Tim Duncan Injury: Updates on Spurs Star's Knee
During last Saturday night's matchup with the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan suffered a scary knee injury and was forced to leave the game.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 11:09 a.m. ET by Alex Kay
Tim Duncan will be in the San Antonio Spurs lineup on Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
This will give TD a little bit of work before his team heads into the All-Star break at the conclusion of this contest.
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UPDATE: Sunday, Feb. 10, at 11:03 a.m. ET by Brandon Galvin
At this point, it's safe to assume Tim Duncan will not return to action until after the All-Star break. San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald has the latest on Duncan's status:
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UPDATE: Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 1:45 p.m. ET by Brandon Galvin
Tim Duncan (knee) will not play tonight when the Spurs battle the Timberwolves, according to MySanAntonio.com's Jeff McDonald.
"Spurs coach Gregg Popovich confirmed after shootaround this morning at the Target Center that his team will open its 11th rodeo road trip without All-Star forward Tim Duncan and key sixth man Manu Ginobili.
Both have been ruled out of tonight’s game in Minnesota with leg injuries and are considered day-to-day as the trip proceeds from here.
"
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UPDATE: Sunday, Feb. 3, at 5:27 p.m. ET by Tim Keeney
ESPN's Brian Windhorst came forth with encouraging news for Spurs fans:
It wouldn't be surprising to see Gregg Popovich play it very safe with Duncan's return, but it appears the star power forward has avoided a major injury.
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UPDATE: Saturday, Feb. 2, at 11:33 p.m. ET by Tim Keeney
According to the Spurs' players, Duncan may have actually walked away from the arena without crutches on Saturday night (via the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald):
San Antonio may have dodged a massive bullet.
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Michael Lee of The Washington Post had the news:
CBS Sports came through with an update:
Finally, NBA.com's Fran Blinebury revealed the official diagnosis:
If the injuries force Duncan to miss an extended period of time, this could be a terrible blow for the Spurs, as the future Hall of Famer is in the midst of a tremendously productive year.
After a dip in numbers the past two seasons, Duncan is averaging 17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.7 blocks per game. He's shooting 50.5 percent from the field and a career-high 82.6 percent from the line.
Even more impressively, he's achieving those gaudy numbers in a mere 30.2 minutes per game.
That puts "The Big Fundamental" on a per-36-minute average of 20.8 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.3 blocks.
Not only are those offensive numbers on par with his late-2000 campaigns, but Duncan is having arguably the best defensive season of his career. His defensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference.com, is a league-leading 94, and his block percentage is at a career-high 6.5.
His worth goes beyond numbers.
The 36-year-old Duncan is a veteran, a leader and an important on-the-court mentor for less-experienced guys like Tiago Splitter and DeJuan Blair.
The Spurs have an incredibly deep and talented squad, but Duncan is a major reason why at 38-11 they have the NBA's best record.
In his absence, Splitter and Boris Diaw will likely soak up a majority of the extra minutes.
We'll be sure to keep you updated as more information becomes available.
