Spurs Are Saving Duncan for the Playoffs

[NJNJ]

 

On Tuesday night, Tim Duncan poured in 25 points and added 13 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 assists and 2 steals for San Antonio in a 105-85 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. It was just another solid game from one of the most consistent players in the league.

 

The next night when the Spurs traveled to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder, Duncan was in street clothes on the bench. In the box score next to Duncan’s name, it said, “DND-REST,” signifying why Duncan, who played 40 minutes against the Lakers, did not suit up.

 

The Spurs are going to great lengths to keep their big man fresh down the stretch. The 32.1 minutes per game that Duncan was averaging through Thursday were a career low. But although his minutes are down, his production is not. The 20.1 points that he was averaging were his most since 2004-5, and his field-goal percentage of .556 was a career high. His rebounds, steals, blocks and assists were right at where they have been over the last few seasons.

 

In the hopes of keeping Duncan fresh for the playoffs, the Spurs are not only limiting Duncan’s minutes, but also keeping him off the floor in back-to-back games.

 

“That’s just part of rest and recovery,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich told The San Antonio Express-News. “We’re going to make him sit out more back-to-backs than we ever have before, and see if it pays dividends come playoff time.”

 

Sitting Duncan on Wednesday paid immediate dividends for the rookie DeJuan Blair, who set career highs with 28 points and 21 rebounds in an overtime victory over the Thunder.

 

NY Times

[Real Deal]

Well, they stole Blair, as they usually do with all of their draft picks. The Spurs have trouble winning games without Tim suiting up, but they can surely limit his time on the court and still get the job done.

[Poe]

Duncan preserves himself while Kobe fights through a [expletive]ed up hand plus back spasms. Let's see which works out better come playoff time.

[Check my Stats]

Okay, is this really news? Spurs have taken this approach for the last half a decade.....

[-Ray 10-]

I never thought I'd see the day when the Spurs actually struggle. Well the reason for Duncan preserving himself instead of doing what Kobe does is cause Duncan is a big man and most bigs arent as durable or whatever like guards

[JWaLL]

I never thought I'd see the day when the Spurs actually struggle. Well the reason for Duncan preserving himself instead of doing what Kobe does is cause Duncan is a big man and most bigs arent as durable or whatever like guards

The Spurs always take the leisure path to the playoffs. They pretty much do the bare minimum of what it takes to be a mid to high seed, and you can't compare Duncan resting to Kobe playing through multiple bad injuries.

 

It's a smart approach to rest your best player on back to back nights. It's not worth the risk when you are more than capable of finishing at a decent seed when sitting him every few games.

 

Also, what made you draw the conclusion that big men like Duncan are more fragile than the average guards...?