Posts Tagged ‘Tim Duncan’

< Older Entries

Spurs Should Hope For Some Heat

May 23, 2012  ·  1:09PM





HANG TIME, TEXAS – If you’re the Spurs, you have to stand up and cheer every time LeBron James spots Dwyane Wade slipping in through the back door and whips him another laser beam pass. You had to just throw your arms over your head and shout on Tuesday night as Bron-Bron and D-Wade took turns filling up the highlight reel with a parade of dunk after dunk.

If you’re the Spurs, you want the Heat. Actually, if you’re the Spurs, you need the Heat, for their heat and for your legacy.

Hold on. Nobody’s dismissing the other half of the Western Conference bracket in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden will give San Antonio’s Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all they can handle beginning on Sunday in a series that should be close, intense and dripping with entertainment.

But if you peek just a little bit ahead and if the Spurs are able to advance to The Finals for their fifth time, it’s only the South Beach Strutters who can finally deliver what the San Antonio dynasty lacks with the general public – respect.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (51) /

Blogtable: Who Wins The West?

May 23, 2012  ·  11:37AM

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes to weigh in on the three most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

At this point, who’s your favorite to win the West — the Spurs or the Thunder?


Steve Aschburner: San Antonio. I had picked OKC when the season began, but Gregg Popovich‘s deft management of the schedule and his guys’ minutes — and the play and indoctrination of their young guys — switched me over. 

Fran Blinebury:  The Spurs have been strong, steady and improving all season and their back-to-back sweeps in the first two rounds have only reinforced that opinion. They have the deepest roster and the best mental makeup of any of the remaining teams.  I’ll go one step further right now and declare San Antonio winning in The Finals, too.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs, Blogtable / Comments (324) /

Griffin Grumbling Is Too Soon, Off Base

May 21, 2012  ·  9:02AM





HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – Before we let the Clippers slip away into the shadows of teams vanquished on the road to the Larry O’Brien trophy, we have to slather a little praise on the “other” team in Los Angeles for a season full of entertaining basketball, complete with enough Chris Paul and Blake Griffin highlights to last a couple of seasons.

We’d also like to back the critics off of Griffin and his game, which is a whopping 159 games old with this playoff run included. That’s right, Griffin is just two seasons of actual on-court time into his career that has been scrutinized incessantly since he burst onto the scene as dunking machine/pitchman last season.

I saw the Inside crew discussing Griffin’s game (Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaq and Ernie Johnson go at it above) and felt the instant analysis of his long-term prospects was a bit premature. Shaq and Ernie have it right that it’s far too soon to assume we’ve seen the very best Griffin will have to offer during his career.

(Andrew Bynum‘s been in the league for seven years and people are still talking about him being a young player … and this is supposed to be it for Griffin?)

This was Griffin’s first playoff rodeo folks. Why would anyone assume he’s reached his zenith, that he won’t continue to improve in the coming seasons?

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (59) /

No Wise Guy, Pop Shows His Wisdom

May 20, 2012  ·  2:07PM





LOS ANGELES – When somebody asked him to explain his reasoning for deliberately fouling Reggie Evans in the fourth quarter of Game 3 on Saturday, a puzzled look crossed the face of Gregg Popovich,

“Because he’s not a good free throw shooter,” said the Spurs’ coach.

When the chuckling in the room finally stopped, Popovich went on.

“Look, I’m not trying to be a wise guy,” he said. “I just don’t know what else to tell you. We weren’t going to foul Chris Paul. I’m sorry to be a wise guy, but I fouled him for a reason. It’s not pretty. Basically, it’s ugly, but it’s part of the game. My job is to win.”

Nobody can argue with the winning part. With four NBA titles already in his pocket, Popovich will push his Spurs for their 18th consecutive win and their second straight series sweep in the 2012 playoffs tonight when they try to close out the Clippers.

While this has certainly been the spring of Tim Duncan’s resurgence, Tony Parker’s blossoming and the continued frantic stylings of Manu Ginobili, Popovich has left nothing to chance. In addition to repeatedly sending an opponent to the foul line who treats free throws as if they were trying to shoot basketballs through the eye of a needle, Popovich was also thinking about his veteran players who have to return to the court today for a back-to-back. By playing Sledge-a-Reggie, Popovich was slowing down the game and giving the likes of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili a chance to ease up on the wear and tear.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (33) /

Clippers Can’t Finish, Are Finished

May 19, 2012  ·  6:40PM




LOS ANGELES – Chris Paul was running and dishing. Blake Griffin was jumping and slamming. Clipper Nation was screaming and believing.

The Spurs were just playing.

When the home team ran out to a brunch-time 40-16 lead and had the boys from San Antonio wearing huevos rancheros on their faces, some even began to wonder if head coach Gregg Popovich would pull his starters at halftime and save them for Part II of the back-to-back on Sunday.

If nothing else, it looked like the Clippers would finally earn a measure of respect in the series.

But that’s the problem. The Spurs make you earn everything. They don’t panic. They don’t roll over. They just keep coming.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (80) /

Best Big Man … Where’s Bynum?

May 18, 2012  ·  12:19PM





HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – Is anyone else still waiting for the recently crowned (at least by some) “best big man” in basketball to show himself in the Thunder-Lakers Western Conference semifinals?

We’ve yet to see the dominant force that Andrew Bynum was billed to be heading into this postseason. You remember the arguments for him overtaking Dwight Howard as the most dominant low-post force in the league. All of that bluster has faded with each minute of decent-but-far-from-dominant outing from the largest man still working in these playoffs.

No one is denying that Bynum has the potential to be whatever it is he wants to be. The talent, skill and behemoth size package remain in place. But this notion that Bynum was going to use this postseason to cement his place atop the totem pole of the league’s best big men has turned out to be little more than an urban myth.

He’s not even the big man having the biggest impact in this Thunder-Lakers series. That honor belongs to Thunder power forward and the league’s shot blocking king Serge Ibaka. In fact, Bynum doesn’t even rank in the top four of big men in this postseason, not with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett dominating like it’s 1999 and Pacers All-Star center Roy Hibbert making life miserable for the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (45) /

Lakers Back-To-Back Against The Wall

May 18, 2012  ·  10:07AM





HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – If the Los Angeles Lakers are nervous at all about the task ahead — fighting off elimination in the Western Conference semifinals in a back-to-back set tonight and tomorrow at home — they’re doing a splendid job of faking it.

From Kobe Bryant to Andrew Bynum to Pau Gasol to Jack Nicholson (sorry, we threw him in there for effect), there seems to be no worry about anything going wrong in Game 3 tonight at Staples Center (10:30 ET, ESPN). After outplaying the Thunder for 46 of the 48 minutes in Game 2, the Lakers act as if they’ve solved the Rubik’s Cube that is Oklahoma City.

“We know exactly how to defend them,” Bynum said. “We’re actually confident.”

Maybe someone forgot to tell Bynum that the Lakers are facing more than just a survival game tonight; no team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series. They’re facing that game with their backs firmly against the wall, on back-to-back nights.

The last time they were in this position was during 1999 Western Conference semifinals — the last lockout-shortened season. L.A. lost Games 3 and 4 to the San Antonio Spurs as Tim Duncan and David Robinson kicked off that franchise’s championship era.

Bryant was a part of that series, but feels one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. In fact, he’s not particularly concerned with the back-to-back set.

“I prefer not to have it” he said, “but I feel well rested. Everybody else feels well rested. We’ll be ready for it.”

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (25) /

Spurs Ready For Spring Break To End

May 11, 2012  ·  1:26PM





They’re anxious in Denver, where the Nuggets still have one more bit of work to do to complete their leap into the history books as only the ninth team ever to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a playoff series.

They’re edgy and hopeful in Memphis, where the Grizzlies need a road win just to give themselves the opportunity to match the Nuggets’ feat themselves.

They’re restless and sweating in Los Angeles, where the Lakers have found themselves pushed to the edge and the Clippers are suddenly shuffling backwards with injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin making them both game-time decisions in Game 6 tonight.

And they’re nervous in San Antonio.

(more…)

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (16) /

Splitter Lets Spurs Go Big

May 7, 2012  ·  10:27AM





SALT LAKE CITY – A year ago as a rookie, Tiago Splitter got a very small taste of his first NBA playoffs as the Spurs were getting pushed and shoved and banged around and eventually eliminated in the first round by the Grizzlies.

So when Splitter took a hard fall and landed on his left wrist in the first quarter of Game 1 against the Jazz this time around, he had a flashback and a bad feeling.

“When it happened, yes, I was scared,” said the 6-foot-11 power forward. “Thank God it’s not serious so that I cannot play. I thought it was going to be the end of the season. I was lucky it was nothing, just a bruise.”

Turns out it was the Jazz who were not so lucky. After an MRI revealed no structural damage and Splitter was held out of the second game as a precaution, he returned for Game 3 and played a key role in the 102-90 victory.

Splitter scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and played strong on defense against the Jazz big lineup when Utah was making its last bid in the second half. First, Splitter was able to give Tim Duncan needed rest late in the third quarter and then he eventually joined Duncan in tandem when the Jazz’ Derrick Favors began to do fourth quarter damage in the low post. (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (20) /

Where’s Manu? One More Jazz Worry

May 5, 2012  ·  1:18PM

SALT LAKE CITY – Here’s a scary thought for the Jazz: What if Manu shows up?

Two games and two thumpings of Utah into the playoffs, the Spurs still haven’t gotten much production out of Manu Ginobili. As his teammates have built their 2-0 lead in the series, Ginobili has shot just 5-for-16, scored 11 points and committed seven turnovers.

“I didn’t play good the first two games,” Ginobili said. “Everybody saw that. I want to get it back in Game 3.

“The good thing is that we are a good team. You don’t need individuals. You need a group to stand by you and play well. When your team is doing so good, your mistakes and the bad game I had is totally unimportant. I’m proud to see the team play like that.”

Not that the Spurs are reaching for the panic button. On the contrary, since Ginobili first went to the sidelines with a broken bone in his hand on Jan. 2, returned to the lineup and suffered from a hip flexor injury and ultimately missed 32 of the 66 games in the compacted regular season schedule, the thought all along has been that Ginobili could actually be fresher and more effective in the playoffs than he has been in years. Especially if the Spurs make a deep run into June that tests the stamina of everyone.

So far, it’s been Tony Parker terrorizing the Jazz with 16-for-29 shooting for 46 points and 17 assists, while Tim Duncan has kicked in 29 points and 24 rebounds. With the Spurs also getting 16-for-39 shooting from behind the 3-point line, it would almost seem that adding Ginobili to the mix would be piling on. But that’s exactly what they expect.

“Game 1, he missed a couple of shots, but he still had a good game,” Parker said. “Game 2, we won by a lot, so he didn’t play that much. I’m not really worried. I know when we need him, he’s going to be there.”

One more thing for the Jazz to worry about.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (6) /

< Older Entries