duncan228
11-11-2009, 02:04 AM
Big game for Manu helps ease his mind (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Big_game_for_Manu_helps_ease_his_mind.html)
Jeff McDonald
There is confidence, and then there is supreme confidence. If ever Manu Ginobili were feeling the latter, it came early in the fourth quarter of the Spurs' 131-124 victory over Toronto on Monday.
Fourteen seconds after checking into the game, Ginobili let fly with a long 3-point try. It was, in NBA terminology, a “heat check.”
The shot swished. Ginobili, on his way to a season-high and psyche-soothing 36 points, was officially on fire.
The question now becomes how long Ginobili's hot streak, and his confidence, will last.
“I'll tell you after next game,” Ginobili said. “If I keep feeling like this, confident with my shot and attacking the rim, you never know.”
For all the offseason hand-wringing about his recuperating right ankle, Ginobili has been far more concerned about the rehabilitation of a different body part.
“The head,” Ginobili said, “is a complicated organ.”
With rival Dallas in town tonight, and with the status of a pair of All-Stars still in limbo, the Spurs hope Ginobili's head remains uncomplicated.
Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, who missed the Toronto game while comparing sore left ankles, are listed as doubtful against Dallas.
That is never a pleasant injury report for the Spurs, but against the Mavs it could be even more crippling. Parker and Duncan were the only players to consistently produce in the Spurs' first-round playoff ouster against Dallas in April.
Ginobili, meanwhile, didn't produce at all. He missed the five-game series with a stress fracture in his fibula, an injury that left him shelved the entire summer.
Of all the upgrades the Spurs made since last facing Dallas — adding Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair and others — none would mean more than the return of a confident Ginobili.
For him, basketball has become the ultimate head game.
“Manu's a great player,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “As he gets his rhythm back and feels comfortable with the whole game, he's going to do some wonderful things.”
Monday, the Spurs caught a glimpse of the wonderful, pre-injury Ginobili. He shot 8 of 15, made six 3-pointers and added eight assists and four blocks.
After his big night, Ginobili stands as the Spurs' leading scorer at 17.3 points per game.
It was a breakout performance for a player who had been shooting less than 40 percent, and whose most notable highlight this season before Monday involved eradicating an AT&T Center bat problem.
“Hopefully,” center Matt Bonner said, “that's a sample of what's to come.”
Ginobili's masterful performance, which resulted in the most points ever scored by a reserve against the Raptors, did not begin promisingly.
He started 1 for 5, par for his season to that point. Still, Ginobili remained aggressive. He attacked the basket and got to the foul line. By halftime, he had 13 points — eight of them coming from the foul line — and seven assists.
Sometime after the half, Ginobili found his long-lost basketball legs. By the end of the game, he was perhaps feeling a little too confident.
With the Spurs leading by eight and less than a minute to play, Ginobili took a 12-footer too early in the shot clock. For the first time in the fourth quarter, he missed.
At the next dead ball, Popovich gave Ginobili a lecture about the benefits of time management.
“I was kind of hot, feeling really good about myself, and my defender fell,” Ginobili said. “I thought it was going to be two easy points.”
Not much has come easy for Ginobili in his return from ankle oblivion. He is hopeful Monday's game can be the start of something bigger.
For Ginobili, the next step in the return to normalcy is all in his head.
“I'm not in the most confident part of my career,” Ginobili said. “The season didn't start well, and I'm struggling a little bit, so I needed something like this to happen.”
Jeff McDonald
There is confidence, and then there is supreme confidence. If ever Manu Ginobili were feeling the latter, it came early in the fourth quarter of the Spurs' 131-124 victory over Toronto on Monday.
Fourteen seconds after checking into the game, Ginobili let fly with a long 3-point try. It was, in NBA terminology, a “heat check.”
The shot swished. Ginobili, on his way to a season-high and psyche-soothing 36 points, was officially on fire.
The question now becomes how long Ginobili's hot streak, and his confidence, will last.
“I'll tell you after next game,” Ginobili said. “If I keep feeling like this, confident with my shot and attacking the rim, you never know.”
For all the offseason hand-wringing about his recuperating right ankle, Ginobili has been far more concerned about the rehabilitation of a different body part.
“The head,” Ginobili said, “is a complicated organ.”
With rival Dallas in town tonight, and with the status of a pair of All-Stars still in limbo, the Spurs hope Ginobili's head remains uncomplicated.
Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, who missed the Toronto game while comparing sore left ankles, are listed as doubtful against Dallas.
That is never a pleasant injury report for the Spurs, but against the Mavs it could be even more crippling. Parker and Duncan were the only players to consistently produce in the Spurs' first-round playoff ouster against Dallas in April.
Ginobili, meanwhile, didn't produce at all. He missed the five-game series with a stress fracture in his fibula, an injury that left him shelved the entire summer.
Of all the upgrades the Spurs made since last facing Dallas — adding Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair and others — none would mean more than the return of a confident Ginobili.
For him, basketball has become the ultimate head game.
“Manu's a great player,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “As he gets his rhythm back and feels comfortable with the whole game, he's going to do some wonderful things.”
Monday, the Spurs caught a glimpse of the wonderful, pre-injury Ginobili. He shot 8 of 15, made six 3-pointers and added eight assists and four blocks.
After his big night, Ginobili stands as the Spurs' leading scorer at 17.3 points per game.
It was a breakout performance for a player who had been shooting less than 40 percent, and whose most notable highlight this season before Monday involved eradicating an AT&T Center bat problem.
“Hopefully,” center Matt Bonner said, “that's a sample of what's to come.”
Ginobili's masterful performance, which resulted in the most points ever scored by a reserve against the Raptors, did not begin promisingly.
He started 1 for 5, par for his season to that point. Still, Ginobili remained aggressive. He attacked the basket and got to the foul line. By halftime, he had 13 points — eight of them coming from the foul line — and seven assists.
Sometime after the half, Ginobili found his long-lost basketball legs. By the end of the game, he was perhaps feeling a little too confident.
With the Spurs leading by eight and less than a minute to play, Ginobili took a 12-footer too early in the shot clock. For the first time in the fourth quarter, he missed.
At the next dead ball, Popovich gave Ginobili a lecture about the benefits of time management.
“I was kind of hot, feeling really good about myself, and my defender fell,” Ginobili said. “I thought it was going to be two easy points.”
Not much has come easy for Ginobili in his return from ankle oblivion. He is hopeful Monday's game can be the start of something bigger.
For Ginobili, the next step in the return to normalcy is all in his head.
“I'm not in the most confident part of my career,” Ginobili said. “The season didn't start well, and I'm struggling a little bit, so I needed something like this to happen.”