Duncan gets an earful from teammates as camp opens in rain-soaked tropics
By CHRIS SHERIDAN
Updated: 7:01 p.m. ET Oct. 4, 2005
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands - The charter plane carrying the defending NBA champions was inches away from landing on the island of St. Thomas when the razzing of Tim Duncan began.
Somebody had to take the blame for the rain-soaked sights the San Antonio Spurs were seeing from their windows, and a fuselage full of fingers began pointing toward the three-time finals MVP as the grief came raining down, too.
"I've already gotten a bunch, so I'm hoping it will clear up a bit," Duncan said Tuesday after the Spurs went through their first practice of training camp and began incorporating three key new pieces while beginning their quest to become repeat champions.
On Sunday alone, as much as 5 inches of rain fell on Duncan's nearby home island of St. Croix. Monday brought more of the same, and the total on St. Thomas was 3 inches and counting by the time the Spurs filed off their bus Tuesday at the University of the Virgin Islands.
The sun briefly peaked through the clouds by the time coach Gregg Popovich called it an afternoon, giving a boost to the players' spirits as they looked ahead to getting a closer view at the place Duncan called home until Hurricane Hugo ravaged the islands in 1989.
This is Duncan's first trip back in more than two years, and islanders on St. Thomas and St. Croix are ecstatic to be graced by the presence of the islands' biggest celebrity.
"Spurs On The Rock" screamed the headline in one local tabloid, and a sign outside the university welcomed "Tim and the Spurs" _ one more piece of ammo to fuel the mock hostility directed at Duncan.
"I got a lot of (grief) for that, too," Duncan said. "Trust me, I'm getting my share."
It was unclear whether Duncan was being heckled for his hair, too, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he was. Sporting a medium-length afro and a full, scruffy beard, Duncan said he hadn't seen a barber since before the Spurs defeated the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the finals for their third title in seven years.
"I actually hope to look like Manu (Ginobili)," Duncan said. "Whenever I get it long enough I'm going to put some straightener in it and hope I can run around and whip it around like he does."
Duncan became a father during the offseason when his wife, Amy, gave birth to a daughter. And while Duncan wasn't particularly insightful in discussing the joys of parenthood, his mood was otherwise much more jovial than usual as he shared his thoughts on having the Spurs' reloaded roster pay a visit to his homeland.
The Spurs added NBA veterans Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel along with Argentine center Fabricio Oberto, a gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics, while losing only one minor player, guard Devin Brown.
With the Phoenix Suns having lost two of their best shooters, and with Finley having departed the rival Dallas Mavericks, there's a sense around the league _ Magic Johnson has already proclaimed "It's over" _ that San Antonio might have a legitimate chance at a 70-win season.
No other team has anywhere near the depth on their 12-man roster, an embarrassment of riches that Popovich will try to manage without ruffling egos. The coach is already set on his starting five _ Duncan, Nazr Mohammed, Bruce Bowen, Tony Parker and Ginobili _ and the bench includes centers Oberto, Rasho Nesterovic and Sean Marks, forwards Robert Horry and Finley, and guards Van Exel, Brent Barry and Beno Udrih.
"I'll be checking minutes more than I've ever checked before, and making sure that people are getting enough playing time. Some nights, that'll be a real tough thing to do," Popovich said.
Popovich also emerged from the summer well-rested after spending the past three offseasons with the U.S. Olympic team. He took numerous three-day trips to various American cities, sometimes with his wife and sometimes alone, and pointed to the unexpected signing of Finley as the highlight of his three-month vacation.
The often surly coach was also in the best of moods, recalling with a laugh his last visit to the U.S. territories where cars drive on the left side of narrow roads that twist at impossible angles through the islands' mountainous terrain.
"When I came down to St. Croix to see Timmy eight or nine years ago, nobody said a word to me (about driving on the left side)," Popovich said. "I got my rental car and I went out on the road, and I was gesticulating at like 10 people before I realized I was the jerk."
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