Web Posted: 10/02/2009 12:00 CDT
In camp, paths of Spurs' Big Three diverge
By Jeff McDonald- Express-News

All along, Tony Parker knew there would be a price to pay for his summertime spent with the French national team.

Even while he was still in Poland, piling up minutes in the EuroBasket tournament earlier this month, he knew what would happen once he returned to the team that pays his bills.

He knew Mike Brungardt, the Spurs' strength and conditioning coach, would be here waiting to dole out the penance for Parker's summer abroad.

“You know I love to stay with ‘Brunge,'” Parker said, with the appropriate amount of sarcasm.

Throughout the first four days of practices, Parker has spent quite a bit of time off the floor and in the weight room with Brungardt, recovering from the wear and tear of an international competition that ended not long before Spurs camp started this week. In that, it is similar to the schedule Parker kept the last time he spent a summer withLes Bleus in 2007.

Meanwhile, the other two-thirds of the Spurs' so-called “Big Three” are in different stages of their preparations for the regular season.

Manu Ginobili spent the first half of his offseason recovering from a stress fracture that ended his 2008-09 campaign short of the playoffs. He didn't see a basketball court until about the time Parker finally stepped off one in Poland.

Tim Duncan began his summertime regimen a month later this season, giving his sore knees an extra few weeks to heal. Like Ginobili, he entered training camp in good health, but not quite in game-ready shape.

“I'll use the preseason for that,” Duncan said.

So far, the camp experience has been different for each of the Spurs' three most important players.

Parker has had his prescribed “Brunge time.” Ginobili has had his minutes monitored closely, occasionally sitting out all or parts of a workout. Duncan has yet to be limited at all.

“Everything in a way is by the seat of the pants,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “Every day will be a little different. They're all on a different schedule. The object will be to have all of them fresh come playoff time.”

Indeed, despite the copious amount of ink spilled on the Spurs' offseason additions, the bulk of their championship hopes still rests on the health of their Big Three.

Since last winning the title in 2007, the Spurs have now gone two consecutive postseasons without their talented triumvirate at 100 percent.

Ginobili was hobbled during the 2008 playoffs, and missed last year's postseason entirely. Meanwhile, Duncan played with knee pain from the All-Star break on.

In order to avoid a recurrence, Duncan postponed the start of his usual summer workout routine, waiting until August to commence a program meant to promote strength and flexibility in his knees.

He eschewed running the hill behind the team's practice facility and the throwing of truck tires — a virtual tradition of the Spurs' offseason program — in favor of more time in the swimming pool. For cardio, he sparred with former prizefighting champion “Jesse” James Leija.

“I got smacked around pretty good,” Duncan said.

Thanks to a focused offseason routine, and an increased attention to his diet, Duncan arrived at camp 15 pounds lighter, determined to mitigate the mighty pounding his 33-year-old knees are sure to take during an 82-game NBA season.

“Hopefully, I can survive through more of the season, and my body can hold up a little better,” Duncan said.

That's a prayer Ginobili might find himself uttering as well. The most injury-addled stretch of his career behind him, Ginobili has dazzled during the early going at training camp.

Then there is Parker who, despite the pre-camp prescription for rest, has occasionally found a way to worm his way out of the weight room and into actual basketball drills.

Still, Parker knows there is still some tedium to come. It's the price he has to pay.

“I'm not going to play the first two or three games of the preseason,” Parker said. “I'll start slowly and then get back to a normal rhythm.”



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