Buck Harvey: For Denver, Baby has to grow more
Web Posted: 04/24/2007 12:13 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Tim Duncan should be the man against a player whose name, when translated from Portuguese into English, is baby.
Duncan should throw his weight around against someone who lost almost 40 pounds this season, and Duncan should scare a young player still skittish after knee surgery.
Duncan should, and most will expect that Wednesday night.
But nothing is guaranteed, not with Nenê involved. He grew up this season within the span of a 24-second shot clock, and even those around the league aren’t sure what they are watching.
“He can still be a flop,” said one coach, “or he can be great.”
Sunday he was somewhere in between. Nenê muscled Duncan off the blocks, and in the fourth quarter he made a handful of defensive plays that George Karl was still talking about Monday.
His stats weren’t All-Star stuff, and the numbers don’t equal those on the contract the Nuggets gave him. Nenê really didn’t do much more than what Kenyon Martin did against Duncan two years ago in Game 1.
But Nenê’s play in the opener should scare the Spurs, because what he showed could be just a start. Earlier this season, after all, most in the NBA wondered if he was, well, just a baby.
The story of the legal name change is worth retelling, partly because of how he got his given name. Each of his parents took turns picking letters until a name was formed; he was then Maybyner Rodney Hilario.
He opted for Nenê because he was always the young kid running with older ones. His Baby step toward basketball: He made a rim with wires, shoelaces and fishing net.
Just as basic was his country’s basketball program. Whereas the Argentines identify and show their talent what it takes to be successful, the Brazilians don’t. The structure from the top hasn’t been provided, and that’s seen in small ways.
For example, the Argentines arrive speaking passable English, which is the language of the NBA. The Brazilians don’t emphasize it, and Nenê, even after five seasons in the league, is no different.
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But words didn’t hurt Nenê’s career as much as something that happened in San Antonio a season ago. Then, in the opener, he heard a pop in his right knee, and Nenê, ever religious, framed that moment Monday.
“That was from God,” he said.
He’d sit out the year after ACL surgery, and Baby began to baby his knee. One who saw him last summer said: “He was afraid. He didn’t want to work. He’s a great guy and happy-go-lucky, but it also looked like he didn’t care.”
His eating habits fit the same profile. Nenê carried too much weight, especially for the knee, and he missed a total of 16 games this season.
But along the way the Nuggets put him on a diet, and, with the team falling apart, Karl came to a decision. He would play Nenê heavy minutes; if the knee puffed up, it puffed up.
Nenê started a Feb. 2 game and hasn’t come off the bench since. Sleek, with his gifts on display, he moved his 6-foot-11 body like the soccer player he once was. Some 28 and 27-point scoring games followed.
The Spurs watched this package on film before the series began, and their consensus was this: If Nenê were to have a great series, we could be in trouble.
Then came Sunday, when Nenê stayed with Duncan. If his injury in San Antonio was the low point of his career, then Game 1 in San Antonio might have been the high.
As for the status of the Brazilians today: Leandro Barbosa followed Nenê’s game by winning the sixth-man of the year award on Monday.
Reputations are changing, all right, though Nenê still acts the same. Monday he talked about how his knee was sore again, and he used the word “scared.”
He also will face something else scary on Wednesday. Duncan will come at him with more urgency, knowing the Spurs can’t lose. Duncan will post harder, and he won’t fade away as he did Sunday. Everything says Duncan, given his history, should find a way.
Duncan should.
But against Nenê? Against Baby?