Spurs Brazil
11-16-2009, 05:56 PM
Manu: Hamstring feels fine
By Jeff McDonald on Nov 16, 09 04:18 PM
Manu Ginobili says the tight left hamstring that, depending on who you ask, kept him out of the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Oklahoma City is feeling fine. And, to lift an old Saturday Night Live line, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
Ginobili re-iterated Monday that he never wanted to come out the Thunder game, and said he expects to be ready to play Wednesday at Dallas.
"I think I'm ready," Ginobili said. "I've got to convince, as always, Mr. Popovich."
Mr. Popovich -- aka, Gregg -- ultimately made the call to pull Ginobili against the Thunder. Ginobili had played through a stiffening hamstring three nights earlier against Dallas, and had been limited in practice ever since. Popovich thought Ginobili looked not quite right in the second half against Oklahoma City as well.
The numbers, perhaps, support Popovich's assessment. Through three quarters, Ginobili was 0-for-7 from the field, with four of his misses coming from the 3-point stripe. He finished without a field goal for the first time since Dec. 22, 2007, when he left a game against the Clippers after only two minutes with a jammed thumb.
Unlike that night, Ginobili thought he could have finished the game against the Thunder. Never one to argue with a coach, Ginobili said he did not petition Popovich to put him back in.
"I didn't even have a shot to try to convince him," Ginobili said. "He just sat me. I never said my hamstring was hurting. I never said I wanted to rest. He just thought it was the best option, and he went for it. He's the one who decides who's in and who's out."
Ginobili very much expects to be in against the Mavericks. He hopes Popovich agrees.
http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2009/11/manu-hamstring.html
By Jeff McDonald on Nov 16, 09 04:18 PM
Manu Ginobili says the tight left hamstring that, depending on who you ask, kept him out of the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Oklahoma City is feeling fine. And, to lift an old Saturday Night Live line, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
Ginobili re-iterated Monday that he never wanted to come out the Thunder game, and said he expects to be ready to play Wednesday at Dallas.
"I think I'm ready," Ginobili said. "I've got to convince, as always, Mr. Popovich."
Mr. Popovich -- aka, Gregg -- ultimately made the call to pull Ginobili against the Thunder. Ginobili had played through a stiffening hamstring three nights earlier against Dallas, and had been limited in practice ever since. Popovich thought Ginobili looked not quite right in the second half against Oklahoma City as well.
The numbers, perhaps, support Popovich's assessment. Through three quarters, Ginobili was 0-for-7 from the field, with four of his misses coming from the 3-point stripe. He finished without a field goal for the first time since Dec. 22, 2007, when he left a game against the Clippers after only two minutes with a jammed thumb.
Unlike that night, Ginobili thought he could have finished the game against the Thunder. Never one to argue with a coach, Ginobili said he did not petition Popovich to put him back in.
"I didn't even have a shot to try to convince him," Ginobili said. "He just sat me. I never said my hamstring was hurting. I never said I wanted to rest. He just thought it was the best option, and he went for it. He's the one who decides who's in and who's out."
Ginobili very much expects to be in against the Mavericks. He hopes Popovich agrees.
http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2009/11/manu-hamstring.html