Tim Duncan being missed in San Antonio Spurs offense – NBA Feature
The San Antonio Spurs have changed their game over the years from being a defence driven team to now being an offense oriented team. Gregg Popovich is arguably the best coach in the NBA today, and the way he has kept the Spurs franchise alive over the past
decade is appraisable to say the least.
Popovich realized before time that he needed to switch gears in his philosophy and team identity, and quickly went and got himself good jump shooters to play around Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. And the result is that this season, the Spurs are one of the
best passing teams in the NBA and also averaging a very high percentage from the field.
Tony Parker has taken the role of the play maker and captain on the court, with Ginobili coming off the bench to add his explosiveness to the game. But in the midst of all of this, the spotlight seems to have been taken away from Tim Duncan, the veteran
forward of the Spurs.
Duncan is no longer the centre around which all San Antonio offences are created. And the game plan seemed to be working for Gregg Popovich and the Spurs throughout the season and into the playoffs. But the Spurs have now come face to face with an opponent
that is even more relentless in offense than the Spurs. The Oklahoma City Thunder have the Western Conference Finals tied at 2 games apiece. They have just defeated the Spurs in back to back games. And after a long time, the Spurs are feeling the absence of
Tim Duncan.
Duncan had 21 points going 9 of 17 from the field in game 4 against the Thunder. But his 21 points did not create a big impact in the game, and his 17 field goal attempts were quite less for a player of his stature in a game that important. In the series
so far, Duncan is shooting 38% from the field after managing to score 47% in the first round against the Utah Jazz and 59% in the second round against the Los Angeles Clippers. Duncan has been absent from the game in the series so far. On the other hand, Serge
Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins had career night in game 4 against the Spurs. Ibaka was a perfect 11 for 11 for a career high 26 points and Perkins finished with 15 points.
As the playoffs reach their end, team’s reliance on role players and bench depth gets limited, with the best they can contribute is an edge over the other team in a particular aspect of the game. In such games where the stakes are high, players become stars
with their performances. And Duncan has given many such performances in his long and illustrious career which has made him the star he is.
However, if the Spurs want to make another trip to the NBA Finals, Duncan needs to give a few of those performances one more time. He is being missed in the Spurs offense, and needs to take command of the game the way he has done over the many playoff games
he has played in the course of his career. Duncan needs to be at his best, contributing to the team in a big way and controlling the game, just like Kevin Garnett is still doing in Boston, if the Spurs want to defeat the Thunder and eventually win an NBA Championship.
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