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take the rest seriously
looks like boozer is going to have a career night
NBA: Popovich will give Duncan more rest against Jazz
Web Posted: 12/06/2007 10:51 PM CST
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
Tim Duncan took a pass from an assistant coach, jab stepped once, jab stepped twice, fired a jump shot off the glass and watched the ball ricochet through the net.
Then, he did it again. And again.
The Spurs had formally completed practice for at least 20 minutes Thursday and yet Duncan remained hard at work and soaked with sweat, testing the right ankle that had kept him out of his team's victory over Dallas the night before.
Jab step. Shoot. Repeat.
If Duncan really is doubtful for tonight's game against Utah, as coach Gregg Popovich says, he certainly didn't look the part.
"He's still a little sore and swollen," Popovich said. "But he is getting better."
Even though Duncan returned to practice Thursday, Popovich would prefer to keep him out of harm's way for one more game. Under the current timetable, the Spurs expect to get their All-Star forward back Tuesday at Golden State, nine days after he sprained his ankle against Portland.
In the meantime, they will steel themselves to face the Jazz — their foil in last season's Western Conference finals — without him.
"Timmy is our franchise, our best player," point guard Tony Parker said. "It's nice to know we can step up without him."
Injured ankle and all, Duncan — who did not address the gathered media Thursday — still had a more active day at practice than a couple of his high-profile sidekicks.
After a 97-95 victory over Dallas on Wednesday that at times took on the tenor of a wrestling match, Manu Ginobili and Parker — the Spurs' top two scorers — went through the lightest of light workouts in preparation for the Jazz.
Ginobili scored a season-high 37 points against Dallas in his first start since Jan. 26, but paid for it dearly. He entered the game nursing a left hand contusion, and left it a 6-foot-6 ball of bruises — the clear result of the Mavs' strategy to knock him down whenever he ventured into the lane.
Ginobili got a day off Thursday for his trouble. He divided his practice time between the training pool and massage table.
Parker, who has battled a nagging ankle problem for the past few days, emerged from the Dallas game similarly battered — most notably after being toppled by Jason Terry on a clear-path foul. He, too, was allowed to stay off his feet Thursday.
Though black and blue, Parker and Ginobili are likely to again start side-by-side against Utah.
The Spurs seemed to take the Mavericks-administered physical pounding in stride.
"You never want to look at these situations and say, 'I wish this wasn't happening,'" forward Bruce Bowen said. "You want to be prepared to go through a physical battle, and that's something we had last night."
If nothing else, the tussle with Dallas might have tenderized the Spurs in time for second-straight slugfest, this one against a Jazz team Popovich lovingly calls "the best executing team in show business."
Utah is second in a line of six consecutive Spurs opponents that qualified for the postseason a year ago.
Popovich has been enamored with Jerry Sloan's pick-and-roll offense since Karl Malone and John Stockton were in short shorts. In Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, the 2.0 version of the Jazz duo, Utah features one of the best point-guard, power-forward combos in the game.
Fresh off a 12-round TKO of the Mavericks, Popovich can't help but wonder where the Spurs will find the energy to grapple with Utah.
"If a team does not lace it up to play these guys," he said, "you're going to get creamed."
For the second game in a row, the Spurs will probably have to do their lacing up without the services of their centerpiece player.
Duncan's jab steps and bank shots are likely to remain relegated to the practice floor. For now.
source:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.28dcb92.html
take the rest seriously
looks like boozer is going to have a career night
Time for Elson and Bonner to earn their paycheck. Beating the Mavs by 2 without Duncan is nice but Utah has a team with bigs who are actually worth a damn and aren't giant German vaginas.
Oberto was good against the Jazz in the playoffs. Hopefully he can do it without playing off of Duncan.
I hope Manu and Tony are pumped come game time (and feel good enough for the game). Utah's a pretty big team...take the rest seriously
looks like boozer is going to have a career night
At least they don't have to face Stockton and Malone's dynamic defense.
Can we sign Michael Jordan to a 10 day contract for this game?
at least we ain't playing the suns. this is one of those teams i'm okay losing to in the regular season. good enough to be considered a challenge but not a contender yet.
McDonald says Tim will rest? He'll start and play 35 minutes, then.
e-i-e-i-o
there goes denver's chances to win then.
This Utah team aint the Mavs. In my mind, here's what we need.
Elson cannot continue missing defensive rotations. Oberto must move his feet to secure better defensive position and work to get rebounds instead of slapping at them. Bonner simply needs more footspeed to go with his hustle. Bowen and Finley need to hit some outside shots instead of chucking up bricks.
In short, the big MUST "step up" or the Spurs will get pounded.
I'm glad Duncan will sit out again.
I want that ankle at 100% before he plays.
This will be a tough game, especially without Duncan, but I think they can rise to it.
Even if the Spurs were 5 back at this point, the premium is on keeping Timmy healthy. Still, the win against the Mavs and the Mavs subsequent loss to Denver puts the Spurs 5 up on the Mavs already. It's not about giving away games, but with that type of margin this early, even a loss tonight wouldn't be the end of the world.
I wouldn't mind resting both Tony and Manu in this game. Let the bench get serious minutes here. I care less if we win or lose this game. I care about our big 3's health. They are all battered.
Let the bench handle Utah tonite.
manu deserves a rest, but he's a true warrior. sore finger and all, he'll play as if it's the last game of his life. that's just vintage manu, vintage spurs..
Carlos Boozer is very strong and physical. I don't think any of our reserves will be able to stop him. However, the Spurs have to do a good job on the other Jazz players like Williams, Okur, and Millsap.
I'm glad they're resting Duncan for this game. A return against GS is soon enough.
In order to beat the Jazz everyone is going to have to rebound. We can't expect Oberto and Elson to get the job done alone.
"I'm glad Timmy will rest his ankle." "Good, We don't want him back until he's 100 percent."
GMAB! We are talking about athletes here, who earn big bucks. How many times do we turn over and go back to bed because we aren't feeling 100 percent? I read where he worked harder than most players at yesterday's workout. He sweated more. Stayed longer.
Sorry, Timmy. Get your ass out on that floor tonight. We have a better chance of winning with you out there. If at anytime you sense something coming on, raise your hand and asked to be taken out.
I didn't read a single comment about " I hope Many gets to rest his finger tonight" the other night. Is there a double standard here?
Play Parker and Manu about 20 minutes each this game. Let them rest. Let the bench step up and gain some confidence. Losing a game to get our big 3 back close to full strength is worth it.
Wtf are you thinking. Why would you jeopardize the health of the best PF in history to win one meaningless regular season game?
How many times a week are you asked to match up against some of the best athletes on the planet for a full 48 minutes at a time?How many times do we turn over and go back to bed because we aren't feeling 100 percent?
What? Never? Oh. Then I guess your analogy just kind of goes to .
After tonight they don't play until Tuesday. That's the rest he'll need. We need all he has again tonight
Destruction
What a pussy.
Bonner drops 45 tonight, 15/17 3's.
Also, I'm pretty sure that if you were to cut Matt Bonner, he would bleed marshmallows. Just a theory. Thoughts?
Last edited by Vinny Del Negro; 12-07-2007 at 02:33 PM.
Outside of Boozer they are giant vaginas. Just not German. Still European/Eastern European though.
I don't think losing by 26 will give the bench much confidence.
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