Manu Ginobili: New Article (Traslation needed)

[chasky]

Si dependiera de mí, me quedaría toda la vida en San Antonio


En este último viaje a Sacramento no tenía mucho sentido moverme. Lo mejor fue quedarme en casa y seguir con mi bota ortopédica esperando y viendo el partido por tele... Pero cuando arranquen los playoffs voy a viajar a todos lados con el equipo, como siempre, aunque esta vez va a ser muy raro, desde afuera. Va a ser la primera vez en siete años en la NBA que me pierda un partido en los playoffs.

Cuando se confirmó la lesión fue un shock fuerte. Entiendo que se hable mucho de mi situación y sé que se trajo otra vez el tema de los Juegos Olímpicos. Por eso siento que es importante aclarar que lo que me pasó fue en la otra pierna, la derecha, y no tiene nada que ver con lo del tobillo izquierdo, en China.

El peroné es un hueso que prácticamente no soporta peso, casi todo recae sobre la tibia. En un principio se vinculó una cosa con la otra, pero ahora los médicos me dicen que eso no tiene mucho sentido. Para ir a jugar con la selección, los Spurs me dieron el alta médica, del mismo modo que ahora cuando volví en la NBA. Siempre hay riesgos y eso es lo que pasó, tuve una mala racha de lesiones. Soy consciente de que el año que viene al terminar la temporada puedo ser agente libre, y tanto los Spurs como yo podemos elegir. Pero esto no cambió mi forma de pensar. Lo dije muchas veces y lo repito: si dependiera de mí, me quedaría en San Antonio toda la vida.

Por todo esto, entre otras cosas, el equipo no está pasando un buen momento. No recuerdo que en otra temporada hayamos llegado a los playoffs siendo un equipo con un juego tan irregular. Las lesiones no son un problema técnico-táctico. Yo me perdí el 55% de los partidos, pero además Tim Duncan tiene sus problemas en las rodillas, a veces está dolorido y no puede jugar normalmente. El equipo se modifica mucho, trata de readaptarse y lo sufre mucho.

Igual, en los primeros 60 partidos de la temporada estuvimos segundos y hasta con tres partidos de ventaja. En los últimos 20 se complicó por esto de las lesiones.

Nosotros ahora podemos quedar entre los puestos 2 y 5. Más allá de tener ventaja de localía, por el rendimiento de los rivales, cualquiera parece ser lo mismo. Lo que todos quieren evitar, por supuesto, es el octavo lugar, porque los Lakers sí mostraron ser superiores a todos. Después todos tienen sus pros y sus contras: Portland es un gran equipo, atlético, pero algo joven e irregular; Houston es fuerte, pero puede sufrir la falta de un líder ofensivo y con talento como McGrady en los playoffs; a New Orleans lo conocemos, tiene muchos altibajos; Dallas está repuntando... Cualquiera es un peligro.

Del otro lado, Cleveland dio un pasito adelante respecto de Boston, que tiene problemas sin Kevin Garnett, y Orlando. Los playoffs son todos los años distintos, pero creo que esta vez Cleveland tiene jugadores nuevos que pueden marcar diferencias, como Delonte West y Mo Williams. Si algún equipo hace lo que hicimos nosotros en las finales de 2007, cerrándole la defensa en la pintura a James, puede tener problemas afuera, porque son buenos tiradores a pie firme. A LeBron lo rodearon mejor que otras veces y él está intratable.

Van a ser unos playoffs muy distintos, pero me voy a sentir parte del equipo, como siempre. Las sensaciones son distintas, claro. Cuando gané los campeonatos, el de 2005 fue el más emocionante, porque fui determinante como nunca, en 2003 fue una emoción increíble, pero con otro rol, y en 2007 también tuvo otro sabor. Me va a tocar aportar como hincha, pero voy a sentirme responsable. Siempre es así, cuando nos va bien o cuando nos va mal.

Manu

[ElNono]

Working on it... :hat

[Spursmania]

Wow-that was a great read! Thank you!

[smeagol]

He's telling Spurs fans to fuck off. He hates it in SA. He wants to be traded.

[1Parker1]

I can just translate the title of the article, "If it depends on me...I would want to spend my whole life in San Antonio."

And then in the first paragraph he says that even though he couldn't travel with the team to Sacramento, he watched the game from home in his protective boot. He will be traveling with the team for the playoffs though :elephant

[DPG21920]

He's telling Spurs fans to fuck off. He hates it in SA. He wants to be traded.

Why? Because TP has become the better player?

[Spursmania]

He's telling Spurs fans to fuck off. He hates it in SA. He wants to be traded.

:lol

[smeagol]

Why? Because TP has become the better player?

Nah . . . he is just bitter right now due to all the injuries.

. . . and TP has always been the better player (at least that is what ducks told me)

[DPG21920]

Nah . . . he is just bitter right now due to all the injuries.

. . . and TP has always been the better player (at least that is what ducks told me)

I understand :tu. Hopefully he calms down with time and realizes it is not a big deal to be worse than a smaller Frenchman.

[ElNono]

If it would be my decision, I would stay in San Antonio forever

There was no reason for me to move too much and make this last trip to Sacramento. The reasonable thing to do was to stay home with my orthopedic boot and watch the game on TV... But when the playoffs start I'm going to travel with the team everywhere, like I've always done, but this time it's going to be weird watching from outside the lines. It's going to be the first time in 7 years I'll miss a playoff game.

When the fracture was confirmed the shock was terrible. I understand that there's a lot of talk about my situation and that the Olympic Games topic was brought back up. That's why I feel it's important to clarify that what happened to me was in the other leg, the right one, and has nothing to do with the left ankle injury in China.

The fibula is a bone that basically can't handle any weight, almost everything is handled by the tibia (shinbone). At some point, some people wanted to tie the two injuries together, but now the doctors tell me that's just makes no sense. To go play with the national team the Spurs medical staff gave me the clearance, just exactly like they a few weeks back when I came back to play in the NBA. There are always risks, and that's what happened. I had a bad stretch with injuries. I'm conscious that at the end of the next season I will be a free agent, and both the Spurs and me can make a choice. But this didn't change the way I think. I said it many times and I'll say it again: If it would be my decision, I would stay in San Antonio forever.

Because of this situation, among other things, the team is not playing that well. I don't remember any other season that we got to the playoffs playing so irregularly. The injuries are a technical-tactical problem. I missed 55% of the games, but Tim Duncan also has problems in his knees, and sometimes he's in pain and can't play normally. The team changes a lot, tries to re-adapt and suffers a lot.

Nevertheless, after 60 games this season we were in second place, and even with 3 games advantage over the third team. In the last 20 it got complicated with this whole injury issue.

We now can end up between 2nd and 5th. Regardless of home court advantage, and because of how they've been playing, any of the potential rivals look pretty much the same. What everyone is trying to avoid, of course, is the 8th spot since the Lakers did show everyone they were the superior team. After that, all teams have their plus and minuses: Portland is a great team, athletic, but somewhat young and irregular; Houston is strong, but could suffer missing an talented offensive leader like McGrady in the playoffs; New Orleans we know well, they have a lot of up and downs; Dallas is picking up... all of them are dangerous.

On the other side, Cleveland is a step ahead of Boston, that has problems without Kevin garnett, and Orlando. The playoffs are different every year, but I think Cleveland this time around has a few new players like Delonte West or Mo Williams that can make a difference. If any team tries to do what we did in the 2007 Finals, clogging the paint to stop James, they can have problems from the outside because they're good spot up shooters. Lebron is surrounded better this time and he has been unstoppable.

They're going to be a very different playoffs, but I will still feel part of the team, as usual. The way I'll feel about it will be different though, obviously. When I won championships, the 2005 one was the most emotional for me because I was determinant like I never was. In 2003 was really incredible, but I had a different role. And 2007 also felt different. It's going to be my turn to support the team as a fan, but I still feel responsible for anything that happens. It's always like that, when things go well and when they don't.

Manu

[it's me]

Why? Because TP has become the better player?


"Originally Posted by smeagol

He's telling Spurs fans to fuck off. He hates it in SA. He wants to be traded."

:lmao you're good at fishing smeagol....:toast

[tp2021]

Manu with the Cavs pick. haha

[Mel_13]

Nice read

thanks for the translation

[DPG21920]

Manu is one cool cat. You feel for him and I truly hope he makes a full recovery. Vamos Los Spurs Vamos.

[Bulwark]

He's telling Spurs fans to fuck off. He hates it in SA. He wants to be traded.

:lol

[DPG21920]

"Originally Posted by smeagol

He's telling Spurs fans to fuck off. He hates it in SA. He wants to be traded."

:lmao you're good at fishing smeagol....:toast

Or is it I that is dangling the worm. Think about it.

[it's me]

Or is it I that is dangling the worm. Think about it.

you're good too my friend :toast

[Brazil]

Good interview, I wish him the best

[Russ]

When I won championships, the 2005 one was the most emotional for me because I was determinant like I never was.

I always felt that Manu (rather than Tim) should have been the Finals MVP of that great series in '05.

[stéphane]

Thanks ElNono.
Manu shouldn't even care responding to the pseudo whining spurs fans who doesn't even know the difference between their left and right legs.

[Indazone]

Manu will be fine when he heals up. Just tell the boy to drink more milk or take some calcium tablets sheesh.

[J.T.]

Manu needs to join the TNT crew in the studio for the playoffs. I'd love to see Chuck do the GINOOOOOBLEEEEE thing with him sitting there in person.

[GaryJohnston]

Manu needs to join the TNT crew in the studio for the playoffs. I'd love to see Chuck do the GINOOOOOBLEEEEE thing with him sitting there in person.

That would be awesome.

[benefactor]

Good read. Thanks for the translation.

[Streakyshooter08]

Thanks for the translation. :tu

[mytespurs]

Thanks for the translation. Mi pobrecito Manu....I know it kills him inside not to be participating. I hope he gets plenty of R&R this summer and be raring to go come 2009. He is such a competitor I have no doubt he'll give his best and I too hopes he stays with the Spurs come 2010.

[EricB]

He should give back his salary for this season seeing as he didn't do anything to earn it.

[ElNono]

He should give back his salary for this season seeing as he didn't do anything to earn it.

If I had a cent for every junk post you make, I would have more money than Manu...

[anonoftheinternets]

He should give back his salary for this season seeing as he didn't do anything to earn it.

will you pay him back for the less than star salary he has always agreed to? ... to be a part of the san antonio spurs? He was considered the second best SG at one point in 2008, second only to bryant for a third of the cost. :nope

[ElNono]

will you pay him back for the less than star salary he has always agreed to? ... to be a part of the san antonio spurs? He was considered the second best SG at one point in 2008, second only to bryant for a third of the cost. :nope

Don't worry. If he had a brain he would actually keep his mouth shut.
It looks like it's easy to get EricB out of TPark, but a lot harder to remove TPark out of EricB.

[urunobili]

Thanks Nono

[1Parker1]

It's going to be my turn to support the team as a fan, but I still feel responsible for anything that happens. It's always like that, when things go well and when they don't.

Well, it seems like even Manu knows that the success of the team, championship-wise, ultimately depend on him. Duncan/Parker and the role players will always give them what they give them. He knows that how he plays is a direct difference on whether or not the Spurs can contend though.

And frankly speaking, I still believe that the core of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili have at least one more championship in them.

[Mel_13]

He should give back his salary for this season seeing as he didn't do anything to earn it.


He has satisfied the terms of the contract that he and the Spurs both signed.

[spursfaninla]

I really loved that article. You could feel Manu's emotion coming through.

I wonder how he will handle it if the Spurs low-ball him, trying to get him to take less $ for the team? Perhaps if the Spurs offer 3-4 million a year, for 4 years? Maybe because of his injury and age, he will not get great offers from other teams; they will figure they would have to pay extra to get him to move?

I hate the thought of Manu ever leaving as well, but we can't depend on him as a primary scorer from here on out, not just because of his injury history, but because he must inevitably decline as an aging slasher. He has been working on his outside shooting, so hopefully that part of his game continues to flourish for the next 3-4 years.

He can be a legit 6th man, instead of a sg with starter minutes who plays with the 2nd unit half the time. Going on 32, most sg's don't age gracefully. With Fin and bruce gone, Manu could be the wing vet that we have had for the last few years, that plays a 4th option role.

[mytespurs]

I really loved that article. You could feel Manu's emotion coming through.

I wonder how he will handle it if the Spurs low-ball him, trying to get him to take less $ for the team? Perhaps if the Spurs offer 3-4 million a year, for 4 years? Maybe because of his injury and age, he will not get great offers from other teams; they will figure they would have to pay extra to get him to move?

I hate the thought of Manu ever leaving as well, but we can't depend on him as a primary scorer from here on out, not just because of his injury history, but because he must inevitably decline as an aging slasher. He has been working on his outside shooting, so hopefully that part of his game continues to flourish for the next 3-4 years.

He can be a legit 6th man, instead of a sg with starter minutes who plays with the 2nd unit half the time. Going on 32, most sg's don't age gracefully. With Fin and bruce gone, Manu could be the wing vet that we have had for the last few years, that plays a 4th option role.

I see we have something in common: both spurs fans in la! :D

Re: Manu, I hope he comes back 110% and give the Spurs a reason to sign him again. I do think they may try to low ball him based on the factors you mentioned. And I think he may try to test the market to see if he can get a better offer. I would hate to see him on another team; he, TD and tony define what the Spurs are about. I could see him sign with a team like the Lakers if he could fit into their rotation and then I'd get ill! :p: :rollin

[TheDarkSide.]

seeing manu ginobili in any other uniform other than silver and black would sicken me. honestly, how can spurs fans even talk about trades or releases after this man sacrificed most of his youth for this city's team. I support manu 100% and hope he stays a spur forever.

[smeagol]

He should give back his salary for this season seeing as he didn't do anything to earn it.

He should also give back 2004 and 2006's salary . . . you know, .4 secs and the foul on Dirk . . . he does not deserve the money he made those years . . .

[1Parker1]

He should also give back 2004 and 2006's salary . . . you know, .4 secs and the foul on Dirk . . . he does not deserve the money he made those years . . .

:lol

[spursfaninla]

When you mention it, Manu certainly has been at the center of our Playoff success...and has been a part of several pivotal playoff failures.

Of course, without Manu, we never got that far in the case of .4 or Dirkfoulgate. But it goes to show you, he is a balls to the wall, instinctual, make-you-or-break you player. If he does not make you champions, he was a part of the downfall.

hence, 2009.

I recognize the trade-off, and manu is worth it.

[Spur-Addict]

If I had a cent for every junk post you make, I would have more money than Manu...

:lol

[Mark in Austin]

I always felt that Manu (rather than Tim) should have been the Finals MVP of that great series in '05.

If he hadn't had that thigh injury in the middle of the series, it never would have gone 7 games and I think he would have been MVP...

[Mark in Austin]

I see we have something in common: both spurs fans in la! :D

Re: Manu, I hope he comes back 110% and give the Spurs a reason to sign him again. I do think they may try to low ball him based on the factors you mentioned. And I think he may try to test the market to see if he can get a better offer. I would hate to see him on another team; he, TD and tony define what the Spurs are about. I could see him sign with a team like the Lakers if he could fit into their rotation and then I'd get ill! :p: :rollin

If they tried to low ball David Robinson it's a pretty safe bet they'll do it with Manu...

[Spurs Brazil]

Thanks for the translation

I also hope Manu finish his career in San Antonio

[TMTTRIO]

Thanks for the translation. I can't imagine how awful it's been for him to not play.


Manu needs to join the TNT crew in the studio for the playoffs. I'd love to see Chuck do the GINOOOOOBLEEEEE thing with him sitting there in person.

I would love to see that too :)
MMX3niqRi-s

[zerokibum]

Thanks for the translation.

we are waiting for Manu's come back.
No Manu, no Champion.
praying for his health...

good luck to Spurs~

[SenorSpur]

Thanks for the translation. I wonder if this means he's gonna hang around and sit in the stands with D-Rob once he retires?

[timvp]

Thanks for the translation.

I don't buy the argument that the two injuries are unrelated. I've read many cases where a stress reaction is brought on due to overcompensation. When Manu returned, his gait was totally different.

And besides, ignoring the people who want to play the blame game, wouldn't it be better if the two injuries are related? It's much easier to swallow that Manu had one longstanding injury that caused his season to derail. The alternative is that Manu had one major injury followed by a separate major injury in the span of months. If the latter is true, that points to a player whose body is betraying him and breaking down. The former points to a player with bad luck.

But yeah, Manu is pretty damn considerate. The normal response of someone who has accomplished as much as he has in just about every aspect of the sport would be to say F the haters. Instead, it seems like Manu's main goal since the day he's gotten hurt is to disprove the notion that he did anything wrong by going to the Olympics.

[ElNono]

Thanks for the translation.

I don't buy the argument that the two injuries are unrelated. I've read many cases where a stress reaction is brought on due to overcompensation. When Manu returned, his gait was totally different.

And besides, ignoring the people who want to play the blame game, wouldn't it be better if the two injuries are related? It's much easier to swallow that Manu had one longstanding injury that caused his season to derail. The alternative is that Manu had one major injury followed by a separate major injury in the span of months. If the latter is true, that points to a player whose body is betraying him and breaking down. The former points to a player with bad luck.

I don't understand why it's so hard to believe that you can have two unrelated injuries in a row. I mean, it's not like it never ever happened before. Happened to Ian this very same season. Happened to Jacktovas (or however it's spelled). And those guys are much younger and didn't play anywhere near as many games as Manu. Sometimes you can just have a tough break. Happens to the best of them.


But yeah, Manu is pretty damn considerate. The normal response of someone who has accomplished as much as he has in just about every aspect of the sport would be to say F the haters. Instead, it seems like Manu's main goal since the day he's gotten hurt is to disprove the notion that he did anything wrong by going to the Olympics.

I don't think he's trying to disprove anything about the Olympics. I think he just wants to make sure there's an official story (coming first hand from him) that the medical staff told him the injuries are unrelated. At this point, you would be arguing against a medical staff that had MRIs, CT scans, etc in their hands and evaluated what happened. A medical staff paid by the Spurs, not Manu. There's no reason for the doctor to lie. I still have to hear from somebody on the organization saying the injuries are related and that playing in the Olympics brought this to him. Hasn't happened yet. And I'm not holding my breath.

[SenorSpur]

I don't buy the notion that the two injuries are unrelated either. Whatever the case, it's been a wasted season for both him and for the Spurs. I feel bad for Manu, but I feel worse for Duncan. His body is starting to betray him too and this was all simply not fair to him.

I appreciate Manu's competitive nature. Of course, it's shown to be his folly at times, too. His effort to reach out to Spurs fans in this way is much appreciated. If I wasn't such a skeptic or if he wasn't such a good dude, I'd accuse him of "turning the handle" on the PR machine. Maybe that was part of it. I don't know.

All in all, it doesn't change the fact that this situation has left the Spurs short-handed, with a ticking clock that is rapidly running down on their championship hopes.

[ElNono]

Well, that it sucks for Duncan, and the entire Spurs organization and fan base we can definitely agree on. The timing on this injury couldn't have been any worse. Especially after he was finally coming back into a rhythm and put together a few very high level games. But what you gonna do? It's not like he went out there, grabbed a hammer and fracture his fibula on purpose. This stuff happens. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. Hopefully we'll be a little more lucky next season and I firmly believe our big 3 have at least one more run in them.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I don't understand why it's so hard to believe that you can have two unrelated injuries in a row. I mean, it's not like it never ever happened before. Happened to Ian this very same season. Happened to Jacktovas (or however it's spelled). And those guys are much younger and didn't play anywhere near as many games as Manu. Sometimes you can just have a tough break. Happens to the best of them.



I don't think he's trying to disprove anything about the Olympics. I think he just wants to make sure there's an official story (coming first hand from him) that the medical staff told him the injuries are unrelated. At this point, you would be arguing against a medical staff that had MRIs, CT scans, etc in their hands and evaluated what happened. A medical staff paid by the Spurs, not Manu. There's no reason for the doctor to lie. I still have to hear from somebody on the organization saying the injuries are related and that playing in the Olympics brought this to him. Hasn't happened yet. And I'm not holding my breath.

I tend to agree with this notion more than any other theory.

No one can make a case that Manu's injury plagued season was caused by the 5 or 6 games he played in the Olympics. He aggreviated an injury, which was originally from the Phoenix series but he was cleared to play by doctors. Had he not played in the Olympics, there is no one who can make a valid case that he would have been healed for the start of the season without a surgery. For all we know he could have aggreviated the same injury at the start of the season, or even during practices in the summer, not related to participating in the Olympics at all.

Also, if anyone still can't understand why Manu and Tony are so desperate to play for their national teams and what this mentality brings to the Spurs,then IMO you're missing a big point of why this franchise is so great. Playing for their respective national teams has also contributed to them becoming better players and thus helping the Spurs win rings. You can't have the best of everything, sometimes you take the good with the bad. In this case the good is much more than the bad.

[SenorSpur]

Well, that it sucks for Duncan, and the entire Spurs organization and fan base we can definitely agree on. The timing on this injury couldn't have been any worse. Especially after he was finally coming back into a rhythm and put together a few very high level games. But what you gonna do? It's not like he went out there, grabbed a hammer and fracture his fibula on purpose. This stuff happens. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. Hopefully we'll be a little more lucky next season and I firmly believe our big 3 have at least one more run in them.

While it's true that some measure of luck does factor into a team's championship hopes, I'd prefer the Spurs FO opt to add a bit more skill and talent around their Big Three, rather than age and declining ability.

[ElNono]

While it's true that some measure of luck does factor into a team's championship hopes, I'd prefer the Spurs FO opt to add a bit more skill and talent around their Big Three, rather than age and declining ability.

Agreed too. I think Gooden could be a good addition moving forward. I'm reserving judgement until after training camp (if he's still around). And while some people will only focus on the glass half empty part of this season, there has been bright spots also. Tony has definitely gone up a notch on a consitent basis. I think Mason was a great addition looking forward, so is Hill. We have started to move away from the old trend of hiring mostly vets to actually getting young guys with the right attitude and character. Of course, we can all complain about Hill not playing, but that doesn't mean he wasn't the correct choice, and that he won't be on the map in the future.
Now, none of this will mean much if TD isn't healthy, but provided he is, I'm starting to really like this team looking forward.

[SenorSpur]

Agreed too. I think Gooden could be a good addition moving forward. I'm reserving judgement until after training camp (if he's still around). And while some people will only focus on the glass half empty part of this season, there has been bright spots also. Tony has definitely gone up a notch on a consitent basis. I think Mason was a great addition looking forward, so is Hill. We have started to move away from the old trend of hiring mostly vets to actually getting young guys with the right attitude and character. Of course, we can all complain about Hill not playing, but that doesn't mean he wasn't the correct choice, and that he won't be on the map in the future.
Now, none of this will mean much if TD isn't healthy, but provided he is, I'm starting to really like this team looking forward.

Agreed again, too. As long as we're waxing poetic about the prospects for the future, don't forget the expected arrival of Gist, the expected debut of Ian and ongoing development and possible integration of Hairston. Combine all that, along with an intelligent free agent pickup (i.e. John Salmons or a Shane Battier), should make for a formidable roster for next year.

[DAF86]

Agreed again, too. As long as we're waxing poetic about the prospects for the future, don't forget the expected arrival of Gist, the expected debut of Ian and ongoing development and possible integration of Hairston. Combine all that, along with an intelligent free agent pickup (i.e. John Salmons or a Shane Battier), should make for a formidable roster for next year.

Rasheed, don't forget Rasheed.

[RandomGuy]

Si dependiera de mí, me quedaría toda la vida en San Antonio


En este último viaje a Sacramento no tenía mucho sentido moverme. Lo mejor fue quedarme en casa y seguir con mi bota ortopédica esperando y viendo el partido por tele... Pero cuando arranquen los playoffs voy a viajar a todos lados con el equipo, como siempre, aunque esta vez va a ser muy raro, desde afuera. Va a ser la primera vez en siete años en la NBA que me pierda un partido en los playoffs.

Cuando se confirmó la lesión fue un shock fuerte. Entiendo que se hable mucho de mi situación y sé que se trajo otra vez el tema de los Juegos Olímpicos. Por eso siento que es importante aclarar que lo que me pasó fue en la otra pierna, la derecha, y no tiene nada que ver con lo del tobillo izquierdo, en China.

El peroné es un hueso que prácticamente no soporta peso, casi todo recae sobre la tibia. En un principio se vinculó una cosa con la otra, pero ahora los médicos me dicen que eso no tiene mucho sentido. Para ir a jugar con la selección, los Spurs me dieron el alta médica, del mismo modo que ahora cuando volví en la NBA. Siempre hay riesgos y eso es lo que pasó, tuve una mala racha de lesiones. Soy consciente de que el año que viene al terminar la temporada puedo ser agente libre, y tanto los Spurs como yo podemos elegir. Pero esto no cambió mi forma de pensar. Lo dije muchas veces y lo repito: si dependiera de mí, me quedaría en San Antonio toda la vida.

Por todo esto, entre otras cosas, el equipo no está pasando un buen momento. No recuerdo que en otra temporada hayamos llegado a los playoffs siendo un equipo con un juego tan irregular. Las lesiones no son un problema técnico-táctico. Yo me perdí el 55% de los partidos, pero además Tim Duncan tiene sus problemas en las rodillas, a veces está dolorido y no puede jugar normalmente. El equipo se modifica mucho, trata de readaptarse y lo sufre mucho.

Igual, en los primeros 60 partidos de la temporada estuvimos segundos y hasta con tres partidos de ventaja. En los últimos 20 se complicó por esto de las lesiones.

Nosotros ahora podemos quedar entre los puestos 2 y 5. Más allá de tener ventaja de localía, por el rendimiento de los rivales, cualquiera parece ser lo mismo. Lo que todos quieren evitar, por supuesto, es el octavo lugar, porque los Lakers sí mostraron ser superiores a todos. Después todos tienen sus pros y sus contras: Portland es un gran equipo, atlético, pero algo joven e irregular; Houston es fuerte, pero puede sufrir la falta de un líder ofensivo y con talento como McGrady en los playoffs; a New Orleans lo conocemos, tiene muchos altibajos; Dallas está repuntando... Cualquiera es un peligro.

Del otro lado, Cleveland dio un pasito adelante respecto de Boston, que tiene problemas sin Kevin Garnett, y Orlando. Los playoffs son todos los años distintos, pero creo que esta vez Cleveland tiene jugadores nuevos que pueden marcar diferencias, como Delonte West y Mo Williams. Si algún equipo hace lo que hicimos nosotros en las finales de 2007, cerrándole la defensa en la pintura a James, puede tener problemas afuera, porque son buenos tiradores a pie firme. A LeBron lo rodearon mejor que otras veces y él está intratable.

Van a ser unos playoffs muy distintos, pero me voy a sentir parte del equipo, como siempre. Las sensaciones son distintas, claro. Cuando gané los campeonatos, el de 2005 fue el más emocionante, porque fui determinante como nunca, en 2003 fue una emoción increíble, pero con otro rol, y en 2007 también tuvo otro sabor. Me va a tocar aportar como hincha, pero voy a sentirme responsable. Siempre es así, cuando nos va bien o cuando nos va mal.

Manu

I surprised myself at how much of this I was actually able to figure out. Neat.

[SenorSpur]

Rasheed, don't forget Rasheed.

Heavens no. Don't want to forget Rasheed.

[mytespurs]

Heavens no. Don't want to forget Rasheed.

Prior to ginobili's injury and TD's tendinitis, Reggie Miller practically had an orgasm when the the spurs did not trade for rasheed....he was like if the spurs had sheed, I'd pick them to beat the Lakers, even with bynum!!! :wow

[LionZion]

Manu seems like a simple guy. From the day he's been in SA, whatever he has said has been simple. Mostly its things like "I didn't play hard enough. I didn't give enough of myself. I could have done better. I will do better next game. I can play smarter next time" etc.

If less than ten games in the Olympics broke whatever, you can bet 82 regular season games would have done it for sure. And then if the second injury happened because of the first(I think its because of all the mileage up until this point eventually causing a stress facture with maybe the previous injury hastening it a bit, who knows) then we probably looking at a time frame stretching probably into next season for Manu to recover from it all. This way, everything is done and now hopefully next season is enough time to get his body feeling good.

Its weird how as a fan anyone can ask more of Manu. What else is left to give.
One of the most common statements is TD is THE window. While that statement is true, I think its a subset of the Big Three is THE window(except for '99). Unless in these playoffs Tony elevates to a whole new level to alleviate the deficiencies of Timmy's knees and no Manu. It all started with Timmy and but it will end with any three.

[angel_luv]

They're going to be a very different playoffs, but I will still feel part of the team, as usual. The way I'll feel about it will be different though, obviously. When I won championships, the 2005 one was the most emotional for me because I was determinant like I never was. In 2003 was really incredible, but I had a different role. And 2007 also felt different. It's going to be my turn to support the team as a fan, but I still feel responsible for anything that happens. It's always like that, when things go well and when they don't.

Manu

2005 is my favorite Spurs championship too.

[manubili]

At least he's healing both ankles this way. :rolleyes

[SenorSpur]

Prior to ginobili's injury and TD's tendinitis, Reggie Miller practically had an orgasm when the the spurs did not trade for rasheed....he was like if the spurs had sheed, I'd pick them to beat the Lakers, even with bynum!!! :wow

I understand why. Come to think of it, so would I.

[spurs_50_21]

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

[timvp]

I don't understand why it's so hard to believe that you can have two unrelated injuries in a row.It's possible but these puzzle pieces fit together too perfectly. If you come back from ankle surgery with a different gait and you are going to suffer an overcompensation injury, the first injury I would guess is a stress fracture on the other leg. It could be some sort of coincidence, but those odds would be long.

It's not like he rolled his ankle to cause the stress fracture. It was either overcompensation or his body is breaking down. I'll go with overcompensation.



I mean, it's not like it never ever happened before. Happened to Ian this very same season.Mahinmi rolled his other ankle. And that injury was healed pretty quickly. It was his original injury that never healed.


Happened to Jacktovas (or however it's spelled).It did?


And those guys are much younger and didn't play anywhere near as many games as Manu. Sometimes you can just have a tough break. Happens to the best of them.It's possible and I'd believe it with just about any other scenario ... other than a player coming back with an altered gait who suffers a stress fracture on the opposite leg. Those pieces fit too perfectly.

Duncan's plantar fasciitis in '06 was blamed on his ankle sprains of '05 ... and those dots are much harder to connect than what happened to Manu.


I don't think he's trying to disprove anything about the Olympics. I think he just wants to make sure there's an official story (coming first hand from him) that the medical staff told him the injuries are unrelated. At this point, you would be arguing against a medical staff that had MRIs, CT scans, etc in their hands and evaluated what happened. A medical staff paid by the Spurs, not Manu. There's no reason for the doctor to lie. I still have to hear from somebody on the organization saying the injuries are related and that playing in the Olympics brought this to him. Hasn't happened yet. And I'm not holding my breath.

The Spurs would never out him. If Manu wants it to be known that the injuries were absolutely not related, the Spurs would be more than happy to hold a press conference complete with graphs, photos and expert analysis. Heck, Buck Harvey was halfway negative about Manu in an article and then was forced to write about three apology articles after it :lol

We'll never know the absolute truth. Personally, I wouldn't think differently of Manu no matter the circumstances. I know he'd be out there right now if at all possible giving 110% effort. And I already can't wait to see him at the start of next season :tu

[temujin]

Ginobili is very polite.

The fracture is more than likely a compensation due to the previous injury.
It happens, expecially if you are forcing the recovery.

Moreover, the fracture was probably there in february and was incorrectly downplayed to a stress reaction, a notion that finds no place in medical dictionaries.

For the future, however, my warm advice to him is that he seeks independent medical opinions, that are unrelated to the Spurs or to the Argentina national team.

[TMTTRIO]

Manu must be very bored if he's now taking pictures of little creatures found at his house :lol
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs036.snc1/3281_82687511933_71769686933_2478416_8318835_n.jpg

[DAF86]

Manu must be very bored if he's now taking pictures of little creatures found at his house :lol
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs036.snc1/3281_82687511933_71769686933_2478416_8318835_n.jpg

I bet that's a Sequ or Ducks present.

[ElNono]

It's possible but these puzzle pieces fit together too perfectly. If you come back from ankle surgery with a different gait and you are going to suffer an overcompensation injury, the first injury I would guess is a stress fracture on the other leg. It could be some sort of coincidence, but those odds would be long.

It's not like he rolled his ankle to cause the stress fracture. It was either overcompensation or his body is breaking down. I'll go with overcompensation.


I actually think that the reason he was explicit about explaining that the fibula carries almost no weight whatsoever on the leg (almost all of the weight handling is done by the tibia aka shinbone and femur), is to exactly dispel the idea of overcompensation. Furthermore, stress fractures on the tibia (and femur) due to overcompensation are extremely more common than on the fibula on athletes. It was actually hard for me to find examples of fibula fractures strictly by overcompensation way back when I looked for it. Google kept coming up with tibia fractures.
As far as his body breaking down, well, he did do a Bone Mineral Density test to check bone integrity and things like osteoporosis, and he said it came back ok. So as far as we know, his bone structure and density is ok.
For all we know, his fracture could have been developing for a while now, and it could have started with an awkward fall or something like that. It's really speculation, but it's just as good a reason as any, really.
I'm actually thrilled it's 'just' a bone injury and not a ligament/muscle issue. Those hardly ever recover 100%, and flare up all the time.


Mahinmi rolled his other ankle. And that injury was healed pretty quickly. It was his original injury that never healed.

Correct. My point was that is not uncommon to have two injuries in a season. For all we know, Manu could have started to develop the stress reaction before he had his left ankle problem. Let's not forget a lot of these guys play with some little pain here and there all the time. Manu specifically said he started being more cautious when little pains like this started to appear after his left ankle surgery.



It did?


Bruno I believe posted a day or two ago about either him or Victor Sanidizke (man, these names are tough) hoping through teams and falling down to injuries one after the other. Some people just can't catch a break.



It's possible and I'd believe it with just about any other scenario ... other than a player coming back with an altered gait who suffers a stress fracture on the opposite leg. Those pieces fit too perfectly.

Duncan's plantar fasciitis in '06 was blamed on his ankle sprains of '05 ... and those dots are much harder to connect than what happened to Manu.


I recall people mentioning his play for Team USA in '04 having a carry over also way back when. Some people in these very forums were wondering if we shouldn't trade him when he still had value... :rolleyes
But then again, you know who those people are as much as I do.



The Spurs would never out him. If Manu wants it to be known that the injuries were absolutely not related, the Spurs would be more than happy to hold a press conference complete with graphs, photos and expert analysis. Heck, Buck Harvey was halfway negative about Manu in an article and then was forced to write about three apology articles after it :lol


I agree. At the same time, it wouldn't be Manu like. He's probably the most straightforward guy as far as reaching out and telling it like it is. It would be hard to fathom he would do it any differently now.


We'll never know the absolute truth. Personally, I wouldn't think differently of Manu no matter the circumstances. I know he'd be out there right now if at all possible giving 110% effort. And I already can't wait to see him at the start of next season :tu

Absolutely. Aside form the usual suckers, I don't think there has been any doubt about his commitment to give it all for the Spurs. :toast

[TMTTRIO]

This is the latest from facebook. Hmm really interesting that he's starting to work out again:hat. I know there's no chance at all he comes back during the playoffs but still a little interesting;).

Hoy volví a la actividad. Todavía no puedo hacer con impacto, pero al menos dejé de lado la vida sedentaria. Nadé un buen rato, hice bicicleta y un poco de pesas, solo para mantener un poco de estado físico, también para liberar tensiones, no les voy a mentir!

[completely deck]

and for the English crowd:

Today I returned to activity. I still can not do it with impact, but at least I get out of the sedentary life. I swam a good while, rode the bike and lifted some weights, just to keep some physical state, also to release tension, I will not lie!

[SpursFan0728]

This is the latest from facebook. Hmm really interesting that he's starting to work out again:hat. I know there's no chance at all he comes back during the playoffs but still a little interesting;).

tensiones, no les voy a mentir!

Sorry if this was asked but is there ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE than Manu could be back if we make it to the finals or something?

Even though he will be out of rhythm, having him on the bench will boost the team's morale.