You Win With Your Stars
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on May 15, 2010 8:00 AM CDT
in Analysis
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PrintThe Suns series, each game in the series, was like taking the entire season and jamming into one game. Moments of brilliance mixed with moments of incompetence. I wasn't shocked by the outcome. Disappointed? Yes. Shocked? No.
Face it. The Suns were the better team and it wasn't really that close. They would have beat us 8 out of 10 times. They had better chemistry. They had better execution. They had better stars. Their stars played better than our stars.
I said it during the season several times, but I didn't think you had to look too deeply at the Spurs to see the problem. Our Big 3 wasn't that Big this year. There were very few, if any, times that I watched a game and saw three guys playing like all-stars. The Suns series was no different.
Today, let's look at Tony and Manu. They have a few things in common whereas Tim is his own animal.
Both Manu and Tony played hard. You can't question their heart or their effort. They both laid it out there for the team and left the court exhausted.
However, neither Tony nor Manu was that good in the playoffs. Not offensively. No, you can't measure their contributions only on the offensive end because defense is very important. However, in the playoffs, when buckets get harder to come by, you need your star players to step up on the offensive end and score. I don't think Tony and Manu did. They were solid, but they weren't all-stars. Much like they were for most of the season. Manu had a stretch from late February to the first week of April where he was unbelievably good. But, outside of that string of great games by Manu, we didn't see a lot of top notch, consistent, all-star level play out of either guy. Certainly not in the playoffs.
Tony
Where did his shot go? During the playoffs, Tony shot 35% on his mid-range 2's. I know people say he wasn't as explosive and was having a hard time getting to the rim, but I don't think that was the main problem. I think Tony lost his shot this year. For the season, he was at 37%. Compare that to last year when he shot 46%, on 40% more shots, and you have to wonder what happened to his stroke.
In the playoffs, it got worse when Tony started clanking free throws like a vintage 2001 Tim Duncan. Playoff time isn't the time to struggle with your shot. Not when you have spent all year aiming toward peaking at playoff time.
When it came to needing a star in the Suns series, he wasn't there. He did have 3 20-point games, but they came with very high volume shooting. 26 points on 21 shots. 22 on 19 shots. 20 on 14. And don't forget that 5-17 clunker in the pivotal game 3. Throw in a pair of 4 turnover games (plus a 5 TO game in the Dallas series) and 53% free throw shooting and you aren't looking at all-star offense.
Manu
Manu lost his shot in early April. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from 3-point in the playoffs (and finished April on a 3-19 skid from 3 over the last 5 games) . His playoff scoring, and scoring efficiency, came from him getting to the line a lot and making them. Again, you can't question the effort and heart, and getting to the line and making clutch free throws is effort and heart. But, once you get past his free throws he didn't score very well.
In the last 8 games of the playoffs (I doing some selective data picking), he put up the following lines from the field:
- 4-12, 0-3
- 4-16, 1-7
- 2-7, 0-2 (18 minutes in the blowout in Dallas)
- 7-19, 2-6
- 9-20, 3-9
- 2-8, 2-5
- 10-17, 4-9
- 2-11, 1-6
Throwing out the 18 minute game, there are five serious clunkers there.
Manu did a lot more playmaking during the playoffs and led the team with 6.0 assists/game. A little more than Tony's 5.4. He, like Tony, also had some turnover issues as he had 3.0/game. A little more than Tony's 2.2.
What really surprises me though, is that Manu didn't rebound well. He only averaged 3.7 rebounds/game. His regular season average was 3.8 even though he was playing significantly less minutes. Given how much small ball the Spurs played in the two series, I'm think it is amazing that Manu didn't rebound better. In fact, Tony grabbed more boards (just barely) in the playoffs than Manu did.
Together
Between the two, I thought they both forced shots and passes. Tony especially on his drives and Manu especially on his passes. They each tried to take over games, but couldn't. Not consistently.
There was a telling stretch at the end of game 6 against the Mavs. I remember four possessions, two for each, where they dominated the ball and tried to score. The team got four bad shots out of those possessions and one basket on a Tony 20-foot fadeaway with a hand in his face.
Excuses
Yes, they each have their excuses. Or, as Brent Barry said, not to make excuses, but there are some things going on. Those things are injuries.
Manu broke his nose. And seemed to lose his shot with it. But, JanieAnnie also told me she thinks he hurt his hip or leg. She watches the man closely, too closely maybe, but I trust her to know his every move and she said something wasn't right with his leg.
Tony was dinged up all year. Then broke his hand and was out until the end of the regular season. And he certainly wasn't in a good rhythm coming into the playoffs. Then he hurt his shoulder.
It's not like either guy got home Sunday night after game four against the Suns and was feeling good physically. They both gutted their way through the playoffs.
Money
Manu got his max extension in March. Tony is going into the last year of his contract and will be looking to get a max extension as well. I think giving Manu his max was a good decision. I think giving Tony a max will be a good decision. The question is: will they be worth it?
Let me explain. When you play Texas Hold 'Em and you are sitting with pocket aces pre-flop, getting all-in with somebody is always a good decision. You don't always win, but it is never a bad decision.
That's how I view Manu and Tony. I think giving them tons of money to stay is a good decision. The question is whether or not we win? Or, will they earn it?
Will Manu give us more of the March? Or more of the inconsistent April?
Will Tony give us 2009? Or 2010?
I think those are the questions for us to ponder.
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This is a good discussion starter, Wayne. Thanks. While I realize that your focus in this piece is Tony and Manu, I think it’s really hard to evaluate them and their future without taking into consideration Timmy. Part of the drop-off, particularly by Manu, was the fact that the Suns, by their own admission, decided to focus their entire series’ strategy on stopping Manu. Think about it: a team approaching the San Antonio Spurs NOT having as their central focus Tim Duncan. Surely, that has never happened before. We Spurs fans have often taken Timmy for granted. Our focus on his scoring, rebounding and defense often overlooked the fact that the opponents’ emphasis on him opened things up for our other stars and role players. That will likely never be the case again. As we move forward, it creates all kinds of issues as to how we can contend again. And maybe the key sub-text of your discussion is that we saw what can happen when teams re-orient their approach to the Spurs.
Great point. I wonder if Tony and Manu will continue to struggle as they become opponents main focus’. This is why I believe you build your team with bigs first, then get your PG and wings and such.
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
This is why I believe you build your team around your main guy, whether he is PF/C as Tim or Shaq, or G/SF as Kobe or Durant.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
You talk about Durant a lot as if a) he’s won something and b) we have any chance in trading for him.
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
Sure I do. But if you don’t want to talk about Durant, we can talk about MJ. That guy won something in the NBA.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
MJ was MJ for a reason. Kobe has only succeeded when he had an all-time center (Shaq) or a slew of all-star or damn good big men in his team (Gasol, Odom, Bynum nowadays).
That said, Durant is awesome.
I smell death... everywhere.
Yeah, just look at how Pippen dominated the league once MJ was gone…….
And Kukoc? Now there was a player! LOL.
by doggydogworld on May 16, 2010 8:34 PM CDT up reply actions
The Bulls were a pretty good competitive team without MJ in that one year he tried switching to baseball. I think they reached the ECF (correct me if I’m wrong).
So it was a pretty good team. Not to mean he wasn’t great, I think he’s the GOAT. But I doubt he would’ve won 6 rings without a good supporting cast.
Close. They lost in the 2nd round. They also lost in the 2nd round the next year even though Jordan played after re-joining the team in March.
by doggydogworld on May 17, 2010 10:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Nash, Kidd, Paul, Williams, Rose, and even Rondo. All PG’s who have (or had) a team built around them.
"I've got Tim (Duncan) and you don't. That's the difference." -Gregg Popovich
Were you making my point for me? None of those elite PG’s have lead there team to a championship. Rondo was the 4th best player on his team in ’08.
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
You make some excellent points Wayne. For me, it comes done to each players respective healtth. I realized that Tony was not right at the beginning of the season way before they announced his foot problems. I am sure what JanieAnnie is refering to is the way the player moves. When either player is “on” and feeling well, watching them play is intoxicating. It seems like they are just flowing around the court (and the other team.)
This year there were long streches (including the playoffs) where both players were not flowing. Which is why I am glad that this year both players are not playing for their international teams. If they can regain or improve on their past accomplishmsts the Spurs could be in the mix again next year.
"Keeping the dream alive for 2011!"
The shot selection for both was regularly quite terrible. Especially for Manu. I wonder if he was just pulling up for bad 3s because his hip was hurting. Who knows.
As for Parker, the problem with your analysis is that you assume his solid shooting from mid-range last year was his norm. Considering that it marks exactly one season where he shot consistently from that range, I’d certainly question whether it was a statistical anomaly or not, considering NBA history is littered with players who just “felt it” and shot above their norms for one season. Of course, his injuries cover up appropriate analysis. Although, I do think it’s fair to say his injuries clearly inhibited his drives to the paint, because he’s showed consistency there and wasn’t blow by people.
Both Manu and Tony (I think Tony largely because Pop and RC said so, it’s in several articles on ESPN) are taking the Worlds off and are going to use the offseason to get 100% healthy and start the season next year strong. I think this would be very good because the last two years seems to see Timmy play all-world for the first 3 months or so and then taper off to the point of whatever because of early season injuries or trying to mix additional people in, and he has to be all world for them to win games. If we can get Splitter, and Tony/Manu just show up 100% healthy and motivated I think we’ll see a drastically different result from last seasons’ bungles, and Tim will be that much stronger towards the end (though Splitter would affect this line much more I believe, but that’s for Tim’s section).
One of the things that has been mentioned before is putting Manu back on the bench, and having Tony develop his 3 pt. shot….he’s not bad at it he just doesn’t employ it much because it’s his job to drive and break down defenses. If he can actually develop a consistent 35-40% 3 pt shot he could use that to conserve his own energy on back-to-backs and give opponents that much more to have to game plan for – during most games I’ve noticed the opponent will sag off Tony in preparation for his drives and / or to offer double teaming because they know if he gets the ball he’ll drive into the paint. Having one more 3 pt. threat in Tony would (I think) drastically change how the opponent has to guard the Spurs, and that could open up the spot shooters just that much more, and maybe help provide the spacing that we’ve been accustomed to seeing when opponents were required to double Tim.
"This team is like a bunch of cockroaches. They just don't die!" -Charles Barkley, after Game 7 vs. the NOOCH.
The "I'm gonna rip the eyes out of your head and piss into your dead skull! You f***ed with the wrong Marine!" face. Because Popovich can be kinda scary.
My conclusion on Manu’s leg bothering him is based on seeing him after game two in Phoenix. He was limping noticeably as he made his way down the hall, and several others commented on it as well. I spoke to him, but didn’t ask about the limp – he would have shrugged it off as nothing anyway.
"Ginobili. . .He's weaving, he's throwing up triple axels in sneakers, he's willing the ball into the basket. It's Cirque du Soleil with refs." Dan Oshinsky / KENS 5
He had not dispayed a limp on the court that night, but he did not drive the lane as much in that game, nor in the next two. He did get kicked in the shin in game one, and spent a bit longer than usual rubbing it and grimacing before going to the free throw line.
"Ginobili. . .He's weaving, he's throwing up triple axels in sneakers, he's willing the ball into the basket. It's Cirque du Soleil with refs." Dan Oshinsky / KENS 5
Tony’s stats vs. Phoenix are depressed by game 3 after Amare submarined him. He immediately missed 4 FTs and shot 2-10 from the field the rest of the way. He really shouldn’t have been in there, but he was our only mismatch and it was a desperation game. Other than that he shot 8-11 from the line and 52% from the field for the series.
Well done perspective on the 2 out of the 3 Stars. Manu and Tony did not appear as their normal awesome selves this playoff year. I do hope that we see both of them return at the top of their game, though i am still weary of injuries to any of the three. All of them seem to be suffering from chronic injury of some sort or another. Hopefully we will see some improvement in that area.
"Mr. Gilmore deserves to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame damnit. Highest field goal percentage EVER"
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilmoar01.html
Great analysis Wayne. Tony and Manu definitely have not been the same as they used to be. Injuries have certainly been a factor for these guys but I think it should be worth mentioning that Timmy has also been less than his usual self. The Spurs offense is reliant on players drawing double teams and, quite frankly, none of them were able to do that. if everyone is healthy, the guards (especially Tony) can draw double teams and open up our shooters who hopefully knock down their shots
"I've got Tim (Duncan) and you don't. That's the difference." -Gregg Popovich
Nice writeup! Agree with you. The Spurs never got clicking all together at the same time. We just weren’t that good this season. Hopefully we are better next season. The more I get over our loss to the Suns, the more I’m convinced that if this bunch of Spurs get their act together, plus maybe the development of Hairston and Temple, we can compete for a title next year. Another big (Splitter) would be really nice, but a big summer for Blair would do the same trick.
On another note, Cuban must be doubly mad, seeing how we got swept in the second round, and this team that got swept BEAT HIS TEAM! Hahaha! Now I hope the Lakers don’t sweep the Suns or else I’ll be eating my own words.
Why should we care how Cuban feels and how the Suns fare against the Lakers. To me it’s enough that we got swept by the Suns one season after losing 4-1 to the Mavs. Our Big 3 is not big enough anymore to win the championship except as a supporting cast.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
by Kondor on May 15, 2010 10:55 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Just because you don’t care, doesn’t mean anyone else can’t. Well, I would feel better if the Suns fare well against the Lakers, ‘cause that will show how close (or far) we are from the top. Also, I care because I find him annoying (not that it matters to Cuban or whoever). I’m weird like that :)
Our Big 3 is not big enough anymore to win the championship except as a supporting cast.
Im not ready to go there , but Im reccing you for having the stones to say this.
The Spurs = Not your granddaddies 7th seed !
I could agree with that statement if it read: “Our Big 3 is not big enough anymore to win the championship WITHOUT a supporting cast.”
"Ginobili. . .He's weaving, he's throwing up triple axels in sneakers, he's willing the ball into the basket. It's Cirque du Soleil with refs." Dan Oshinsky / KENS 5
In Tony’s defense, he was a big reason why the Spurs were even competitive with Phoenix. He might not have shot efficiently, since he didn’t get to the line as much, but he was a big reason why the Spurs had chances. He also passed pretty well, showing improvement in that area. He runs the pick n roll pretty well with Blair, which is a good thing.
Having said all that, he still should continue to solidify his jump shot to make himself less of a streaky shooter and more of a dependable shooter.
why the Spurs were even competitive with Phoenix.
So being swept in the playoffs means now “being competitive”. This sounds as a new low for once proud Spurs team.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
I think he’s referring to the fact that the games were close [usually still in doubt in the final minute(s)]. But in the sense of 4 games to 0, it was not close/competitive.
It just shows to me, how low our standards and expectations fell. “Yeah, we are losing to the Suns every freaking game, but we are still competitive in the first half”. We sound like the Clippers now.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
You’re putting words in people’s mounts as to expectations and standards. No one said they were happy just being competitive. It’s simply a measure of where things stand. Atlanta vs. Orlando wasn’t competitive. Atlanta needs big changes. Despite also being a sweep, Suns vs. Spurs was competitive (I bet if you asked the Suns off the record they’d say Spurs were more competitive than Blazers). We need to make changes but blowing up the team would be stupid.
by doggydogworld on May 16, 2010 2:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Despite also being a sweep, Suns vs. Spurs was competitive
I think, you coined a new basketball term: “competitive sweep”. Never heard about such thing before. But I guess this is where we are, in the land of competitive sweeps. Of course, we don’t need and don’t want any changes as long as the Suns would privately call us competitive or publicly say that Pop is the best coach in the league.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
You’re bringing a lot of negativity around lately and you’re going to start rubbing people the wrong way.
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
Hm. Kondor, do you need a hug? Why the need to rid people of their positive outlooks? Being the naysayer doesn’t make one braver, and I bet you’d get more positive replies if you put your ideas for restructuring the team into a thought-out post.
My two cents.
I smell death... everywhere.
I am quite disappointed with how our season ended, and I don’t really understand why is everybody so happy. Whatever, may be I should just stop hanging around here.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
Or maybe you should stop following Kevin Durant around so much.
Seriously, Kondor, it’s your right to be negative and disappointed, but hijacking well-thought out posts like these with the same demeanor makes you no less different from GhosTown. If you want to drag people to the same depths that you’ve fallen, then I suggest you take a break from PtR.
Just cause we're crippled, don't mean we gotta take the crumbs.
by silverandblack_davis on May 16, 2010 9:34 PM CDT up reply actions
What “hijacking the posts” means? I am just expressing my opinion, and I hear all kinds of crap in response, like I “hijack posts”, “drag people to the depths”, “put words into somebody’s mouths”, etc. I am surprised nobody yet charged me with a murder. Do we need to exercise a group-think here to that extent?
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Duncan doesn’t want to play for a losing club.- http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com
Yeah, except that same opinion of yours keeps on popping in every other post it becomes a wee-bit irritating.
Look, Kondor, you write pretty sensible and good stuff most of the time so I won’t even bother explaining to you what “hijacking posts” mean.
I won’t explain to you how that “we should get Kevin Durant” mantra of yours could work if you mention it once, twice maybe three times, but to say it over and over again when you clearly know it’s a pipe dream makes you sound like you know what to do better than the Spurs FO does.
I won’t explain to you how you speak your “opinion” in such a mocking tone that it rubs people the wrong way, when you can just instead let that “opinion” out in a well-written FanPost and put it to rest instead of going on here being a naysayer without really substantiating the things you’re negative about and putting a damper on people’s opinions on how the team should re-tool.
I won’t explain to you how I’m already pushing the envelope with the English language with all the run-on sentences I’m using.
Nope, you’re a pretty smart dude and I don’t need to do any explaining, nor charge you with murder for that matter. I think you can figure everything out for yourself.
And oh yeah, about the Durant thing? I think SiMA already handled that as well as anyone could have.
Just cause we're crippled, don't mean we gotta take the crumbs.
by silverandblack_davis on May 17, 2010 7:46 PM CDT up reply actions
Of course, we don’t need and don’t want any changes
That’s the exact opposite of what I just said. Stop putting words in people’s mouths and people will stop thinking you’re a waste of bandwidth.
by doggydogworld on May 16, 2010 8:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Just an excellent post. Great points. I really wanna see all our guys healthy at least one more postseason to see that they can do. People keep writing them off as too old but they’re really just too injured.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." -Willy Wonka
I am hoping these are not one and the same (“old” and “injured”). This is the third season in a row we have had key guys banged up or out during the playoffs. Is it going to change? Are our stars too injury-prone/old/mileage-heavy? With the right supporting cast, they might not be. But it’s hard to see them all simultaneously capable of doing the heavy lifting we have often seen from them. Can the Big 3 all be healthy and playing well at once?
i think the team did well in the playoffs. Even if some people are saying our expectations have dropped. I think most people are excited because the whole season we were up and down and really unpredictable but we won a series and was in every game in the Suns series. The team still had a lot of flaws and didn’t really start to gel until the playoffs and that is something to build on instead of just getting crushed or barely winning a series you are supposed to win like the Hawks.
by gunnin' gervin on May 16, 2010 12:27 PM CDT reply actions
Face it. The Suns were the better team and it wasn’t really that close. They would have beat us 8 out of 10 times.
So that’s 80% chance of victory. Which means that winning 4 in a row has a probability of 41%. They really weren’t sweep-better than us… Meh. Well, I guess they were, since they swept us. But you know what I mean. It was closer than it looked. Since the result is as unbalanced as it can be.
Or, will they earn it?
They have both earned it already.
Good post, Wayne. Enjoyed it a lot.
I smell death... everywhere.
They haven’t earned max contracts. They’ve earned the chance to prove they can earn it. Does that make sense?
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
Those aren’t max contracts, are they? Would you not extend Timmy for more money that his skills deserved if he wanted to play an extra year or two?
I smell death... everywhere.
Manu’s is a max deal. He hasn’t earned it yet but I think he has earned the chance to prove he is worth it. So for the next three years he will show us if he earned it or not. Like Wayne said though, it’s the right move. And if over the next three years he under produces due to injuries or whatever I won’t say “Man the FO really messed up…”
As for Timmy yeah I’d give him more than what I think he will produce but he’s in a different category than others.
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
I’m a bit confused here. Is there a difference between a Max contract and a Max extension?
Because I was under the consideration that Manu got the maximum possible extension allowed for his existing contract, which made it longer and paid him more, but is less than a maximum possible contract. Hypothetically a team could have signed him as a FA for 7 years at 16+ mil a year, or whatever the max total years and money a player can sign for, before he signed it.
Yes, Manu was signed to a max extension, which is what I think Tony deserves too. Both have played for less money than they are worth (in NBA dollars) under their current contracts. Very few players are worth max contracts in my book – Kobe, LeBron, Wade, and possibly DWill in a few years.
Ok, thanks for clearing that up. I agree that both deserve(d) max extensions. I hope that’s all that Parker pushes for rather than the Max contract, assuming he returns to last years level. But, if team’s are willing pay players such as Gilbert Arenas and Rashard Lewis Max contracts, there may be some overeager team who’ll buy him away with one next summer.
According to Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ, the maximum raise is 10.5% of the salary in the last year of the contract. So, using the number listed at ShamSports, Tony’s salary would increase to $15,083,000 in 2011/12. This agrees with the numbers listed for Manu.
Hitting Free Throws
If the Spurs can get to the 80%as a team for ft’s,it would do wonders….
We left alot of points at the line…
Timmy free throw style is horrible…there is no natural motion…
Very thought-provoking post, Wayne, which I just got around to reading. I think both Manu and Tony are worth the money, as I think both will be healthier after a summer of not playing. But it will be interesting to see what happens next year, especially as a potential lockout looms after next season.
Something I was just thinking about that Manu said in his exit interviews: This is going to be the first summer in two seasons he is going to be able to train and not rehab. The last time Manu was able to train all summer leading up to the season was 07-08 which was his best statistal year.
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
TP
As stated, Parker’s shot went south.
However, what may have been overlooked (if not already stated by a previous poster) is that he lost his quickness and first step. I remember him making Nash look silly defensively. Straight shaking him out of his socks in years past. This year, he could get around big men like he normally does. The picture that stands out at me was posted on the SA Paper. Tony Parker just straight running into a big man, because he couldn’t get around him. His penetration was usually on the fast break and never in the half court. Did he lose a step or did he never get his legs under him due to injuries? Now, just like a running-back, TP’s game has come at the expense of hitting the ground on a frequent basis. NFL backs, as much as the would like to say otherwise, just lose it eventually. They don’t “kinda” lose it, they LOSE it! IF Parker is saying he wants to stay publicly and says he wants NY behind closed doors, I hope the management knows the real answer. I would trade him now.
I am just now barely getting depressed about the end of the Spurs season. It had mostly to do with watching Boston beat Orlando in game one, and realizing they are a much better team than San Antonio. =^(
The Spurs have a ALOT of work to do in the off season.
The Spurs = Not your granddaddies 7th seed !
Which is really surprising considering they looked DOA back when the Spurs played them late in the season. Aside from the team looking completely dysfunctional, KG could hardly move. Now he’s playing like he did 3 years ago. What the hell happened to completely turn their season around?
The more these kinds of things happen, the more I’m starting to fall into Fred S’s line of thinking about HGH use in the NBA. Seriously, watching Tim hobble up and down the court every other game and then comparing it to players who’ve looked broken down the past two years suddenly turn it on like they’re 29 years old again really raises my suspicions.
Great input. It was quite clear that both players, including Tim, did not live up to their Big 3 status in these playoffs. The supporting cast showed up at times, but the Big 3 should bring their A game every single game, injuries notwithstanding. Kobe, Nash and Garnett are all playing hurt and yet their teams are in the Final 4. They are not called superstars for nothing. If superstars do not play well, no team can win a title.
I am glad that TP and Manu finally showed responsibility to their employer by resting this summer. I hope they follow Tim’s regimen last summer by slimming down and making sure their legs are well rested. Manu is at a precarious age where limbs are not that resilient anymore. TP should realize this given his problems this season.
I think steroids have nothing to do with lasting throughout the playoffs. Without proof, I would believe a more logical explanation for playing well despite age and injury would be plain simple rest and staying fit.
Without proof, I would believe a more logical explanation for playing well despite age and injury would be plain simple rest and staying fit.
Actually, since it’s an appeal to ignorance there’s little logic to it at all. Just because there is no evidence doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening and we should assume that every player (or certain ones) upholds to the highest point of integrity and athletic aptitude. This is the kind of failed logic that led to an entire decade of baseball now being tainted. From everything I’ve read, at this point the NBA is now the professional sport least transparent when it comes to PEDs and both Stern and the NBAPA have effectively been stonewalling efforts toward rigorous internal or external testing for HGH. It’s just as logical that there is no proof because the NBA is covering it up or ignoring it, as it is that certain old, injured players are simply managing their bodies well once the playoffs come around.
Unfortunately, unless the NBA raises its transparency levels, we’ll never know for sure.
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Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Roy Hibbert tap-dances to Maine
- Grizzlies Valentine’s Day cards are the key to love
- Kevin Love would like the NBA to take the MLB’s approach on All-Star games
- Kobe Bryant fires a few hilarious salvos at Jeremy Lin
- Brandon Jennings states the obvious regarding his 2014 free agency, everyone goes nuts
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