Instead, he expects mostly man-to-man coverage from a player — Kenyon Martin — who has Duncan’s respect as one of the best defensive big men in the NBA.
“Kenyon is right up there with them. He’s got quick feet; his hands are active,” Duncan, voted the league’s Most Valuable Player each of the last two seasons, said Saturday. “If there was to be one guy (who defends him best), he would be right up there with them.”
The Duncan-Martin matchup will be one of the keys to the Finals, which will begin Wednesday night in San Antonio. Martin is the Nets’ best rebounder and second-leading scorer, but it’s his defense that makes him such a special player.
Martin shut down Boston’s Antoine Walker in the second round when New Jersey swept the Celtics, and he more than neutralized Detroit banger Ben Wallace as the Nets swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals.
Duncan said he has already reviewed the tapes of New Jersey’s two regular-season games against the Spurs, which the teams split. He said the Nets often sent a second defender only halfway toward him when he received the ball off an entry pass, placing weakside defenders in the passing lanes to try to come up with steals.
