Tim Duncan fizzle is becomming common place

[spursfan101]

Gutless is a strong word, perhaps, he mean't Duncan does not possess the "testicular fortitude" to be called one of the NBA"s elite.  Duncan day in and day out is a quiet leader and one of the NBA's best. One of his faults is he's to unselfish. The other is that he, like Shaq, is known to choke at free throws while under pressure.  Guess Shaq is gutless too.

[WayOutWest]

Shaq just can't shoot freethrows, he doesn't look like a scolded child going to the FT line when the game is on the line.  TD is really showing a lack of guts against the Pistons and really showed an empty sack against the Suns in game 5.

TD's problem is mental/heart/sack.  To blame it on his teammates is weak.

Shaq also cannot be mentioned amoung the true greats because his inability to make FT's in the clutch makes him a liability in crunch time.  You would NEVER think twice about putting the ball in the hands of Magic, Bird or MJ.

[SPURSX3]

Shaq just can't shoot freethrows, he doesn't look like a scolded child going to the FT line when the game is on the line.  TD is really showing a lack of guts against the Pistons and really showed an empty sack against the Suns in game 5.

TD's problem is mental/heart/sack.  To blame it on his teammates is weak.

Shaq also cannot be mentioned amoung the true greats because his inability to make FT's in the clutch makes him a liability in crunch time.  You would NEVER think twice about putting the ball in the hands of Magic, Bird or MJ.

Tim IS the leader of this team, so WOW is right - in a sense.  This team IS Tim's so if anyone is to take blame, it IS Tim.  His numbers climbed every series until this one.  and despite the fact that this has been very physical, look at what he did in the denver series and seatle series.  He should be bowling the Wallaces over IMO.  I think he will need to pull out everything he has for Game 7.  

[Reality]

A lot of talk about Duncans offense last night.

I thought his defense on several plays down the stretch was pathetic.
Lindsey Hunter gets forced by Parker to the baseline 15 feet out.  Nothing but Duncan between he and the basket.  Hunter takes it right past him and up and in.  That was such weak assed D.  Letting Lindsey Hunter take it to you under the hoop one on one?  The Prince lob to Sheed who dunked had Duncan completely baffled.

Game on the line and Billups tries to drive.  Duncan helps stop Billups, but he is one of 3 Spurs on Billups.  Does not get the block, ball rims off and Sheed merely has to set the rebound in with about 1:16 left.

Joe as to GNob failing to get Duncan the ball, unfortunately ABC did not show replays of the two drives GNob did late and mysteriously *losing* the ball.  

I will say that 3 pt attempt with 36 seconds only down 5 was a bonehead shot attempt.  Perhaps GNob thought he got fouled.

Back to Duncan.  He'll have his chance to make it up tonight.  Back to back losses will cement he and Pop as merely one hit wonders for 2000+.

GNob and Parker.  Do not, repeat, do not give the ball to Nazr under the hoop. Auto-turnover.  Game 7 he can O rebound and play D.  Thats it.    

[Joe Vancil]

Reality,

Poor defense in the stretch...*THAT* I can agree with.  And, scary as it sounds, I think that that's the place where Duncan misses David Robinson the most.  Horry's not going to come over and swat a shot...he's going to stay flat-footed and try to draw a charge...which means an open path to the offensive boards for one of the Wallaces.

San An's defense relies - and has always relied - on shot-blocking.  Horry is doing what he does...not what is needed...defensively.  If Popovich has the option of going offense/defense with his players, he needs to consider Mohammad or even Nesterovic on the defensive end of the court.  Better shot-blocking, more help in the defensive lane, and better rebounding.  Hey...wait a minute...wasn't that what Rasheed Wallace supposedly brought to the champs last year?

Popovich is, unbelievably, forgetting why his team is here.  It's their defense.  He doesn't want to lose Horry's offense, and so he's leaving him on the court when he'd be better served with Nesterovic or Mohammad.  Come on, Pop!  This isn't baseball, where you can only sub with a player once!

 

[JoMal]

Such interesting...and mostly wrong....interpretations regarding how Duncan and the games have been going.

First off, Duncan is struggling at the line...but he is, in fact, GETTING to the line. Possibly the reason he is not shooting straight once he gets there is much more basic. His arms just HAVE to be bruised all to hell. The one fact that has not been mentioned...apparently not even dared to BE mentioned....is that Ben Wallace has been killing Duncan under the basket.

Wallace has been a killer. Literally, in that he may leave a Spurs dead behind him at some point. Spur bodies have been bouncing off him all series. He has blocked Duncan's shots often enough for Tim to look a bit hesitant. After every time he gets plowed... Wallace, unlike other big men, does not foul cheaply....Duncan has to go to the line and try to stop his weakened arms from shaking long enough to hit the free throw.

I don't think any of us has ever had to shoot free throws after a Wallace slap numbs your fingers all the way to the waves in your hair.

If Detroit wins this thing, Wallace's efforts under the basket should not be ignored in the finals assessment.

As for the refs calling the game unfairly regarding the Spurs, what world are you living in, WOW? This is the NBA playoffs. Nothing about foul calls is ever fair in the NBA playoffs. You just have to remember one thing as the post season progresses... the more aggressive team nearly always wins. The Spurs are a terrific defensive team and Bowen alone unnerves the best shooters in the League, but from what I have seen from the Pistons and how they are destroying the plays in the lane the Spurs like, the better team.. the Spurs... are not necesarily going to be the winning team unless they can match that effort being put to them.

The Horry shot was clutch, no question, but since Brown had been yelling to his team for several timeouts prior to that shot for his players NOT to let Horry alone, we probably can conclude that Brown did not forget about him and he can be exonerated for the above mentioned crimes that he failed in his coaching. Wallace just made a poor judgement call out on the court and Horry made the Pistons pay for it.

Then instead of San Antonio finishing off a supposedly demoralized Detroit team, the Pistons have turned the blade in the gut of the Spurs and have now made this a one game series.

Maybe San Antonio fans should be blaming Brown for THAT?

[Joe Vancil]

JoMal,

I think part of the Horry shot DOES have to go against Brown's coaching.  WHO IN THE WORLD DOES NOT PUT PRESSURE ON AN INBOUNDS PASS - ESPECIALLY WHEN THE INBOUNDS PASSER WOULD BE GUARDED BY A LONG-ARMED PLAYER LIKE RASHEED WALLACE?

If I'm Brown, I'm yelling at Wallace to get up on Horry AT THE TIME OF THE INBOUNDS, never mind during the shot.

 

[JoMal]

Joe, what on earth would make you assume Brown was NOT yelling at Wallace to do just that? You have to remember that the inbounds play was across the court from where Brown stood, so the chances of Wallace even hearing anything Larry was yelling in the noisy Palace, is slim.

Wallace just tried a double team on his own and since Brown and other Pistons all claim that Horry was mentioned previously during timeouts, it was left to Rasheed to explain what he was doing on that play. He sort of accepted the fault, but not his gamble, just saying that it failed and life goes on.

You know, when you think about it, and especially after Detriot then went out and won the next game, you really have to admire both Brown and Wallace for not letting this one play dominate the media reporting and possibly dooming the Pistons. They shrugged it off and let Horry get all the credit for hitting the shot.

Which, come to think of it, really is the point. What if he had missed it?

[Joe Vancil]

What makes me think that is that if that's what Brown had said to do (pressure the ball on the inbounds), it wouldn't have been just Brown yelling - it would have been all the Pistons on the court, not to mention all the coaches on the Detroit bench.  Wallace not being directly on the pass was by DESIGN.

You played organized ball, I thought, JoMal.  What would you have done had you been one of Wallace's teammates on the court, if Brown had said he wanted pressure on the inbounds?
 

[JoMal]

I would have pressured the inbounds player, of course.

Which, to me, is more reflective of Wallace's intellegence and coachability then Brown's coaching ability, which is unquestioned. This is on Wallace not listening more then Brown not telling. He left Horry to double team, and I do not at any time think he did that because Brown told him to, simply because I respect Brown and do not really respect Wallace all that much.

[westkoast]

So Duncan gets a pass because a post player is playing him tough?  Thats bs.  As "the best player in the game" and "best pf of all time" nothing should be keeping him from doing what it takes to win.  Was Samaki Walker abusing his arms a few years back too?

How about him disapearing the last 5 minutes of the game other than clanking free throws?  He had one strong move around Wallace, that was it!

[WayOutWest]

Maybe Timmy should ask Magic, Bird and MJ how they handled shooting FT's after recieving a hard foul.  Back when there was REAL rough play, durring the Bad Boy era Pistons and Knicks teams, those were real fouls.

IMO TD is just soft, no question.  James Worthy went through the same thing until he broke out of his soft shell in 1987.

[Reality]

IMO TD is just soft, no question.  James Worthy went through the same thing until he broke out of his soft shell in 1987.

Did you hear his tone in the post game interview?
Bordering W Hollywood style.  Very unconvincing to me.

He can erase it all, instead put the media on a never ending "3 in 7" cycle, Pop is right there with Red, PhilWinters etc (barf he is not close) by winning Gm 7.

[JoMal]

...and the underestimating of what Ben Wallace is doing out there goes on.

Blame it on Duncan, blame it on Pop...whatever, but I put the issue on the fact that Wallace is just being brutal to how the Spurs use Duncan in their offense. Blame the other Spurs for not getting the ball in to Duncan as well....Wallace is also leading the post season in steals.

[Derek Bodner]

simply because I respect Brown and do not really respect Wallace all that much.

One of the two made a mistake.  But I think Brown is a very smart basketball coach, and Sheed a smart defensive basketball player.  One made a mistake, I don't think either is a dunce.