duncan228
02-13-2009, 01:03 AM
Ginobili wants a real break (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Ginobili_wants_a_real_break.html)
Jeff McDonald
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili did not make the All-Star team this season. After an inconsistent start to the season while fighting back from ankle surgery, he didn't expect to.
Instead, Ginobili will spend his break getting exactly what he needed most. A break.
“I need it,” Ginobili said. “I'm going to use it wisely.
Ginobili's ankle has responded to the pounding of the past three months. His body, however, has absorbed the usual amount of bumps and bruises.
With that in mind, Ginobili will forgo his annual All-Star tradition. He usually takes a trip somewhere. Last year, it was Las Vegas. This year, Ginobili is staying home.
“I'm going to rest, of course,” Ginobili said. “I'm going to do some treatment, and a couple (weight) lifts, to be stronger for the last part of the season.”
Ginobili went into the All-Star break on a bit of a tear, topping 30 points in three of his past six games.
No rest for Pop: Though he wasn't tabbed to coach the game — that honor went to the Lakers' Phil Jackson, by virtue of producing the Western Conference's best record at the halfway pole — Gregg Popovich expects to have a typically busy break.
“I always use that time as a personal time, to try to assess the team, think about what should come next, trying to be critical about things,” Popovich said.
At the top of his to-ruminate-upon list is team defense. The Spurs rank 18th in the league in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 45.8 percent. That is actually an improvement from the first month of the season, but nowhere near where Popovich would like it.
“We need to be in the top 10 by the end of the year,” Popovich said.
Hairston replaced as All-Star: Malik Hairston's Dec. 22 call-up to the Spurs ended up bumping him from the Development League All-Star game.
Hairston was selected for the game based on 23 games with the Austin Toros, during which he averaged 21.1 points. He is ineligible to play in the game, however, after spending the past six weeks with the Spurs.
Hairston was replaced in the D-League game by Marcus Williams, who was once a second-round pick of the Spurs.
One other player with Spurs ties — Dakota's Blake Ahearn — will also participate in the game. Ahearn appeared in three games with the Spurs in November.
Jeff McDonald
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili did not make the All-Star team this season. After an inconsistent start to the season while fighting back from ankle surgery, he didn't expect to.
Instead, Ginobili will spend his break getting exactly what he needed most. A break.
“I need it,” Ginobili said. “I'm going to use it wisely.
Ginobili's ankle has responded to the pounding of the past three months. His body, however, has absorbed the usual amount of bumps and bruises.
With that in mind, Ginobili will forgo his annual All-Star tradition. He usually takes a trip somewhere. Last year, it was Las Vegas. This year, Ginobili is staying home.
“I'm going to rest, of course,” Ginobili said. “I'm going to do some treatment, and a couple (weight) lifts, to be stronger for the last part of the season.”
Ginobili went into the All-Star break on a bit of a tear, topping 30 points in three of his past six games.
No rest for Pop: Though he wasn't tabbed to coach the game — that honor went to the Lakers' Phil Jackson, by virtue of producing the Western Conference's best record at the halfway pole — Gregg Popovich expects to have a typically busy break.
“I always use that time as a personal time, to try to assess the team, think about what should come next, trying to be critical about things,” Popovich said.
At the top of his to-ruminate-upon list is team defense. The Spurs rank 18th in the league in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 45.8 percent. That is actually an improvement from the first month of the season, but nowhere near where Popovich would like it.
“We need to be in the top 10 by the end of the year,” Popovich said.
Hairston replaced as All-Star: Malik Hairston's Dec. 22 call-up to the Spurs ended up bumping him from the Development League All-Star game.
Hairston was selected for the game based on 23 games with the Austin Toros, during which he averaged 21.1 points. He is ineligible to play in the game, however, after spending the past six weeks with the Spurs.
Hairston was replaced in the D-League game by Marcus Williams, who was once a second-round pick of the Spurs.
One other player with Spurs ties — Dakota's Blake Ahearn — will also participate in the game. Ahearn appeared in three games with the Spurs in November.