duncan228
04-14-2009, 11:11 PM
Mason's scoring up with Ginobili down (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Masons_scoring_up_with_Ginobili_down.html)
Jeff McDonald
It isn't the way he would have planned it, but Roger Mason Jr. has rediscovered his scoring role since Manu Ginobili's season-ending injury.
In five games without Ginobili, the team's offensive sparkplug, Mason has slid back into the starting shooting guard role and fired away.
His field goal attempts have gone up to 13.6 per game. He is shooting 45.5 percent from the field, and averaging 16.6 points.
“We all have to kind of pick our games up,” said Mason, who averaged 18 points on the Spurs' two-game road trip to Sacramento and Golden State. “Obviously, when Manu was here, there was less responsibility for me. With him out, you try to do a little bit more.”
With Ginobili shelved, Mason has assumed the role as the scoring anchor of the Spurs' second unit. He typically moves to point guard when working with the second team, which gives him bushels of scoring opportunities in the pick-and-roll.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls Mason “a savior for us.”
“He's definitely a scoring point, without a doubt,” Popovich said. “The time he's at the point, that's where the ball is going to go.”
Said Mason: “It definitely pulls my aggressiveness level up.”
Ginobili's season-ending injury, however, also scrapped one of Popovich's plans for the playoffs. He had hoped to use Ginobili as the de facto point guard with the second unit, with Mason on the wing.
“It would have been great to have them both out there at the same time,” Popovich said. “We could have called Manu's number, and had Roger out there for him to throw the ball to. Now, the offense just goes back to Roger.”
Like gravity: No Spurs starter played more than 27 minutes, 29 seconds in Sunday's 101-79 blowout victory at Golden State.
A night after sitting out a victory at Sacramento, Tim Duncan — for whom rest is most critical at this point — logged just 22 minutes, 41 seconds against the Warriors. That should leave him fresh for tonight's season finale against New Orleans.
“At this point in the season, saving any kind of energy is probably a good thing,” Popovich said. “At least in theory.”
One big knot: If the Spurs beat New Orleans, Denver loses to Portland, and Houston beats Dallas tonight, the Spurs would wind up in a four-way tie for the second seed in the Western Conference.
Once that tiebreaker is unraveled, however, the Spurs would wind up with the fifth seed, the lowest possible slot.
“It's pretty confusing, that's for sure,” Popovich said. “At this point, you just play to win that night, and see where you come out at the end.”
Jeff McDonald
It isn't the way he would have planned it, but Roger Mason Jr. has rediscovered his scoring role since Manu Ginobili's season-ending injury.
In five games without Ginobili, the team's offensive sparkplug, Mason has slid back into the starting shooting guard role and fired away.
His field goal attempts have gone up to 13.6 per game. He is shooting 45.5 percent from the field, and averaging 16.6 points.
“We all have to kind of pick our games up,” said Mason, who averaged 18 points on the Spurs' two-game road trip to Sacramento and Golden State. “Obviously, when Manu was here, there was less responsibility for me. With him out, you try to do a little bit more.”
With Ginobili shelved, Mason has assumed the role as the scoring anchor of the Spurs' second unit. He typically moves to point guard when working with the second team, which gives him bushels of scoring opportunities in the pick-and-roll.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls Mason “a savior for us.”
“He's definitely a scoring point, without a doubt,” Popovich said. “The time he's at the point, that's where the ball is going to go.”
Said Mason: “It definitely pulls my aggressiveness level up.”
Ginobili's season-ending injury, however, also scrapped one of Popovich's plans for the playoffs. He had hoped to use Ginobili as the de facto point guard with the second unit, with Mason on the wing.
“It would have been great to have them both out there at the same time,” Popovich said. “We could have called Manu's number, and had Roger out there for him to throw the ball to. Now, the offense just goes back to Roger.”
Like gravity: No Spurs starter played more than 27 minutes, 29 seconds in Sunday's 101-79 blowout victory at Golden State.
A night after sitting out a victory at Sacramento, Tim Duncan — for whom rest is most critical at this point — logged just 22 minutes, 41 seconds against the Warriors. That should leave him fresh for tonight's season finale against New Orleans.
“At this point in the season, saving any kind of energy is probably a good thing,” Popovich said. “At least in theory.”
One big knot: If the Spurs beat New Orleans, Denver loses to Portland, and Houston beats Dallas tonight, the Spurs would wind up in a four-way tie for the second seed in the Western Conference.
Once that tiebreaker is unraveled, however, the Spurs would wind up with the fifth seed, the lowest possible slot.
“It's pretty confusing, that's for sure,” Popovich said. “At this point, you just play to win that night, and see where you come out at the end.”