Hubbard: In One Sense, Duncan has the Advantage of Age

The leading men would never admit this, but is there any athlete in the world who is currently in a better position than 37-year-old Tim Duncan? You’ve got to think anyone would like to trade places with him, even LeBron James. And it has nothing to do with Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs having a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals over James and the Miami Heat.

Duncan is blessed with something that largely eludes every other athlete in general and James in particular. Because even if he and the Spurs fold completely, Duncan has a built-in excuse.

He’s old.

The beauty of the excuse is that he doesn’t have to make for himself, and, of course, he’s too classy and competitive to ever admit such a thing, anyway.

But there is a large segment of the media ready and willing to make the excuse for him. Here’s how hung up the basketball-covering media is with Duncan’s age. During one of the pre-game TV shows before Game 1 of the series, one of the analysts – obviously a very knowledgeable observer, but still one who fell into the trap – said he didn’t think Duncan could keep up the pace of a seven-game series.

Again, Game 1 had not tipped off. Yet Duncan’s age was already a negative.

Is that great for Duncan, or what? If he continues to play well and the Spurs win the series, he will be praised for his contributions. And if the Heat come back and win, Duncan will not be criticized because, well, he’s too old.

“We’re here to win,” Duncan said after Game 1. “It doesn’t matter how we’re categorized. Old, veterans, whatever it may be. We’re in the mix right now.”

Now here is the very funny thing about the series: No one has bothered to to employ the basic math fundamentals — addition and division. Because if they did, they would find this out.

Average age of Spurs starting lineup: 28.4 years.

Average age of Heat starting lineup: 29.4 years.

Yes, it is true the 35-year-old Manu Ginobili comes off the bench for the Spurs, but so does 37-year-old Ray Allen for the Heat.

If you look at both teams as a whole, the ages are similar. It should not be an excuse, a negative or an advantage for either team. But you can be sure if the Spurs get behind or lose the series, it will dominate the discussion.

Age is a ticklish topic in sports. Where else can 30-something individuals be criticized for their age by writers and broadcasters in their 40s, 50s and 60s? That occurred in Dallas for several years, particularly in the case of Jason Kidd. It got so bad that at one point, a writer who was in his late 60s referred to Kidd as “ancient.” Even if the writer had been in his 20s, it would have been silly criticism.

Like Duncan, Kidd ignored the barbs and played brilliantly in the Mavericks’ championship run. Along the way, Kidd utilized his uncommon strength and gave the Mavericks quality minutes, even guarding the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and James for key stretches of games.

Like the Spurs, the Mavericks had been characterized as a team that was too old. But at the end of the playoffs, Kidd and the Mavericks had a championship. And Kidd looked pretty spry at age 37.

It is so strange that smart basketball people are so hung up on the Spurs age; Duncan’s in particular. The Spurs have a nice blend of youth and for the last few years, head coach Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford have followed a plan to develop guys like Danny Green, Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal. They made a nice trade sending George Hill to Indiana in order to get Kawhi Leonard, who is still only 21 – and who, of course, lowers the average age of the starting lineup considerably.

No one is better than Pop at juggling minutes and he’s so good at it that it cost the Spurs $250,000 in November. That’s when Pop sent Duncan, Ginobili, Tony Parker and Green home before the last game of a road trip at Miami so they could rest.

David Stern fined the team a quarter of a million for that, but Stern was the victim not only of receiving bad information, but also not paying attention and not understanding how Pop has coached the Spurs the last few years.

Stern still contends that Popovich was involved in gamesmanship with the Heat and that was the reason the players were not available for a game that was on TNT, which is a major sin in the Stern administration. You can mess with a lot of things, but not TV partners.

The reality is, however, that Popovich has not cared for years about the regular season. He knows the Spurs are going to make the playoffs, but it doesn’t matter to him if they have 63, 55 or even 45 wins. If they have 45 wins and are playing well and healthy entering the playoffs, Popovich is happy. If Miami sweeps them 2-0 in the regular season, Pop could not care less.

This is worth saying again:

Pop does not care about the regular season record.

He cares about winning a championship, and every move he makes is designed to make sure his team has the best possible chance to succeed. If that means resting players for a TNT game and getting fined, Pop will do it. And if Stern and his lieutenants had been paying attention the last few years, they would have seen that holding the players out against Miami was to help the players and was consistent with the way Pop has coached for years.

That approach by Popovich is another reason that Tim Duncan’s age does not matter. Neither does Ginobili’s or Parker’s. The only thing that matters is that they don’t pull a hamstring, sprain a knee or roll an ankle. Because by carefully monitoring minutes and strategically resting his players during the year, Pop has put them in position to win another championship.

(RELATED: TO KEEP BUILDING HIS OWN DYNASTY, LeBRON MUST DEFEAT ANOTHER)

The focus on Duncan’s age will continue, however.

If the Spurs lose, Duncan’s age will be prominently mentioned as a factor.

It’s not the same for James. Even if Dwyane Wade is not at 100 percent and Chris Bosh is inconsistent, James will ultimately be blamed. If the Heat lose, it will be portrayed as James’ fault. It probably will not be fair, but it’s reality.

Unlike Duncan, James is simply not old enough to have an excuse that others will make for him.

CHECK OUT JAN HUBBARD’S ARCHIVE FROM SHERIDAN HOOPS.COM. TERRIFIC STUFF ON THE NBA, PAST AND PRESENT.

Jan Hubbard has written about basketball since 1976 and worked in the NBA league office for eight years between media stints. Follow him on Twitter at @whyhub.