duncan228
02-19-2009, 11:48 PM
The latest edition, with the pieces on Camby and Hairston added.
Ginobili will sit at least two weeks (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Ginobili_will_sit_at_least_two_weeks.html)
Jeff McDonald
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — At long last, test results came in on Manu Ginobili's stubbornly sore lower right leg Thursday. The results are not as dire as they could have been.
After administering slew of tests including X-rays, an MRI and a CAT scan, doctors determined Ginobili has a stress reaction in his distal fibula. He is expected to miss the next two to three weeks.
There is an important distinction in the diagnosis. Ginobili does not have a stress fracture, a crack in the bone. A stress reaction is a weakening of the bone, usually due to repetitive overloading, that can lead to further problems if not given time to heal.
Rest is the only prescription. Ginobili has already had a dose of that, having not played since Feb. 11 at Toronto.
“New bone has already been laying down — they've seen it on the X-rays,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before Thursday's game against the Pistons. “So the healing process has already begun.”
Ginobili first began experiencing pain during the Spurs' 110-105 overtime win at Golden State on Feb. 2, a game in which he matched a season-high with 32. He played with it for nearly three weeks, during which he turned in some of his best games of the season.
In the past seven games in which he's played, Ginobili has averaged 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He had 32 points, again, against the Raptors in his last game before being shelved.
Popovich said he was surprised — “very much so” — that Ginobili had been able to perform as well as he did on an ankle so sore that it was at times tender to the touch.
“It's not a stress fracture, so it makes it very different,” Popovich said. “If it was a stress fracture, he probably wouldn't have been playing like he's been playing.”
Ginobili missed the first 12 games of the season while recovering from offseason surgery on his left ankle, meant to repair a ligament impingement. Not including Thursday's game, the Spurs were 6-8 this season without Ginobili.
Close call on Camby: Thursday's trade deadline came and went without an audible peep from the Spurs.
“There were like five or six things we almost did — huge trades,” Popovich said with sarcasm. “At the very last minute, we said no to all of them.”
According to multiple league sources, however, the Spurs did come precariously close to prying shot-blocking center Marcus Camby from to Clippers. The two sides discussed a deal that would have sent Fabricio Oberto, Bruce Bowen and George Hill to L.A., but the deal fell apart.
Home sweet home: Spurs rookie Malik Hairston, a Detroit native, enjoyed his homecoming Thursday, playing four minutes and scoring no points. It was his first time in The Palace of Auburn Hills since Game 5 of the 2004 NBA Finals, when his hometown Pistons upset the Lakers for the title.
He declined to say which team he was rooting for in the 2005 Finals, when the Spurs beat the Pistons in seven games, but one could hazard a guess.
“I'm not allowed to say,” Hairston said. “I'm a Spurs fan now.”
Ginobili will sit at least two weeks (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Ginobili_will_sit_at_least_two_weeks.html)
Jeff McDonald
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — At long last, test results came in on Manu Ginobili's stubbornly sore lower right leg Thursday. The results are not as dire as they could have been.
After administering slew of tests including X-rays, an MRI and a CAT scan, doctors determined Ginobili has a stress reaction in his distal fibula. He is expected to miss the next two to three weeks.
There is an important distinction in the diagnosis. Ginobili does not have a stress fracture, a crack in the bone. A stress reaction is a weakening of the bone, usually due to repetitive overloading, that can lead to further problems if not given time to heal.
Rest is the only prescription. Ginobili has already had a dose of that, having not played since Feb. 11 at Toronto.
“New bone has already been laying down — they've seen it on the X-rays,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before Thursday's game against the Pistons. “So the healing process has already begun.”
Ginobili first began experiencing pain during the Spurs' 110-105 overtime win at Golden State on Feb. 2, a game in which he matched a season-high with 32. He played with it for nearly three weeks, during which he turned in some of his best games of the season.
In the past seven games in which he's played, Ginobili has averaged 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He had 32 points, again, against the Raptors in his last game before being shelved.
Popovich said he was surprised — “very much so” — that Ginobili had been able to perform as well as he did on an ankle so sore that it was at times tender to the touch.
“It's not a stress fracture, so it makes it very different,” Popovich said. “If it was a stress fracture, he probably wouldn't have been playing like he's been playing.”
Ginobili missed the first 12 games of the season while recovering from offseason surgery on his left ankle, meant to repair a ligament impingement. Not including Thursday's game, the Spurs were 6-8 this season without Ginobili.
Close call on Camby: Thursday's trade deadline came and went without an audible peep from the Spurs.
“There were like five or six things we almost did — huge trades,” Popovich said with sarcasm. “At the very last minute, we said no to all of them.”
According to multiple league sources, however, the Spurs did come precariously close to prying shot-blocking center Marcus Camby from to Clippers. The two sides discussed a deal that would have sent Fabricio Oberto, Bruce Bowen and George Hill to L.A., but the deal fell apart.
Home sweet home: Spurs rookie Malik Hairston, a Detroit native, enjoyed his homecoming Thursday, playing four minutes and scoring no points. It was his first time in The Palace of Auburn Hills since Game 5 of the 2004 NBA Finals, when his hometown Pistons upset the Lakers for the title.
He declined to say which team he was rooting for in the 2005 Finals, when the Spurs beat the Pistons in seven games, but one could hazard a guess.
“I'm not allowed to say,” Hairston said. “I'm a Spurs fan now.”