NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 8, 2005

Tim Duncan

TIM DUNCAN: Yeah, it's helped it tremendously. It's good to have a little time off in between, not only myself but Manu had a couple dings and Tony with his knee hurting a little bit. So just a lot of different guys with things, so time to heal, it was a good little break. You have to fight against the rust and whatever else, but I think we'll break through that pretty soon and really get back into our flow.

TIM DUNCAN: Yeah, I don't know what to say about that, just trying not to think about it as much as possible. It happened, kind of a freak thing and hopefully it will never happen again.

TIM DUNCAN: Their entire team are a bunch of great defenders because they really work as a unit. I think Ben and Rasheed do an exceptional job with that because they are so active and they help each other on the weak side. They are both very good weak side shot blockers, and they use that defensive ability to really help each other. So you can't just account for one, you can't just say, "okay, I know where one guy is and I can work on him." You also have to open keep your eye open for the other guy coming in. That in itself is a big challenge.

TIM DUNCAN: No, not at all. Not at all. Antonio is an exceptional guy. I can't believe he is where he is and playing the way he is. He's gone through so much, and from the minor injuries that I've had, my knee scope and my ankle problems throughout the year, and just getting back on the floor and trying to regain that confidence, I can't imagine going through something that major and getting back on the court and trying to regain the confidence of your body and your movements and people around you and all of that. It's amazing what he's done.

TIM DUNCAN: His athleticism, he understands defense, he understands the game, so he'll -- he's a strong defender, but he uses his length, he uses his jumping ability and he can get away from your body and really affect shots. Just accounting for his body and trying to take away some of that, that spring, and as I said, he understands what he's doing with it, so he allows himself the space and the ability to recover.

TIM DUNCAN: I don't consider him an X-factor. He's a huge part of what they do. I don't think you can consider a guy like that an X-factor. He's an integral part of them winning and last year, I think you can rule out the X-factor talk. He's a part of their team, he needs to play well for them to play well and that's just the bottom line.

TIM DUNCAN: No. I appreciated those years for what they were. I appreciated them at the time. I've always wanted to get back The Finals and have another opportunity to win. Things happen, you go through situations, you're not going to win every game, whether it be every season or in a situation in the Olympics. Unfortunate situation. But I don't expect to win everything. I want to give myself the best opportunity and be in the best situation to challenge for a title, challenge for something like that. But I don't expect to win, so I appreciate it as it is now, being here now and being in the moment.

TIM DUNCAN: Very similar. I think the major difference is the personnel. They do it different because of the different guys that they have with Rasheed and Ben anchoring it, and a lot of the big bodies that they have anchoring their defense. We do a lot of the same with us, but they also have some big guards, some big, strong guards. I don't think we have the same principles, but we do predicate a lot of what we do on making stops and being able to limit people's offense.

TIM DUNCAN: Absolutely. We have not only them playing that much better, but the understanding of our offense, the execution of our offense is a lot better. And it's not just coming down and throwing it to me and making things happen. We're moving the ball, we're pushing up the floor, we're running. Tony and Manu are both exceptional offensive players, but you get people in there like Bruce in the corners and Rob and Brent and guys that can really shoot the ball, they can create for other people, and I think that's what we've been relying on this entire post-season, really getting to the point where our execution and our ball movement makes everybody a weapon.

TIM DUNCAN: Absolutely not, no. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I know I was coming to a great situation, a great opportunity to learn with David (Robinson) and the rest of those guys. But I had no idea that at this point in my career I would have an opportunity to be in the third Finals and try for a third championship. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that. I would have hoped that I would be at some point be able to get there and win one. You look at guys that have been in the league for ten, 12, 14 years, and have never been The Finals or never won a championship. And you understand that it's not given to you, it's not something that as soon as you get here, it's promised to you. And in that, that's why I appreciate and I love being in this situation now because I know it's not always going to be here.

TIM DUNCAN: Same thing he always brings, just that focus, that intensity on defense where he locks in on someone, whether it be Rip or someone else. It doesn't really matter. He's going to lock in on that guy and he's going to do his best job and he's going to make adjustments throughout the game because I think Rip is one of the best at making adjustments in the game, with his activity, with his movement, he's not going to let a defender lock into him and play one way. I think Bruce is able to make those adjustments, also.