Spurs Notes: Writing a Premature Epitaph for Duncan / Tony Parker - Eva Longoria

Update 11/17: There is a new report today from SI.com that Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are divorcing.  After a day yesterday where rumors abounded that they were filing for a divorce in Texas, there is confirmation that she did, in fact, petition for a divorce and the reinstatement of her pre-marriage name in California today.
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David Robinson is the all-time Spurs leading scorer with 20,790 points.  Close behind and creeping ever closer is Tim Duncan, who currently sits at 20,762.  (To be fair, Duncan has 3914 playoff points to Robinson's 2221, plus three more rings, so while he really already has more points, but that's not how the records are kept.)  In pursuit of the regular-season Spurs points title, Duncan registered the following three boxscores:

• 11/10 vs. Clippers:  6 points, 3/7 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
• 11/12 vs. Sixers:  7 points, 2/9 FG, 3/3 FT
• 11/14 at Thunder:  6 points, 2/7 FG, 4 rebounds 3 blocks

Not exactly rolling along like gangbusters, eh?  Those look more like Dampier numbers than Duncan numbers.  But consider the following mitigating factors here before we send the greatest power forward in NBA history out to pasture:

1)  Duncan had the flu and Popovich limited his playing time to an average of 23 minutes in the three games.  While the shooting numbers and rebounding totals weren't great, Duncan's plus/minus ratings for the three games were +15, +28, and +5.  And that leads to...

2)  The Spurs won all three games.  Do you think that Popovich and Duncan care about anything else but cranking out the W's?  If they win, they're happy -- hence the nickname 'Big Fundamental'.

3)  It's okay to defer to the guards.  In the first three quarters of the game against the Sixers, the Spurs starting backcourt of Parker and Ginobili outscored the Philly tandem of Jrue Holiday and  Evan Turner by a margin of 42-2. Parker and Ginobili shot 16-of-23 while Holiday and Turner went 1-of-12 from the field.  When things are going that well, Duncan is wise to defer to the hot hands of his teammates.

Don't count out the Duncan and the Spurs yet.  Adding another year to Duncan's resume doesn't make him any scarier to his playoff opponents.  But there are so many other factors that will make the Spurs dangerous this year:  extra time in the Spurs' system for Jefferson, the health of Parker and Ginobili, added playing experience for youngsters George Hill and DeJuan Blair, and the acquisition of pivot-man Tiago Splitter.  The Spurs could still be the most dangerous threat to the Lakers in the Western Conference.

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And while we're on the topic of the Spurs, TMZ is reporting that Tony Parker and Eva Longoria are divorcing.  While those rumors swirl, their representatives are making vigorous denials.  Either way, I get to include one of my favorite photo sequences of all-time: Parker, Longoria, and soccer player Thierry Henry at a US/France exhibition game.

Aaah. Those crazy Frenchmen.  (I can relate.  Despite the tile of the blog, my heritage is French/Portuguese.)  I don't think Thierry was looking for his car keys.