Tim Duncan: “We know we have a heck of a series on our hands”
By David MacKay
Mar 12, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) posts up against Portland Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez (42) during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 103-90. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
The following has been transcribed from an interview between San Antonio media and Spurs power forward Tim Duncan that took place on Monday, May 5th, 2014. Video of the conversation can be found here, on nba.com.
"MEDIA: You know LaMarcus [Aldridge] looks up to you a lot. Is it going to be cool to play against him and teach him a few things?DUNCAN: I don’t know if there is anything to teach him. He is playing as well as anyone right now, had a great last series, and he’s played well against us. He’s going to be a tough one. Look up to or not, he’s going to be a tough one to handle and let’s hope we can contain him as much as we can.MEDIA: I forget, did you work out with him coming out of college at all, just, informally or anything?DUNCAN: Hm-mm.MEDIA: Are you impressed with the way he’s grown over the years? I mean, has he just shot up?DUNCAN: Yeah, yeah he has. He’s evolved over the years and changed his game a bit. He’s really in a groove right now where he’s comfortable with what he does. He’s good at what he does and he’s playing, as I said, about as good as anyone right now.MEDIA: What are the similarities and differences that he’ll present that you guys saw from Dirk [Nowitzki] in this last series?DUNCAN: Umm.. A lot of the ISO stuff. He’s an excellent mid-range shooter. I don’t think he’ll stretch as far as dirk, although he’s capable of that and he’s good off the dribble too. So he’s a lot like Dirk but I think he brings another element to the game. He’s a little bit more of a post-up player than Dirk is.MEDIA: Is that what makes him so tough? The fact that if you take away his space he can put the ball on the floor?DUNCAN: Yeah, yeah he can attack from just about any… aspect. He runs the floor very well, too, to finish at the rim. He’s a big lob guy too, so he extends the floor that way as well. He does just about everything. He’s had a great year."
Apr 25, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) drives past Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) during the second quarter in game three of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
"MEDIA: Something that… you… There are no back-to-back games in this so you may actually get to suit up for the games in Portland? There have been a lot of games over the last few years you haven’t.DUNCAN: Yeah, yeah it’s been weird how it’s work out that way, but yeah, it’s going to be a tough series and I think we both went through a pretty grueling first round series, but we’re all going to be ready to go and we’re all going to be ready to lace them up again and see what happens.MEDIA: This has nothing to do with this series, but the last time you guys played Portland I seem to recall Sean Elliott made a pretty important shot. Do you have any recollection of that moment?DUNCAN: Yeah, that was a couple years ago [laughter]. I was there. That was a couple years back.MEDIA: Have you ever seen a player milk one moment for 15 years? [laughter]DUNCAN: If you know Sean, then you know that’s exactly what he does.MEDIA: You said that those guys might matchup with y’all too. What do you think y’all can do to bring the advantage against that team?DUNCAN: Same things we always do. We’re going to move the ball and we’re going to attack with every person we have on the floor and try to move their bodies around, try to wear them out. We’re going to have to do something. We’ll do what we’ve done all year long: try to use our system and our team to beat them.MEDIA: You guys played a young up-and-coming Warriors team in the playoffs last year that had kind of been there for the first time [the second round]. Are there any similarities to the energy of a series like the Blazers you face now?DUNCAN: Yeah, yeah there’s a lot there. I think this team is built differently. I think they both can score the ball real well. I think these guys are a little more physical, a little bigger, a little longer, but they’re going to come in here and they’re really excited to be here and they feel it’s their time and everything else, so we know we have a heck of a series on our hands. It’s going to be a tough one. That’s all I can say about that.MEDIA: If you had to guess, how do you think they are going to defend you? Similar to the Mavericks?DUNCAN: Me? I don’t have to worry about me.MEDIA: I’m talking about the team.DUNCAN: Yeah, like I said, they’re very long. They have a lot of size and some very good perimeter defenders. I think in years past they’ve had some of their bigger guys on Tony [Parker]; [Nicolas] Batum and [Wesley] Matthews on Tony and with a lot of the weak side help that they have with [Robin] Lopez and Aldridge, so they’re very long and they’re very capable.MEDIA: Thanks"