Duncan Laughs Off Dirks Comment
Kate Hairopoulos
Dallas Morning News
Tim Duncan - of course - didn't bite on questions at this morning's shootaround at the AAC about what the Mavs have been mouthing off about lately.
Duncan was actually downright funny when told about Dirk Nowitzki's comments yesterday defending teammate Erick Dampier and then casually mentioning that San Antonio has a dirty player - whom Nowitzki didn't name.
"Was he talking about me?" Duncan deadpanned.
"Was he talking about Tony [Parker]?"
"You're going to have to specify who he was talking about."
A reporter mentioned Bruce Bowen, the Spurs' feisty defender with a much publicized dirty rep.
"Oh, Bruce. I didn't think about him," Duncan said. "I'll have to think about that and get back to you."
Duncan also shared his wisdom on why he's not worried about whatever adjustments the Mavs try to make in defending Parker tonight - whether they knock him on his back or not, as Dampier famously alluded to on Monday.
"Tony can take care of himself," Duncan said. "He's alright. He's a big tough guy...
"Not just scoring the ball, he's become more intelligent as a basketball player, just understanding what's available. He'll adjust accordingly to what they do tonight. If they try to take him out of the game he'll attack a different way."