good enough ok. Just stop playing him. He slows down the Spurs offense so much.
Diaw
Leonard
Green
Ginobili
Parker
You tell me if these 5 guys wouldn't be better at running the Spurs offense at a speed fast enough to overcome OKC's length and athleticsm.
Too bad we're all hitched to this 38 year old. What so if he comes back next year he's automatically a starter again? And he automatically gets to play 10 more minutes a night in the playoffs? What a joke.
And who do you propose plays center? Splitter, so he can serve up volleyballs for Ibaka to e in his face? Maybe Baynes, you know the foul machine... Oh wait, Bonner!
If you want to insert Diaw for Splitter fine. At this point, Tim is the anchor on defense and is just another piece of the offense, not the featured player he once was.
Durant would kill that line up in a second. What's the point of running a better offense if you can't get any stops? Just stop.
Splitter is a better defender than Tim Duncan.
Look up any advanced stats. Wtf is Tim Duncan anchoring on defense?
If Splitter matched up with Perkins instead of Ibaka, he wouldn't be getting blocked. It would force Perkins to play PnR defense.
The reason we can't get stops right now is cause Durant and Westbrook can do some slow ass Euro-step right around Tim Duncan who has 0 lateral quickness.
Having Diaw or Leonard as your "rim protector" would actually fare much better than Duncan when we're talking about shots at the rim coming from a drive not a post up.
So, let me get this straight. Now you want Splitter instead of Diaw? Or is it you just don't want Tim Duncan playing at all?
Duncan can play Collison / Perkins minutes if you want to include him on this championship ride.
Diaw or Leonard are no rim protectors and Okc would have a field day with that line up you proposed. I get what you want. You want the Spurs to go small, but compromising defense for offense for the majority of game is playing into the thunder's hands.
I agree with starting Diaw, but in place of Splitter. Splitter would match up better with guy like Adams coming off the bench, who isn't a great shot blocker like Ibaka and doesn't have an outside game.
congrats thunder on your backdoor sweep (again). you deserve it! and grats on retiring duncan, four chips is something to be proud of.
I do think they can win with what you suggested as more moderate adjustments. I just don't see how Tim Duncan protects the rim any better against these athletes.
Tim knows how to play help defense within the Spurs system. He has length to affect shots even if doesn't actually block them. Also, he's our best rebounding big.
It's unfortunate his prime years are well past him, but he is still the best big we have on this team. It's obvious that if he doesn't play well the rest of the team doesn't play well. However, that could be said about Parker, Manu, Kawhi, Green, Diaw...etc. All parts of the Spurs have to be playing together and well to look great, but it only takes one guy to have an awful game for the Spurs to struggle.
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