duncan228
03-28-2009, 11:43 PM
Manu's comeback pressed for time (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Manus_comeback_pressed_for_time.html)
Jeff McDonald
NEW ORLEANS — For more than a month, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has spent most of his waking hours on a stationary bike. Or on a treadmill. Or kicking away in a swimming pool.
Now that he's back on the basketball court, the real work begins.
Two games into his second comeback from a sore ankle, Ginobili knows he still has a long way to go before he feels like himself again.
“I know this is going to be slow,” Ginobili said. “I've got to be patient. I've just got to worry about winning games and building confidence.”
It was easier to be patient earlier in the year, when Ginobili missed the first 16 games of the season while recovering from offseason surgery on his left ankle. With 10 games left, and with the postseason in sight, Ginobili's latest recovery is on the clock.
There is little time for Ginobili to reacquaint himself, and his legs, with the nightly marathon that is an NBA game. There is little time for him to rediscover the beautiful groove he was in before hitting the injured list again in mid-February with a stress reaction in his right ankle.
In four of his last eight games before being sidelined a second time, Ginobili topped 30 points.
For the immediate future, Ginobili's goals remain modest.
“I'm just going to try to blend in and not hurt the team until I get back in shape,” he said.
His two games back from his most recent injury have been a portrait in “hit or miss.”
In his first game back against Atlanta, Ginobili was 1 for 7 from the field. Against the Clippers on Friday, he tallied 14 points and seven assists, and made five of his seven field goals — including a pair of 3-pointers.
It was an encouraging sign for the Spurs, whose hopes for another deep playoff run hinge primarily on the health of Ginobili's ankles.
His latest comeback comes against the backdrop of a tightly congested Western Conference playoff race. The Spurs enter tonight's critical Southwest Division game at New Orleans in second place in the West, with just four games separating them from the seventh-place Hornets.
For much of the past month, coach Gregg Popovich has been tinkering with rotations and combinations, at times producing lineups that might have been drawn from a hat.
Usually by this time, Popovich's rotations for the playoffs have been all but carved in stone. Ginobili's absence has been one disruptive force, as has the addition of free-agent power forward Drew Gooden.
“Nobody wants to do that this late,” Popovich said. “It's just our situation.”
Friday's 111-98 rout of the Clippers was the first time the Spurs' Big Three of Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had played together since Feb. 11. The Spurs are now 29-3 in games in which all three players participate.
Afterward, Ginobili cautioned about reading too much into the reunion.
“We're back, but we aren't ‘back,'” he said. “T.D. didn't play much. I played limited minutes. The team is not used to playing with me. It's going to take a little bit to readjust.
“It's going to be totally different from previous seasons heading into the playoffs.”
Perhaps no Spurs player had to make a bigger adjustment to Ginobili's absence than Parker. Because of that, no Spurs player will have to make a bigger adjustment to Ginobili's return.
With Ginobili and Duncan both battling sporadic injuries this season, the Spurs have asked more from their 26-year-old point guard than ever. Parker responded by posting the most productive season of his career.
He is averaging 21.9 points and 6.9 assists this season, both career highs. In 25 games without Ginobili, those numbers leap to 24.1 points and 7.6 assists.
“Pop has been calling more plays for me with Manu out,” Parker said. “When you get a lot of shots, it helps you get a rhythm.”
Parker is glad to have Ginobili back. He could use the deep breath.
Ginobili, too, is glad to be back. He just can't wait to be “back” back.
“Hopefully, in these last two weeks, 10 days, I have a chance to get back in and feel good about myself,” Ginobili said.
Jeff McDonald
NEW ORLEANS — For more than a month, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has spent most of his waking hours on a stationary bike. Or on a treadmill. Or kicking away in a swimming pool.
Now that he's back on the basketball court, the real work begins.
Two games into his second comeback from a sore ankle, Ginobili knows he still has a long way to go before he feels like himself again.
“I know this is going to be slow,” Ginobili said. “I've got to be patient. I've just got to worry about winning games and building confidence.”
It was easier to be patient earlier in the year, when Ginobili missed the first 16 games of the season while recovering from offseason surgery on his left ankle. With 10 games left, and with the postseason in sight, Ginobili's latest recovery is on the clock.
There is little time for Ginobili to reacquaint himself, and his legs, with the nightly marathon that is an NBA game. There is little time for him to rediscover the beautiful groove he was in before hitting the injured list again in mid-February with a stress reaction in his right ankle.
In four of his last eight games before being sidelined a second time, Ginobili topped 30 points.
For the immediate future, Ginobili's goals remain modest.
“I'm just going to try to blend in and not hurt the team until I get back in shape,” he said.
His two games back from his most recent injury have been a portrait in “hit or miss.”
In his first game back against Atlanta, Ginobili was 1 for 7 from the field. Against the Clippers on Friday, he tallied 14 points and seven assists, and made five of his seven field goals — including a pair of 3-pointers.
It was an encouraging sign for the Spurs, whose hopes for another deep playoff run hinge primarily on the health of Ginobili's ankles.
His latest comeback comes against the backdrop of a tightly congested Western Conference playoff race. The Spurs enter tonight's critical Southwest Division game at New Orleans in second place in the West, with just four games separating them from the seventh-place Hornets.
For much of the past month, coach Gregg Popovich has been tinkering with rotations and combinations, at times producing lineups that might have been drawn from a hat.
Usually by this time, Popovich's rotations for the playoffs have been all but carved in stone. Ginobili's absence has been one disruptive force, as has the addition of free-agent power forward Drew Gooden.
“Nobody wants to do that this late,” Popovich said. “It's just our situation.”
Friday's 111-98 rout of the Clippers was the first time the Spurs' Big Three of Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had played together since Feb. 11. The Spurs are now 29-3 in games in which all three players participate.
Afterward, Ginobili cautioned about reading too much into the reunion.
“We're back, but we aren't ‘back,'” he said. “T.D. didn't play much. I played limited minutes. The team is not used to playing with me. It's going to take a little bit to readjust.
“It's going to be totally different from previous seasons heading into the playoffs.”
Perhaps no Spurs player had to make a bigger adjustment to Ginobili's absence than Parker. Because of that, no Spurs player will have to make a bigger adjustment to Ginobili's return.
With Ginobili and Duncan both battling sporadic injuries this season, the Spurs have asked more from their 26-year-old point guard than ever. Parker responded by posting the most productive season of his career.
He is averaging 21.9 points and 6.9 assists this season, both career highs. In 25 games without Ginobili, those numbers leap to 24.1 points and 7.6 assists.
“Pop has been calling more plays for me with Manu out,” Parker said. “When you get a lot of shots, it helps you get a rhythm.”
Parker is glad to have Ginobili back. He could use the deep breath.
Ginobili, too, is glad to be back. He just can't wait to be “back” back.
“Hopefully, in these last two weeks, 10 days, I have a chance to get back in and feel good about myself,” Ginobili said.