The magnitude of Tim Duncans contributions over his 19-year career are every bit as remarkable as the announcement of his retirement on Monday was understated: Duncan collected five titles with the San Antonio Spurs and 1,001 regular-season victories, all with the same team in a small basketball outpost held over from the ABA-NBA merger.In an era defined by athleticism, Duncan was a master of mechanics. While contemporaries built careers on defying gravity, Timmy deked opponents with jab steps, shoulder fakes and line-drive bank shots, with both feet on the ground. He didnt captivate fans or sponsors with his exploits or charm them with charisma. He was wholly uninterested in the salesmanship required to build a personal brand and didnt give the NBA and its marketers much to work with as the league harnessed its star power to expand its global reach.For Duncan, the postgame podium wasnt a platform, but a sentence.Yet something improbable happened while he was slinking out of the Spurs locker room and dodging the spotlight:Inside the league, Tim Duncan became the most influential player of his generation. Though he had little public appeal outside central Texas over his two decades in the league, Duncan ushered in cultural change in NBA practice facilities, locker rooms and executive suites.The present-day NBA has become singularly consumed with the adoption and implementation of organizational culture. Forever looking for competitive advantages, franchises have turned to workplace culture as a bulwark. We might not be able to attract a top-line free agent, or hit the jackpot in the draft, but there are 44 games in an NBA season that can be won if we value the right things.This is the leagues guiding principle in 2016, from Atlanta and Salt Lake City to Oklahoma City and Brooklyn, where disciples of the Tim Duncan era learned the art and science of team-building in San Antonio. Theyve applied the findings and sculpted them to suit a particular roster or market. Some have enjoyed modest success while others are just getting started. But try as they might to replicate the Spurs recipe, all of them are forced to concede at a certain juncture that theyre missing one essential ingredient:They dont have Tim Duncan.We walk into our houses and thank Tim Duncan, Atlanta Hawks head coach and longtime Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer says. You think about all the coaches and all the GMs and even the assistant video guys who are now assistant coaches, all the people who have climbed the NBA ladder -- we all owe our success, our place in the league to Timmy.The magnitude of that, the number of people in this league who have enjoyed opportunity or found fortunate spots in the league, you can trace it back to this one guy -- to the way Timmy played ball and the conducted himself. The culture is Timmy.Kevin Durant was a credible leader during his tenure with the Thunder -- a founding father of the program, in the words of general manager Sam Presti. Begrudging a first-rate star like Durant the opportunity to forge his own professional path is unwarranted, but his departure from Oklahoma City underscores a truth that owners and execs learn sooner or later. An organizations culture can shield it from disaster, but that culture is only as strong as its leading player.Thats why more measured voices in the Golden State Warriors wince when they read about their owner taking a victory lap for an organizational structure thats light years ahead. Its why every Spurs alum now in a senior managerial role elsewhere understands theres a limit to what infrastructure can do for a team absent a transcendent leader on the roster.And its why Gregg Popovich said a couple of years ago, Before you start handing out applause and credit to anyone else in this organization for anything thats been accomplished, remember it all starts with and goes through Timmy. As soon as he [retires], Ill be 10 steps behind. Because Im not stupid.Theres an ethic of reticence in San Antonio, where Duncan managed to shroud himself in mystery for 19 years. I dont feel comfortable putting myself out there, he told me in 2013. Im just a basketball player. I play the game. I go home. Confidants describe the public relations part of the job as torture for Duncan, an affront to the game. The periphery of the NBA life, everything outside the practice facility, is nonsense.Trying to be something that youre not gets you out of your comfort zone, Duncan said then. Im not that guy. I did a little bit of that. Ive done my share of it, but Im just not that guy. I dont think of myself in that respect. I love playing basketball and thats what I want to do. I dont need the extra stuff.But in the Spurs day-to-day operations, Duncans emotional intelligence was the connective tissue that held together Popovichs disciplined structure. Duncan would readily pass the mantle to Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, then celebrate their success as if it was his own.The thing that amazed me about how Timmy built relationships was how subtle it was -- the touch, the arm around the shoulder, the thing that would look like little or nothing to outsiders, Budenholzer says. It affected people, maybe because it was subtle and under-the-radar.Blake Griffin, who has admired the way Duncan carries himself, sought out Duncans counsel a few years back. Griffin was part of a Los Angeles Clippers team that now had several loud voices and wanted to glean how quiet leadership could make a difference. The thing I took away the most was this idea that a leader isnt the guy whos pounding the chest, or huddles or giving motivational speech, Griffin says. It was really reassuring to me as a younger guy, that you dont have to be something youre not. Of many things you can say about him, thats the thing that sets him apart -- he never tried to see who wasnt. And it works.At any time, theres always the one guy theyll use as an example. Maybe its Russell Wilson for a year or two. Then they move on to Tom Brady or [Kevin Garnett]. But [Duncan] has been the guy you constantly hear about whos constantly doing it right. Hes the guy who deserved the shine, but was riding underneath it.For a man who was so inaccessible to those looking in from the outside, Tim Duncan was an everyman. Most of our lives and careers emulate Duncans: We do the work quietly and diligently and dont have much cause to glory-hound. The job is the job, and if youre lucky, you do it because you love it, but not for any external affirmation, other than you want your partner, family and friends to be proud because its nice to be admired by the people in the world you care most about.Tim Duncan invented the NBAs modern vision of team culture. Now the rest of basketball is trying to imitate the guy nobody found fashionable. Fake Vans Cheap . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. Fake Vans . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. https://www.vansfake.com/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Fake Vans From China . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Fake Vans Website .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. TORONTO -- Before the Cleveland Indians could even consider giving the ball to Andrew Miller, their bullpen faced a daunting task in the very first inning.After Trevor Bauers bloody exit , these remarkable relievers had to stitch together almost an entire game against the Toronto Blue Jays.Four outs apiece for Dan Otero and Jeff Manship. Three for Zach McAllister. Five each for winner Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen.After all that, Cleveland finally turned to Miller, who was overpowering again in closing out a 4-2 victory that moved the Indians within one win of their first pennant since 1997.If anybody has a hiccup, we probably lose, manager Terry Francona said Monday night after his team took a 3-0 lead in the AL Championship Series. They all made pitches against some really good hitters.Jason Kipnis and Mike Napoli homered for the Indians, unbeaten in six playoff games this year. They can complete their second consecutive series sweep on Tuesday.In the bullpens most impressive feat yet this October, six relievers combined for 25 outs and 128 pitches while limiting Toronto to two runs and seven hits. Miller got four outs for the save.The bullpen was unbelievable, Bauer said. Co-MVP to everybody.Indians ace Corey Kluber is scheduled to start Game 4 on short rest after Bauers drone-related finger injury created more upheaval in a rotation thats been short-handed all postseason. Bauer faced four batters before getting pulled when his stitched-up right pinkie began dripping blood.Enter those stingy relievers, who pitched the Indians to a Division Series sweep over Boston and have them on the verge of another. Cleveland is one win from its sixth World Series appearance.The hard-hitting Blue Jays have mustered only three runs in the series and have never led.We felt like we had an opportunity with some of their lower-leverage guys coming out of the bullpen, but theyve got good arms, Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar said. It makes it tough when youre facing a different guy every inning, every at-bat.Kipnis led off the sixth with a home run to right-center field for a 3-2 edge, and Jose Ramirez added an RBI single. Suddenly, the Indians were just a few outs from being able to turn the game over to Allen and Miller.They appeared in that order, yet another instance in which Francona maneuvered his bullpen unencumbered by rigid roles.It was all hands on deck, Miller said.Allen, who usually closes, entered in the seventh with a runner on and nobody out. A two-out walk to Jose Bautista put the potential tying run on, but Josh Donaldsons liner to left field stayed up long enough for Coco Crisp to make a sliding catch .Miller fanned three of five batters, giving him 20 strikeouts in nine playoff innings this year. The lanky left-hander has allowed five hits over 17 1/3 scoreless innings in his postseasoon career.ddddddddddddTito did a masterful job running that bullpen today, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. They shut us down.Cleveland has won nine straight dating to the regular season.Napoli entered 2 for 18 this postseason and in an 0-for-25 slump against right-handers dating to the regular season. He opened the scoring with an RBI double off righty Marcus Stroman in the first -- Napolis long fly popped out of Bautistas glove before both the ball and Bautista bounced off the right-field wall.Bauer made it through only 21 pitches. Hed been pushed back two days to Game 3 after cutting his finger last week repairing one of the drones he enjoys flying as a hobby. He received 10 stitches and tried to pitch, but couldnt make it far without blood dripping from his hand.Trevor got a little leak, Kipnis said. A couple of us had seen the wound kind of inside and knew it was a possibility of happening. He can deal with the pain, but its getting something like that to close up. Its hard to do in a short amount of time.Its yet another injury problem for a Cleveland team that couldnt include ailing starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar on its ALCS roster.Even with the Indians up 3-0, their rotation for the rest of this series isnt a sure thing. Kluber is set to come back for Game 4 (and presumably a potential Game 7) on short rest, and lightly used rookie Ryan Merritt is lined up for Game 5.Michael Saunders homered early for Toronto. Ezequiel Carrera tripled leading off the fifth and scored on Ryan Goins grounder to tie it 2-all.Kipnis answered with a home run, his first hit of the series.Stroman took the loss after allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings.Weve still got one more to get there, and its going to be tough, Kipnis said. We know these guys. Just kind of like the Boston series -- we dont want to wait around for them to figure it out. We want to get to them now.BLOOD WORKFrancona was Curt Schillings manager with Boston during the famous bloody-sock game against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.TRAINERS ROOMFrancona said Salazar (forearm) was progressing well after throwing to hitters Sunday night.MILLER TIMEMiller has struck out 20 of 33 batters in these playoffs and 30 of 60 in his postseason career.EXTRA EFFORTCleveland relievers have pitched at least 7 1/3 innings five times since Aug. 18, with the Indians winning four of those games.UP NEXTKluber has never started on three days rest in his major league career, but Francona said before Mondays game that was the plan for Game 4 if Bauer had problems with his finger. Toronto will start AL ERA leader Aaron Sanchez, who allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings against Texas in Game 3 of the ALDS. ' ' '
