One way to make sure Tim Duncan is at his most effective is to keep his minutes down. That's happening, as the future Hall of Famer is averaging a career low in minutes.
Another is keeping the two-time MVP in the post more often. Duncan has always had a solid jumper for a 7-footer, but his bread-and-butter through 14 years has been working on the block.
Duncan has made a conscious effort on getting around the basket and using his quickness, which has led to more free throws lately as slower big men are forced to foul. Duncan had gotten to the line 20 times in the three games before Monday's 89-84 victory at Memphis.
"I'm just trying to attack when I get the ball," he said. "I've had some good situations the last couple of games to attack and I've gotten to the free throw line luckily. That's just a big part of it. It helps me get started and it helps me in feeling good, so I just need to get to the free throw line more often."
San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich said getting Duncan into the post more has been by design.
"He feels really good," Popovich said. "He feels like he's got a good balance and that's always a good sign when he wants the ball down on the block.
