duncan228
11-24-2008, 11:38 PM
Parker's return 'getting close' (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Parkers_return_getting_close.html)
By Jeff McDonald
MEMPHIS, Tenn. One star guard back from injury and one to go for the Spurs.
Manu Ginobili made his season debut Monday night in Memphis, completing 11-plus weeks of rehab from offseason ankle surgery. Next on the docket: getting Tony Parker back in the lineup as well.
Parker has been out since spraining his left ankle in a game against Miami on Nov. 7. Though no exact game has been targeted for Parker to return, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Monday the team should get its starting point guard back sooner, rather than later.
He's getting close, Popovich said. It's not going to be three weeks. It's not going to be two weeks. It will probably be sooner than that.
Parker is leading the Spurs in scoring this season, averaging 27.4 points in five games before getting hurt.
Originally, team doctors had put a four-week timetable on Parker's rehab. He seems on pace to beat that prognosis.
He gets to work pretty quickly, Popovich said. He's like Manu. He wants to get back on the court.
H-O-R-S-E hosed: It was seven hours before Ginobili was to play in his first game of the season Monday, and already things were not going to plan.
Ginobili lost a game of H-O-R-S-E. To Blake Ahearn.
The NBA's unofficial H-O-R-S-E champion, Ginobili dropped the post-shootaround match to Ahearn on what for him should have been a simple shot a 15-footer from his knees.
I must be a little rusty, Ginobili joked afterward.
Ahearn, a backup point guard, has appeared in 15 games in his NBA career, including three this season for the Spurs. What he accomplished Monday morning might rank as his greatest NBA achievement.
And the only people around to witness it were a handful of teammates, Spurs staffers and two members of the media.
Ahearn still was basking in the glow of victory before Monday's game tipped off, but realized his glory will be short-lived.
He's probably going to want a rematch soon, Ahearn said.
Close to home: Head coach Eddie Jordan was fired Monday morning in Washington, victim of the Wizards' 1-10 start. Eight hundred miles to the west, Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. felt the sting.
Mason played for Jordan for two seasons before signing a free-agent deal with the Spurs last offseason. He credits Jordan for giving him his big NBA break.
I feel bad for Eddie and his family, said Mason, who text-messaged condolences to Jordan upon hearing the news. But that's the business of basketball. You can't trade the whole team, so you fire the coach.
Jordan's ouster comes two days after the Oklahoma City Thunder fired P.J. Carlesimo, a former Spurs assistant and Popovich favorite.
By Jeff McDonald
MEMPHIS, Tenn. One star guard back from injury and one to go for the Spurs.
Manu Ginobili made his season debut Monday night in Memphis, completing 11-plus weeks of rehab from offseason ankle surgery. Next on the docket: getting Tony Parker back in the lineup as well.
Parker has been out since spraining his left ankle in a game against Miami on Nov. 7. Though no exact game has been targeted for Parker to return, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Monday the team should get its starting point guard back sooner, rather than later.
He's getting close, Popovich said. It's not going to be three weeks. It's not going to be two weeks. It will probably be sooner than that.
Parker is leading the Spurs in scoring this season, averaging 27.4 points in five games before getting hurt.
Originally, team doctors had put a four-week timetable on Parker's rehab. He seems on pace to beat that prognosis.
He gets to work pretty quickly, Popovich said. He's like Manu. He wants to get back on the court.
H-O-R-S-E hosed: It was seven hours before Ginobili was to play in his first game of the season Monday, and already things were not going to plan.
Ginobili lost a game of H-O-R-S-E. To Blake Ahearn.
The NBA's unofficial H-O-R-S-E champion, Ginobili dropped the post-shootaround match to Ahearn on what for him should have been a simple shot a 15-footer from his knees.
I must be a little rusty, Ginobili joked afterward.
Ahearn, a backup point guard, has appeared in 15 games in his NBA career, including three this season for the Spurs. What he accomplished Monday morning might rank as his greatest NBA achievement.
And the only people around to witness it were a handful of teammates, Spurs staffers and two members of the media.
Ahearn still was basking in the glow of victory before Monday's game tipped off, but realized his glory will be short-lived.
He's probably going to want a rematch soon, Ahearn said.
Close to home: Head coach Eddie Jordan was fired Monday morning in Washington, victim of the Wizards' 1-10 start. Eight hundred miles to the west, Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. felt the sting.
Mason played for Jordan for two seasons before signing a free-agent deal with the Spurs last offseason. He credits Jordan for giving him his big NBA break.
I feel bad for Eddie and his family, said Mason, who text-messaged condolences to Jordan upon hearing the news. But that's the business of basketball. You can't trade the whole team, so you fire the coach.
Jordan's ouster comes two days after the Oklahoma City Thunder fired P.J. Carlesimo, a former Spurs assistant and Popovich favorite.