San Antonio Spurs

[menderouv]

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maau na lang ni naa tay recognition.ang uban naa kha?

[owNinZ]

With help, Duncan enters the next stage



Tim Duncan has lost 15 pounds, as well as Jack Nies. The longtime NBA ref has retired.
Duncan has also lost pain in his knees. This summer, he returned to his first sport, swimming, when he hasn't been on an anti-gravity treadmill that was recently added to the Spurs' practice facility. He didn't play five-man basketball until this month, and then for a handful of days.
Still, as he reports this week for his 12th season, additions mean more. Their names are Antonio McDyess, Richard Jefferson, Theo Ratliff and DeJuan Blair.

They can save Duncan as he enters the next stage of his career.

It's likely the final stage, too.

The stages are blurred, beginning with the first one. How long was he a rookie? It seems as if he never was one.

He went to the full-blown MVP stage about a month into his career, and that didn't recede because of age. Twisted ankles slowed him in 2005, and plantar fasciitis was an aggravation in 2006.

Even then, the injuries made the Spurs optimistic. He was never much of a leaper. So if Duncan could hobble and still be effective, then that suggested his intelligence and fundamentals would serve him well as he aged.

Gregg Popovich has always tried to slow the aging. As long ago as the 2005 season, Duncan was averaging only 34 minutes a game, and that stunned Rick Carlisle, the Mavericks coach who ran the Pistons at the time.

“That's unheard of for a great player!” Carlisle said then.

He explained it's the cumulative that wears down players. “Every minute beyond 34 or 35 are the ones that matter,” Carlisle said.
But then came last year. Duncan had spent the summer flipping tractor tires; the only anti-gravity aspect was the possibility the tires had some air in them.

Popovich admired how hard Duncan had worked. And when the Spurs started the season without Manu Ginobili, and after Tony Parker fell early, Duncan averaged 37 minutes a game in the first 30 games.

“I don't think I would have done it differently,” Popovich said recently. “I would have liked to have done it differently, but you can't start in a big hole. We had to keep our head above water.”

Drowning was possible. In November, with both Parker and Ginobili out, Duncan sat down during a game against the Heat. Jeff Van Gundy, announcing the game for ESPN, said the Spurs on the floor represented the least talent of any group in the league.

Popovich figured he would cut Duncan's playing time as the season went along, and he did. Duncan's average minutes ended up being lower than any of the four previous seasons.

Still, he played fewer minutes mostly because his knees were hurting. Until he broke down, Duncan looked lively and young, as fit as his MVP years. Until he broke down, the Spurs had treated Duncan as they no longer will.

There can be other stages past this one. But Duncan likely won't stick around as a role player, or put up with pain that stops him from playing well. That's why this level is probably his final one.

It can go on for a few years, and it can be productive. After all, in the series finale last season against the Mavericks, he ended with 30 points.

To maintain that, Popovich will ration him, and he says he would like Duncan to average 32 minutes. Because of McDyess, Jefferson, Ratliff and Blair, that is possible. Because of them, there might be nights when Popovich tries to win without Duncan at all.

So Duncan lost some things this summer. But this week, as the new Spurs come together for the first time, on display will be what he has gained.

Namely, another chance to win.


Source: With help, Duncan enters the next stage

[johnnyblues]

Duncan, Ginobili return healthy for Spurs

By PAUL J. WEBER
Associated Press Writer


SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Tony Parker didn't see many familiar faces Monday when he returned to work after an unusually long summer for the San Antonio Spurs.

"I came in the locker room and half the guys are all new," Parker said. "It's kind of nice."

Parker is not unsentimental. He's just realistic about what the Spurs needed.

So are Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, who are healthy again and eagerly welcomed Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and the rest of an overhauled roster to training camp following the frustration last season of the shortest Spurs playoff run since 2000.

The Spurs also brought aboard veterans Theo Ratliff and Keith Bogans, and added All-America forward DeJuan Blair in the draft. To make room, San Antonio let go aging role players and longtime Spurs fixtures, including Bruce Bowen.

The Spurs didn't get drastically younger, but they are certain they got better.

"I think it's important at a certain point to realize that it's time to turn," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We felt like that for a couple years and slowly moved toward it, knowing full well at some point we had to change. And last year was our last attempt with that group."

The 35-year-old McDyess said he might have retired had the Spurs not made him an offer in free agency. Jefferson said he just wants to fit in after coming over from Milwaukee in a four-player deal.

"You have that established group with Tim, Tony and Manu," Jefferson said. "You just want to contribute to that."

Ginobili told reporters at the Spurs media day that he feels no pain after ankle problems limited the 32-year-old to just 44 games last season and kept him out of the playoffs.

Duncan showed up 15 pounds leaner and said he, too, was feeling OK after being hobbled by knee problems last season.

Duncan said he doesn't want to break down again like he did last spring, when the 33-year-old sat out games down the stretch to rest and recover.

So entering his 13th season, Duncan started his preseason regimen a month later. He didn't flip tires or run sprints up a steep hill like last summer, and instead kept up his conditioning with boxing and swimming.

"I'm not gearing down or playing at a different level," Duncan said. "I'm just trying to stay healthy."

Popovich said he'll ease Duncan back into camp along with Ginobili and Parker, who sprained his ankle playing for the French national team this summer. Jefferson, who jammed his thumb during a workout earlier this month, said he won't miss any time.

The biggest relief for the Spurs might be the sight of Ginobili walking around healthy. The Spurs sputtered badly last season without Ginobili's offensive spark, particularly during a first-round loss in the playoffs to Dallas. It was the second straight postseason that Ginobili was banged up.

Ginobili said his ankle problems were the toll of playing summers once the seasons in San Antonio were finished. Staying healthy could mean a shift in how the NBA is used to seeing Ginobili score: fearlessly driving to the basket, eager to make contact before firing off some twisting, acrobatic shot.

"I might be more cautious and take more midrange shots rather than getting fouled every time," he said.

Will he think twice from now on before charging into the paint?

"I don't think so," Ginobili said. "I think when it counts and when I see the opportunity, I'll be the same."

[owNinZ]

The 10 best shooting guards of the last decade


10. Jerry Stackhouse

9. Rip Hamilton

8. Brandon Roy

7. Michael Redd

6. Manu Ginobili




5. Allen Iverson

4. Ray Allen

3. Vince Carter

2. Dwyane Wade

1. Kobe Bryant

Source:The 10 best shooting guards of the last decade - Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

[ManWhore]

Si Kobe diay ang number 1? I'm surprised! really surprised!

[johnnyblues]

nia na training camp lineup: SPURS: Spurs Announce Training Camp Roster

18 sila karon pero 15 lang kinanglan ig start sa season

[owNinZ]

Si Kobe diay ang number 1? I'm surprised! really surprised!

ngano surprised mn ka bro?, dili bya ni all time list, ky if of all-time pana c jordan jd numero uno pero of d last decade raman na bro & kobe was d man at d shooting guard spot...

but still d spurs manu ginobili still makes d list at number 6 eventhough he has missed a lot of games due to injury...GO MANU! GO SPURS!

[RayRay]

The 10 best shooting guards of the last decade


10. Jerry Stackhouse

9. Rip Hamilton

8. Brandon Roy

7. Michael Redd

6. Manu Ginobili




5. Allen Iverson

4. Ray Allen

3. Vince Carter

2. Dwyane Wade

1. Kobe Bryant

Source:The 10 best shooting guards of the last decade - Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

Ohhh! My RayRay is fourth? Wow! Di ko katuo... sa kasimple mo manouver aning tawhana. No fancy-hancy game. Truly, he delivers.

[ManWhore]

Well they know individual player's stats better than us. Anyway it really doesn't matter to me and all the Lakers fans coz our man is FIRST in the list.

[johnnyblues]

sugod na sila: Popovich abridges Spurs' playbook