Buck Harvey: Jumping for joy, Duncan gets a twin (plus Karl complaining again)

[jmard5]

Well, I just added the one in parenthesis. You know George Karl... he gets to have his excuses why they lost the game.

And if this has been posted, please merge it with the original one.

-------
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...s.3ec7029.html

San Antonio Express-News

Kurt Thomas did not make the critical jumper. Let's get that straight.

With about a minute left, after Tony Parker drove and kicked back to Thomas, jumping had nothing to do with what followed.

Jumping also had little to do with Tim Duncan chasing down 18 rebounds Monday night, which is why he and Thomas go together like gravity and the earth. They get by with long arms and wide hips, and they showed for the first time since the trade was made what can happen in fourth quarters.

Dunks didn't follow, but a win did.

The Spurs haven't been leapers in this era, but this group has set some kind of land record. Combine the vertical jumps of Duncan, Thomas and Fab Oberto, and the total wouldn't surpass one LeBron bound after breakfast.

Or, as Bruce Bowen put it when asked about the jumping ability of his big men, "They conserve their energy very well."

They are especially con uous when playing against a team such as the Nuggets. When J.R. Smith wasn't driving for a dunk Monday night, Kenyon Martin was slamming an alley-oop.

But there are advantages to being grounded, and the Nuggets showed the other side of that, too. George Karl complained afterward about a couple of goaltending calls, and Duncan and Thomas never have to worry about goaltending. Who gets that high?

And sometimes, as the Nuggets fly at the basket, they fly off the handle. That happened, as it has in past playoff series against the Spurs, Monday.

Karl gets some of the blame. "We were fighting against a lot of calls, and we needed calls all night long," he said afterward. "I told the team during halftime that we aren't the team that gets calls in this building."

Instead of telling his players to fight through, he added to their belief that they were getting jobbed. No wonder, late in the third quarter, the Nuggets acted precisely like the kind of team that hasn't handled playoff pressure before.

Duncan jumped out to double Carmelo Anthony (correction: he didn't actually jump). As Bowen angled from one side and Duncan the other, Anthony felt cornered and came apart. Called for an over-and-back, he flung the ball and drew a technical foul.

One point, on this night, made a difference.

It's a trend against the Spurs this month. David Harrison opted for the death threat the previous time the Spurs played in the AT&T Center, and Mike D'Antoni nearly killed the Suns on Sunday with a silly technical foul late.

The Spurs argue, and Gregg Popovich can turn red in the face, too. He was ejected in the same game that featured Harrison.

But Popovich's outburst came early, and it came with a point. These other tantrums are less clever than they are foolish.

Besides, Duncan could have bitterly complained Sunday when there were non-calls on drives late in the game. He chose not to, instead coming out Monday as if determined not to use the back-to-back situation as an excuse.

His 23-point, 18-rebound line defined this, as did a rare moment late in the fourth quarter. Then, he took Manu Ginobili's 14th assist — and dunked to tie the game.

Banging next to him, using the same fundamental sense of positioning, was Thomas. "Tim tells me he can't jump," Thomas said. "But I promise you, he can jump higher than I can."

Let's get this straight, too. The difference might be measurable only by sensitive equipment.

But Thomas comes with something else, and this is what the Spurs traded for. He displayed that Monday.

Thomas banged with Shaquille O'Neal the game before, and the pick-and-roll option was available for him throughout the game. O'Neal rarely defends it.

This will come in handy in the playoffs, too, when defenses collapse, and the Spurs need one basket. So what happened Monday meant something, when Parker drove with a two-point lead, and he passed out to Thomas, and Thomas threw in the non-jumper.

Some think they saw Duncan jump for joy.

-------

[yavozerb]

Assuming Ian Mahinmi graduates from Austin next season, Tiago Splitter signs and Kurt Thomas re-signs (all of which are plausible assumptions), Matt Bonner's minutes would seem to be on the wane. He's having enough trouble getting on the floor during the stretch run this season. With two more big men possibly on the way, it would be difficult to envision Bonner's role increasing next season. Wouldn't be surprised to see him on the trading block before the end of next season, but that's a ways off.

San Antonio Express-News

[SAGambler]

Duncan jumped out to double Carmelo Anthony (correction: he didn't actually jump). As Bowen angled from one side and Duncan the other, Anthony felt cornered and came apart. Called for an over-and-back, he flung the ball and drew a technical foul

What was really odd, was that Melo walked at least twice, before the over and back occurred and they didn't call him for that. That play showed why Melo is never going to mature. In that one instance, he looked like Beno in the Detroit series. Panic and losing his head at an inopportune moment. And then to top it off with getting "T"eed up.... , this was even worse than Beno.

[FromWayDowntown]

It was obvious again last night that one thing that really bothers Carmelo Anthony is a strong, physical double team.

[MoSpur]

That article was kind of weird.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Or, as Bruce Bowen put it when asked about the jumping ability of his big men, "They conserve their energy very well."

This made me lol.

[duncan228]

Duncan jumped out to double Carmelo Anthony (correction: he didn't actually jump).

"Tim tells me he can't jump," Thomas said. "But I promise you, he can jump higher than I can."
Let's get this straight, too. The difference might be measurable only by sensitive equipment.

Some think they saw Duncan jump for joy.

Sweet. I bet he really is. Thomas is a great addition to this team. And he can help Duncan a lot.

Cute article.

[Budkin]

WTF was that article?

[jag]

WTF was that article?

Buck Harvey being creative...

[thispego]

Assuming Ian Mahinmi graduates from Austin next season, Tiago Splitter signs and Kurt Thomas re-signs (all of which are plausible assumptions), Matt Bonner's minutes would seem to be on the wane. He's having enough trouble getting on the floor during the stretch run this season. With two more big men possibly on the way, it would be difficult to envision Bonner's role increasing next season. Wouldn't be surprised to see him on the trading block before the end of next season, but that's a ways off.

San Antonio Express-News

PLAGIARIZER!!!!!!

[yavozerb]

Pego, do you even know what plagiarizing is, cause if you did you probably wouldn't be using about that article I posted with SAEN at the end...

[td4mvp21]

Obviously he had nothing to say after the horrendous, biased officiating the Spurs faced in Denver

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

The irony is that Melo was definitely fouled on that play - TD gave him a significant head check then threw his arms in the air to take the attention away from his body. Veteran heads-up play.

Nice to see at least one call go the wrong way to even up all the calls they miss when TD gets hammered, which seems like every game these days.

[Chris]

George Karl is such a turd. Every year he gives me another excuse to hate him more.