The Perpetual NBA Thread

[baiskee]

something's wrong with duncan right foot? hindi yata square sa basket...

i think may kinalaman yung pagka-bading nya...

tingnan nyo yung pilantik ng daliri nya oh...

[pajerokid]

GO LAKERS! :D

Hahaha! I still remember last year Bai! ;) Wala ganun talaga. Odom wants out pa ata.

[theveed]

The Pressure of Game 7's.

Seventh heaven?
By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
June 22, 2005



What does a Game 7 feel like? You can't sleep, you can't eat and you don't want to talk to anyone – and that's if you're a fan.

When you're a player, it's 10 times worse. Your heart is in your stomach for two days. You're about as delightful to be around as Mike Tyson. The weight of the world seems to be on your shoulders – even if you're the 10th man on the roster.

Game 7 is a scary prospect in any round, but in the NBA Finals? Oh my. Most players involved are thinking, "I hope I'm not the goat." A couple are thinking, "I could be the hero." But the fear of defeat is always stronger than the thought of victory. Nobody wants to cost his team – and his city – an NBA championship.

I played in three Game 7s in my career, and I'll admit it – I was scared to death in each one of them. And I never played in a seventh game in the Finals. It's tough to imagine the pressure that each and every player on the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs will be facing on Thursday night.

As a player, your legacy is possibly on the line. A place in history could await you, one way or another. You might be Kirk Gibson, but you could also be Bill Buckner.

ADVERTISEMENT

The key is to somehow put all of that out of your mind and let yourself play. Some players seem to do so instinctively – Chauncey Billups and Robert Horry, for example. But a lot of guys are overwhelmed by the pressure and tighten up.

I struggled with that early in my career before eventually learning to simply let go and play. You have to find a way to eliminate the fear of failure in order to play well. If you accept the fact that you might miss a big shot and that it's not the end of the world if you do, you're much more likely to relax and let your skills take over.

That's what Horry does. He said after his winning three-pointer in Game 5 that "most players take the game too seriously" and that he just tries to enjoy each moment. Horry has it all figured out.

The problem is, most players don't. Not with millions of people around the world watching. Not with the dream of an NBA championship so close at hand. Not when you are bearing the weight of your own hopes – and those of your teammates, your coaches, your family and an entire city.

There's no getting around it. Game 7 is scary. One team is going to lose. And it will probably be the one that is more fearful of that awful prospect.

[theveed]

and all eyes on Tim.

Fundamental flaw
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
June 22, 2005



SAN ANTONIO – Tony Parker's jump shot caromed off the rim, and Tim Duncan was there, of course. Right under the basket, squared to the hoop, ball held tightly above his head the way you'd expect the Big Fundamental to hold it.

He tried to lay the ball in off the glass only to get it swatted by Ben Wallace. He grabbed the rebound and went back up, albeit too soft again, and got harassed by two Detroit Pistons into a miss.

It was crunch time (43 seconds left, Spurs down five) in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, with the San Antonio Spurs desperately needing a basket to come back against the Pistons and claim a third NBA title. And the best player the franchise has ever known didn't do a very simple thing.

Dunk it. Slam it. Emphatically let everyone on the court know that this is Tim Duncan and this is his NBA title.

Make no mistake – the Spurs aren't in Thursday's Game 7 in South Texas without Tim Duncan. He had another double-double on Tuesday (21 and 15), and he is averaging 23.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in these playoffs.

ADVERTISEMENT

He is an eight-time first-team all-NBA selection. He already owns two NBA championships and twice was named NBA Finals MVP. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he retired yesterday.

You can argue that he is the greatest power forward the game has ever known.

Except to do so you would have to explain why Duncan didn't dunk it on Tuesday. Or why in this series he can't hit a clutch free throw – 12 costly misses in the last two games. Or why he short-armed an easy, game-winning putback at the end of regulation in Game 5. Or why a pass slipped through his hands a few minutes later in overtime.

Or basically why, when the going gets tough in this series, Tim Duncan's mysteriously stubborn reputation keeps popping up.

He may be the best ever. But he also may be soft.

"Pressure can do two things," said Robert Horry on Wednesday, as the Spurs sorted through the wreckage of a missed close-out opportunity and the task at hand – a do-or-die Game 7. "It can bust a pipe. It can make a diamond."

Horry wasn't talking specifically about the Spurs' superstar center, unquestioned leader and must-have performer. But he could have been.

No one wants to say a bad word about Tim Duncan. He's too good of a guy, and San Antonio isn't home to a critical media or fan base. But Duncan's teammates know his reputation across the league, and they know that even the finest diamonds are scrutinized for flaws.

They know, deep down, that as untouchable as Duncan's legacy should be, if he doesn't bring it in Game 7 like everyone knows he is capable, if his late-game slump continues, if the Spurs lose in the playoffs again after holding a 2-0 series lead, then that too is part of the legacy.

Fair or unfair.

"If he doesn't have a breakout game with all kinds of stats, people question his leadership and his gamesmanship," Bruce Bowen said. "It's unfair to him. If he doesn't make that bank shot it's, Oh, I told you about Tim.' "

But that's the burden of being the star. In the Spurs' 2003 NBA title-clinching victory over the New Jersey Nets, Duncan delivered to the tune of a near quadruple-double – 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and eight blocks. He carried an aging David Robinson and a collection of young role players to the title.

He was hailed as the best player in the game and his championship effort went down in Finals lore, right there with Jordan and Magic and Bird and the others.

But that was then.

This was Duncan's description of his play late in Game 5: "Absolute nightmare."

This was his description of his play late in Game 6: "I was OK. I was all right. Still not great, but just OK."

You can't be as good as Tim Duncan and be "just OK" during the biggest minutes of the biggest games. San Antonio cannot win Thursday night unless Duncan stares down Ben and Rasheed Wallace and delivers greatly.

"I think in Game 7, I'll try to be a little more [aggressive]," Duncan said. "Asking for the ball and drawing double-teams or trying to make something happen."

For Tim Duncan, that counts as bravado.

During the first five minutes of Tuesday's fourth quarter, Duncan never touched the ball. After that, every time he got to the foul line he continued to struggle. In the final three minutes, other than after grabbing offensive rebounds, he didn't take a single shot.

For this, Duncan never complained. He never called for the ball. He never lashed out at his teammates who seemed to forget exactly who is whom in the Spurs' offensive pecking order.

"It's not about Tim," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We forgot about Tim Duncan. He didn't forget about anything."

That was the sentiment on the eve of these Finals' decisive game, that it was a team failure. Fair enough, but there comes a time in a great player's career when letting the game come to him isn't enough. A point guard's jersey needs to be grabbed, and the big guy needs to demand the damn ball.

Duncan's agreeable personality may be what it is – "You can't make people change," Manu Ginobili said – and his points and rebounds normally may come from the flow of the game.

But that isn't enough right now. The Spurs are on the cusp of again blowing the playoffs. They are only a Robert Horry rescue job from having already done it.

In each of the last four games, in the biggest of moments, the biggest of the Spurs has done little.

"I need to be assertive," Duncan said. "But I don't need to be overly assertive."

Actually, he does. This is no time for Mr. Nice Guy. This is no time to let Ginobili or Parker or Horry make the gutsy play. This is no time because there is no time left for Duncan to struggle and slide.

This is where, as the marketing slogan claims, "Legends Are Born."

On Thursday, Tim Duncan – the great Tim Duncan – can decide which way his legend is headed.

[chain]

hmm.. have to find a way to watch Game 7 tomorrow.. walang TV sa office!!

[ILuvDetailing]

dehadista: La bang resto diyan na may TV?

Dapat manalo Pistons, nakasalalay ang Tapsilog at softdrinks hehehe...

[chain]

ILD: mukhang ganun na nga. takas muna ako sa Office then punta sa resto.. hehehe

[Karding]

Did you guys see Bruce Bowen take a swipe at Rips face mask? hehehe ibabato na sana ni Rip kay Bowen yung bola tinapik lang ni Parker kundi malamang natechnical na si Rip...

tapos naka step pa si Rip off the line kaya SPURS' ball, hehehe. Natanggal ang mask and the ref cant stop the play kaya binigay ni Rip sa sideline ang mask nya. Luckily, the clock was set to 50 secs left and it should read 5.00mins left. Ayun, nagkaron ng time si Rip para maisuot ang mask..hehe.

ILD, wala na kong pusta. Minamalas Pistons kapag may pusta ako..hehe

[ILuvDetailing]

Ayun, nagkaron ng time si Rip para maisuot ang mask..hehe.

Di na niya sinuot yung face mask niya for the rest of the game, sa sobrang bad trip siguro :bwahaha:

Minamalas Pistons kapag may pusta ako..hehe

:bwahaha:

[silverbx986]

silverbox: Magkano ba pusta niyo ni karding?

hindi nga nakapusta e. panalo sana. di ko na makita kse yung bookie ko...hehe

sarap ng laban mamayang gabi.