Does not include Duncans stats vs Boston last night, altho they were also so-so by Dunker standards in the 78-77 loss.
Duncan's gimpy knee a real cause for concern in San Antonio
By Art Garcia, NBA.com
Posted Mar 19 2009 10:32PM
SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan hasn't been Tim Duncan lately, and that's reason for pause in San Antonio. Alarm bells weren't exactly ringing when Mr. Consistency was given a night off Tuesday, but there is concern about Duncan's health and how it's impacted his play.
"It's gone through my head." Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted.
The two-time MVP wasn't his usual productive self before sitting against Minnesota. Duncan missed the last three games of February dealing with a tendinitis-type issue in his right quadriceps, which has caused weakness around the knee. His numbers after returning have been rather pedestrian by Duncan's lofty and efficient standards
In the nine games before Tuesday's scratch, the All-Star power forward averaged 15.1 points and 10.4 rebounds and shot an uncharacteristic 43 percent. Before going down, Duncan was averaging 20 and 11, and shooting better than 50 percent.
Duncan, whose drop-off has come with Manu Ginobili on the sidelines, has acknowledged that the injury is something that he'll have to deal with for the rest of the season. He appears to have lost some quickness around the basket.
"From time to time Timmy's knees will bother him and it'll affect his play to some degree," Popovich said, "but for the most part he's had to deal with that more than people would know. He's done a great job of always being there for us. I'm just forcing him to sit."
Popovich wants to limit Duncan's minutes whenever possible, and sitting him on Tuesday, the second game in a back-to-back, seemed a perfect opportunity. The Spurs also have a two-day break before defending champ Boston visits San Antonio on Friday, giving Duncan a little more time off.
"He doesn't love it," Popovich said, "but I just think it's important for him to be fresh and healthy at the end of the season. And I think one way to do it is try to limit the number of back-to-backs you play in down the stretch."
The Spurs have three back-to-backs left. Popovich made a point to say that Duncan wouldn't necessarily rest in those situations. It appears to be more of a play-it-by-knee strategy.
While it could be argued that resting Duncan shouldn't have mattered with the lowly Timberwolves in town on Tuesday, the Spurs weren't in position to take a victory for granted. San Antonio fell the previous night at Oklahoma City -- with Duncan playing.
Popovich isn't concerned about his team finishing second in the Western Conference, even if it means avoiding the top-seeded Lakers in the second round. Whether the Spurs are second or third or fourth, they're not going to beat L.A. without all of their horses running at full speed.
"We've always felt the important things toward playoff time are freshness and health," Popovich said. "Hopefully, we'll be in that situation. Teams don't win championships when their best players are out."
That would be reason to panic.
Beating the masters
Though no franchise will admit to copying another, it's obvious that the Spurs have provided a blueprint for the Thunder in many ways. Oklahoma City's majority owner Clay Bennett was a former investor in the Spurs. General manager Sam Presti was a former front office executive. And former coach P.J. Carlesimo was an assistant under Gregg Popovich.
The Thunder didn't allude to beating big brother after the game, but the upset Monday was nonetheless sweet, and another sign that Kevin Durant and Co. are headed in the right direction.
"We beat one of the best teams in basketball," interim coach Scott Brooks said. "They were shorthanded, but that's a team that plays great basketball."
