HoopsHype.com Rumors

Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard did not accompany the Spurs on their overnight flight to Minnesota for tonight’s game against the Timberwolves, the team announced Tuesday. San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Injuries, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard 

So Tony, what's it like when Popovich stops by armed with a challenge? Parker chuckled. Fortunately, Popovich didn't want a report on the selected works for Russian poet Sergei Yesenin, or whatever book he was reading at the time. "He just told me 'Timmy (Duncan) and Manu (Ginobili) are getting older, and it's your turn now. You have to carry the team night in, night out. You have to play good every night. You have to be consistent,' " Parker told USA TODAY Sports. "He said 'Good players have a great season one year. But great players have great seasons more than once.' "The belief that he has in me shows a lot of respect and makes me want to go out there and play hard every night." USA Today Sports

San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan 

Forty-five seconds into one of his least favorite All-Star weekend activities, Tim Duncan’s response was interrupted from afar during a mandatory Friday morning session with reporters peppering him with questions both perceptive and inane. “How are you doing, old man,” former Spurs forward Robert Horry shouted across a hotel ballroom overflowing with inquiring minds. “What’s up?” Duncan shouted back to “Big Shot Rob,” the seven-time NBA champion who helped the Spurs win their third and fourth NBA titles in 2005 and 2007 before retiring in 2008, at age 37, after five seasons in silver and black. “Can you still walk?” Horry said, punctuating the question with a cackle. “A little bit,” Duncan said. “Just a little bit, but I’m still younger than you, buddy.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, Robert Horry 

Duncan also credits rigorous adherence to a program of healthy eating and offseason conditioning that has made the 36-year-old lighter and quicker and taken some of the strain off the creaky left knee. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has held him out of games in recent seasons, even when healthy, because he wants him at optimal health for the playoffs. “The only thing we really do, and we’ve done it for a lot of years, is we usually sit down and pick a number for (average) minutes,” Popovich explained. “That’s what we try to stick to for the season. We’ve done that with Timmy, Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili). That’s the one thing we do before the season starts, and we see how close we can stay to that. “As far as what games they play and what games they don’t play, that depends a lot on the nicks and bruises they have and how quickly the games are coming. If there are a lot of back-to-backs or four in five nights or seven in nine days, five in eight days, we try to put some money in the bank for later in the season, so to speak.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan 

Paul Flanner: Robert Horry to Tim Duncan: "What's up old man. You can still walk?" Twitter @Pflanns

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, Robert Horry 

Jordan plays his new favorite trivia game, asking which current players could be nearly as successful in his era. "Our era," he says over and over again, calling modern players soft, coddled and ill-prepared for the highest level of the game. This is personal to him, since he'll be compared to this generation, and since he has to build a franchise with this generation's players. "I'll give you a hint," he says. "I can only come up with four." He lists them: LeBron, Kobe, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki. As he's making his point, Yvette walks into the living room area and, in a tone of voice familiar to every husband who argues sports with his buddies, asks, "You guys need anything?" ESPN.com

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan 

Jeff McDonald: What originally was termed a "sore knee" for Duncan was actually a bone bruise. He re-aggravated it when Martell Webster fell into him. Twitter @JMcDonald_SAEN

San Antonio Spurs, Injuries, Tim Duncan 

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. Duncan, 36, suffered a sore left knee and mildly sprained right ankle in Saturday’s win over Washington, when Wizards forward Martell Webster rolled into the back of his legs. Ginobili, a 34-year-old guard, is dealing with tightness in his left hamstring, which he initially strained in a Jan. 13 victory over the Timberwolves. San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich, Injuries, Tim Duncan 

One thing that comes up whenever the prospect of the Boston Celtics making a move with Kevin Garnett is the fact that he has a no-trade clause, and, thus, can’t be dealt. That’s only partially true. No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, because they can be given only to a player with eight years in the league, four with his current team. Only four players—Garnett, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki—have them. But any of those four could be traded as long as he gives his consent. There’s no telling whether any of those four would actually agree to a trade (presumably, at least Duncan and Bryant never would), but, of course, teams can’t know that unless they inquire. Sporting News

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Trade, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett 

Spurs center/forward Tim Duncan is listed as day-to-day with a sore left knee and mild right ankle sprain after an MRI revealed no structural damage following his injury in Saturday’s victory over Washington. Washington’s Martell Webster rolled into the back of Duncan’s legs late in the first half after his driving shot was blocked by Kawhi Leonard. Duncan, 36, stayed down on the ground for several minutes, clutching his left knee, before he was helped off the floor by teammates Stephen Jackson and DeJuan Blair. San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Injuries, Tim Duncan 

What should have been a Saturday night to celebrate, or at least appreciate, became a night of uncertainty when All-Star forward Tim Duncan crumpled to the floor with 3:54 left in the first half after Wizards forward Martell Webster rolled up on the back of his legs. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Timmy like that before,” Green said. “I’ve seen him hurt before — banged and bumped and bruised — but usually he gets right back up.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Injuries, Tim Duncan 

Washington coach Randy Wittman said he heard Duncan’s injuries were not serious. “I just talked to (the Spurs’) doctors, and they said he’s going to be fine,” Wittman said. San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Injuries, Tim Duncan 

Jeff McDonald: Duncan was in the locker room after the game. Players that talked to him seemed optimistic, but who knows? Twitter @JMcDonald_SAEN

San Antonio Spurs, Injuries, Tim Duncan 

Duncan discovered that a four-day break in mid-February was a tonic for tired legs overworked by a rugged, lockout-shortened schedule. There was no good reason to hope the 2012-13 season would include a spot on the Western Conference roster for the Feb. 17 exhibition in Houston. “I want to play well and want to feel good about what I’m doing on the court,” he said in December, “but I am not going to be unhappy if I don’t make it.” Now that he knows he has been selected as an All-Star for the 14th time in 16 seasons, his Spurs’ teammate, Tony Parker, has given him ample reason to embrace the experience. “It was lonely in Orlando,” said Parker, the lone Spurs participant in the 2012 All-Star Game. “I need my buddy back.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, All Star Game 

There would be seven new All-Stars next month in Houston if the 16 NBA players polled by HoopsHype had their say. Cavs guard Kyrie Irving, Knicks center Tyson Chandler, Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Pacers forward Paul George and Rockets guard James Harden received tremendous support in the voting while Sixers guard Jrue Holiday and Bulls center Joakim Noah squeaked in for the last spots. All-Star veterans like Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh or Paul Pierce also made the list while the usual snubees - Atlanta's Josh Smith, Milwaukee's Monta Ellis, Memphis' Rudy Gay - were left out. HoopsHype

Paul Pierce, Rudy Gay, Chris Bosh, Monta Ellis, Paul George, Tyson Chandler, Josh Smith, James Harden, Joakim Noah, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, All Star Game 

RIDES Magazine recently visited Black Jack Speed Shop—Tim Duncan’s new car and truck customization spot in San Antonio—and spoke with the Spurs big man to learn a little about his cool side gig and relatively newfound love for cars. Check out some photos from RIDES’ shoot with the four-time NBA champion in the gallery above, and read some excerpts from the mag’s sit-down with TD below. SLAM

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan 

WESTERN CONFERENCE Frontcourt: 1. Kevin Durant (OKC) 605,965. 2. Dwight Howard (LAL) 434,168. 3. Blake Griffin (LAC) 307,855. 4. Tim Duncan (SA) 189,577. 5. Pau Gasol (LAL) 139,868. NBCSports.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Kevin Durant, Pau Gasol, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan 

Duncan, Gregg Popovich told media representatives from Boston to Orlando, should not have been excluded last season and is playing even better this season. Duncan intends to put a halt to any and all future stops on Popovich’s Tim-for-All-Star tour. “I will not be campaigning,” he said. “I haven’t heard what Pop’s been saying, but I guess I’ve got to talk to him. “I wouldn’t complain if I’m not on the (All-Star) roster. I want to play well and want to feel good about what I’m doing on the court, but I am not going to be unhappy if I don’t make it.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan 

Like a missed shot or an errant pass in the course of a game, the Spurs say they have moved on from the spate of off-court incidents that have embroiled the club in controversy, real and perceived, for the past two weeks. Others may have found the incidents dramatic, but not Spurs coach Gregg Popovich or his players. “It’s drama to other people, but things happen and we move on,” Popovich said after his team’s morning shootaround for tonight’s game against the Rockets at Toyota Center. “We don’t even discuss it. Nobody even talks about it. “We don’t worry about any of it. I don’t bring it up. Players don’t bring it up. It’s like when you’re in a game. You make a mistake and you move on. You miss a shot and you move on. Something off the court happens and you move on.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan 

Duncan said the meeting was routine, without a hint of animus from Crawford. Not a word was said about the photo that went viral after it first surfaced on Deadspin.com, which proclaims itself a site “without access, favor or discretion.” “I will never reference it with him,” Duncan said. “It’s not a situation that I ever expected would get out or never expected anybody to make a big deal out of, so I’m not going to.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, Referees, Joey Crawford