duncan228
04-01-2009, 11:36 PM
Ginobili offers his solution: Pump it up (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Ginobili_offers_his_solution_Pump_it_up.html)
Mike Monroe
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich believes improved play by a “couple” of players is required to get his team out of a month-long funk.
One of his key players believes the coach is understating the team's problems.
“I think it's more than a couple,” guard Manu Ginobili said after losing to Oklahoma City on Tuesday. “A couple is not going to be enough. We've all really got to play better, and we've got to support each other more. We've got to hustle more, and we've got to be tougher.”
Ginobili wants to see all the Spurs, himself included, be better teammates in the eight games that remain in the regular season.
“Sometimes, when we are struggling,” he said, “we go to a timeout and we just stay. And sometimes, pumping each other up and telling what he is doing wrong or right, or say a word, it helps. Sometimes it's not always the coach who has to say everything. The last week we were a little flat in that regard; not only energy, but supporting each other.
“It's something that every team needs, and we've done it way better in the past.”
Ginobili thinks the three-game road trip that begins Friday in Indianapolis affords a perfect opportunity for the Spurs to correct their problems.
“It's going to be a great opportunity for us, just before the playoffs start, to get together,” he said.
Ahead of schedule: Ginobili, who returned to the lineup a week ago, is encouraged that his conditioning level and explosion seem to be returning more quickly than the team's medical staff thought possible. He played 29 minutes and scored 17 points in Tuesday's game.
“I'm feeling more explosive, a little more oomph to get to the rim,” he said. “I can't complain. At this point I feel a little better than I was told I would.”
Playoff tickets: Despite the loss, the Spurs clinched a playoff berth Tuesday, and playoff tickets go on sale Saturday.
Tickets for Games A and B of the first round will be available at the team's box office at the AT&T Center and from all Ticketmaster locations, including select H-E-B stores. They also can be charged by phone, at (210) 225-TEAM or online, at ticketmaster.com or spurs.com.
The ticket office is to be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Mike Monroe
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich believes improved play by a “couple” of players is required to get his team out of a month-long funk.
One of his key players believes the coach is understating the team's problems.
“I think it's more than a couple,” guard Manu Ginobili said after losing to Oklahoma City on Tuesday. “A couple is not going to be enough. We've all really got to play better, and we've got to support each other more. We've got to hustle more, and we've got to be tougher.”
Ginobili wants to see all the Spurs, himself included, be better teammates in the eight games that remain in the regular season.
“Sometimes, when we are struggling,” he said, “we go to a timeout and we just stay. And sometimes, pumping each other up and telling what he is doing wrong or right, or say a word, it helps. Sometimes it's not always the coach who has to say everything. The last week we were a little flat in that regard; not only energy, but supporting each other.
“It's something that every team needs, and we've done it way better in the past.”
Ginobili thinks the three-game road trip that begins Friday in Indianapolis affords a perfect opportunity for the Spurs to correct their problems.
“It's going to be a great opportunity for us, just before the playoffs start, to get together,” he said.
Ahead of schedule: Ginobili, who returned to the lineup a week ago, is encouraged that his conditioning level and explosion seem to be returning more quickly than the team's medical staff thought possible. He played 29 minutes and scored 17 points in Tuesday's game.
“I'm feeling more explosive, a little more oomph to get to the rim,” he said. “I can't complain. At this point I feel a little better than I was told I would.”
Playoff tickets: Despite the loss, the Spurs clinched a playoff berth Tuesday, and playoff tickets go on sale Saturday.
Tickets for Games A and B of the first round will be available at the team's box office at the AT&T Center and from all Ticketmaster locations, including select H-E-B stores. They also can be charged by phone, at (210) 225-TEAM or online, at ticketmaster.com or spurs.com.
The ticket office is to be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.