Just Tim Duncan’s presence changes things for the Spurs

Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty ImagesThis may have been said a few times by now, there’s something extremely satisfying about having Tim Duncan back with the Spurs. One thing I’ve always personally enjoyed about sports is when players recognize that it’s just a game at the end of the day and shake hands, sometimes even hug when a hard-fought battle is over.

In that sense, win or lose, at the end of games (and sometimes before) I keep finding myself watching as all the opposing players and coaches make their way through the crowd to visit with the soon-to-be Hall of Famer. It doesn’t matter if they’re old teammates, rivals, or youngsters who never got the honor of facing him; there’s too much…