TMTTRIO
06-11-2005, 12:50 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA061105.1S.BKNspurs.ginobili.3009da155.html
Mover and shaker: Motor always has been running for Spurs' Ginobili
Web Posted: 06/11/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
Danny Ferry has seen Manu Ginobili plow into Shaquille O'Neal, scrape himself off the floor then plow into him again. He saw Seattle's Danny Fortson throw Ginobili onto his back. He watched as three different Denver Nuggets clubbed Ginobili on the same drive.
Nothing, however, quite measured the size of Ginobili's Spaldings as the time Ferry watched the Spurs' fearless guard go one-one-one with Gregg Popovich.
With the Spurs trying to claw back in the fourth quarter against Dallas midway through his rookie season in 2002-03, Ginobili decided it was as good a time as any to attempt a 630-degree wrap-around pass. The ball, which Ginobili somehow nearly brought around his waist twice, ended up in the lap of a courtside fan.
His coach, not too surprisingly, wasn't pleased. "What did you do that for?" Popovich screamed at Ginobili after the game.
Ginobili, sitting in front of his locker, looked up at Popovich and shrugged. "It's what I do," he said. "It's who I am."
Ferry and the rest of his teammates braced for the ensuing explosion. It never happened. Popovich stared at Ginobili. Mouth agape, he couldn't get a single word off his tongue.
Ginobili's blend of courage and competitiveness has since left much of the league similarly slack-jawed. His performance in Thursday's opening game of the NBA Finals — he scored 22 second-half points to help give the Spurs an 84-69 victory over Detroit — only further inflated the ranks of Manuphiles.
"He's the motor of that team," Pistons guard Carlos Arroyo said. "You can stop a guy from scoring, but you can't stop him from making his teammates better. He showed that last night. He just took over that game."
Ginobili ran in from above the 3-point line to beat three Pistons to an offensive rebound. He dove into the scorer's table to save the ball off the leg of Arroyo. Once the fourth quarter arrived, he attacked the basket time and again.
The Spurs, emboldened by Ginobili's confidence, scored on eight consecutive possessions.
"They need his swagger," said Ferry, now the Spurs' director of basketball operations. "They need his toughness, his fire. Manu plays with so much of that, that he empowers the group."
Popovich calls Ginobili "probably the most competitive person I've ever been around" — an opinion more than a few people share.
"I could never say this publicly," said one rival Western Conference head coach, "but, given the choice, I would take Manu over Kobe (Bryant)." :wow
Ginobili's fire burned long before he came to the NBA. "He was born like that," said Leandro, the oldest of Ginobili's two brothers. "He's competitive playing cards."
Growing up in the Argentine town of Bahia Blanca — a basketball oasis in the soccer-mad country — Ginobili played for a youth team of the club his father, Jorge, ran. He was reed thin, but also fearless. Reared on Michael Jordan tapes his father's coaching friends brought from their visits to the United States, he took the ball to the basket relentlessly, if not also recklessly.
For his bravery, fans called Ginobili "cara de piedra." Stone-faced.
"Ever since he was young, he was always very intense," Jorge said.
Leandro and Ginobili's other brother, Sebastian, also played professionally in Argentina. The first time Ginobili faced his brothers' team, Leandro, seven years his senior, "dominated" him.
"I laugh now," Leandro said. "I scored a lot of points. I guarded him well. But the next season, when I played against him again, it was impossible. I couldn't catch him even in a small bathroom.
"Every day, every hour he gets better. In Argentina we say he never 'reach his roof.'"
Regardless of whether Ginobili's talent has yet to peak, he has grown far more comfortable with his role on the Spurs. In the locker room, he speaks when he thinks something needs to be said. His leadership skills are even more evident on the court, where Popovich has increasingly given him the ball in end-of-game situations.
"I just feel way more responsible this year in what the team does," Ginobili said.
That has shown in each round of the playoffs. Hoping to infuse his reserve unit with a jolt of energy, Popovich moved Ginobili to the bench after the team's opening loss to Denver. He averaged 22.8 points and 6.5 rebounds during the final four games of the series.
During the Spurs' critical Game 5 victory over Seattle, Ginobili scored 39 points on only 15 shots. Two nights later, he helped close out the Sonics when he drove to the rim as if to shoot. As Seattle center Vitaly Potapenko ran out to cut him off, Ginobili threaded a pass to Tim Duncan, who banked in the winning layup with half a second remaining.
Ginobili's behind-the-back dribble through Phoenix's Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire — a drive that ended with him banking in a reverse layup with his right hand — at the end of Game 2 of the conference finals ranks as one of the best moves in this season's playoffs.
After Detroit ran off 10 unanswered points to pull within 74-67 with a little more than three minutes remaining Thursday, Ginobili drove for a dunk, buried a 3-pointer and banked in a difficult runner while falling into a row of photographers.
The victory secure, Ginobili took the ball on the next possession and started to head up court. Duncan, Tony Parker, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry lagged behind. For a moment, it looked as if they wanted to see their teammate take on all five Pistons alone.
"Probably the worst thing we can do is just sit there and watch him play," Duncan said, "but you get mesmerized."
Even Popovich admits the same. While a too-quick shot or near-impossible pass occasionally still earns Ginobili an are-you-crazy rebuke, his coach usually stays quiet these days.
"He has a willingness to do what it takes to win," Popovich said, "and to do it at the highest possible level of intensity, every single minute he steps on the court."
As a result, when Ginobili lowers his head and goes to the rim, Popovich now does what Ferry does. He just watches.
Manu's amazing and one of a kind alright. I'm curious who the coach is that won't come out and say it publicly. Probably George Karl :lol j/k. If I had to say it would be D' Antoni.
Mover and shaker: Motor always has been running for Spurs' Ginobili
Web Posted: 06/11/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
Danny Ferry has seen Manu Ginobili plow into Shaquille O'Neal, scrape himself off the floor then plow into him again. He saw Seattle's Danny Fortson throw Ginobili onto his back. He watched as three different Denver Nuggets clubbed Ginobili on the same drive.
Nothing, however, quite measured the size of Ginobili's Spaldings as the time Ferry watched the Spurs' fearless guard go one-one-one with Gregg Popovich.
With the Spurs trying to claw back in the fourth quarter against Dallas midway through his rookie season in 2002-03, Ginobili decided it was as good a time as any to attempt a 630-degree wrap-around pass. The ball, which Ginobili somehow nearly brought around his waist twice, ended up in the lap of a courtside fan.
His coach, not too surprisingly, wasn't pleased. "What did you do that for?" Popovich screamed at Ginobili after the game.
Ginobili, sitting in front of his locker, looked up at Popovich and shrugged. "It's what I do," he said. "It's who I am."
Ferry and the rest of his teammates braced for the ensuing explosion. It never happened. Popovich stared at Ginobili. Mouth agape, he couldn't get a single word off his tongue.
Ginobili's blend of courage and competitiveness has since left much of the league similarly slack-jawed. His performance in Thursday's opening game of the NBA Finals — he scored 22 second-half points to help give the Spurs an 84-69 victory over Detroit — only further inflated the ranks of Manuphiles.
"He's the motor of that team," Pistons guard Carlos Arroyo said. "You can stop a guy from scoring, but you can't stop him from making his teammates better. He showed that last night. He just took over that game."
Ginobili ran in from above the 3-point line to beat three Pistons to an offensive rebound. He dove into the scorer's table to save the ball off the leg of Arroyo. Once the fourth quarter arrived, he attacked the basket time and again.
The Spurs, emboldened by Ginobili's confidence, scored on eight consecutive possessions.
"They need his swagger," said Ferry, now the Spurs' director of basketball operations. "They need his toughness, his fire. Manu plays with so much of that, that he empowers the group."
Popovich calls Ginobili "probably the most competitive person I've ever been around" — an opinion more than a few people share.
"I could never say this publicly," said one rival Western Conference head coach, "but, given the choice, I would take Manu over Kobe (Bryant)." :wow
Ginobili's fire burned long before he came to the NBA. "He was born like that," said Leandro, the oldest of Ginobili's two brothers. "He's competitive playing cards."
Growing up in the Argentine town of Bahia Blanca — a basketball oasis in the soccer-mad country — Ginobili played for a youth team of the club his father, Jorge, ran. He was reed thin, but also fearless. Reared on Michael Jordan tapes his father's coaching friends brought from their visits to the United States, he took the ball to the basket relentlessly, if not also recklessly.
For his bravery, fans called Ginobili "cara de piedra." Stone-faced.
"Ever since he was young, he was always very intense," Jorge said.
Leandro and Ginobili's other brother, Sebastian, also played professionally in Argentina. The first time Ginobili faced his brothers' team, Leandro, seven years his senior, "dominated" him.
"I laugh now," Leandro said. "I scored a lot of points. I guarded him well. But the next season, when I played against him again, it was impossible. I couldn't catch him even in a small bathroom.
"Every day, every hour he gets better. In Argentina we say he never 'reach his roof.'"
Regardless of whether Ginobili's talent has yet to peak, he has grown far more comfortable with his role on the Spurs. In the locker room, he speaks when he thinks something needs to be said. His leadership skills are even more evident on the court, where Popovich has increasingly given him the ball in end-of-game situations.
"I just feel way more responsible this year in what the team does," Ginobili said.
That has shown in each round of the playoffs. Hoping to infuse his reserve unit with a jolt of energy, Popovich moved Ginobili to the bench after the team's opening loss to Denver. He averaged 22.8 points and 6.5 rebounds during the final four games of the series.
During the Spurs' critical Game 5 victory over Seattle, Ginobili scored 39 points on only 15 shots. Two nights later, he helped close out the Sonics when he drove to the rim as if to shoot. As Seattle center Vitaly Potapenko ran out to cut him off, Ginobili threaded a pass to Tim Duncan, who banked in the winning layup with half a second remaining.
Ginobili's behind-the-back dribble through Phoenix's Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire — a drive that ended with him banking in a reverse layup with his right hand — at the end of Game 2 of the conference finals ranks as one of the best moves in this season's playoffs.
After Detroit ran off 10 unanswered points to pull within 74-67 with a little more than three minutes remaining Thursday, Ginobili drove for a dunk, buried a 3-pointer and banked in a difficult runner while falling into a row of photographers.
The victory secure, Ginobili took the ball on the next possession and started to head up court. Duncan, Tony Parker, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry lagged behind. For a moment, it looked as if they wanted to see their teammate take on all five Pistons alone.
"Probably the worst thing we can do is just sit there and watch him play," Duncan said, "but you get mesmerized."
Even Popovich admits the same. While a too-quick shot or near-impossible pass occasionally still earns Ginobili an are-you-crazy rebuke, his coach usually stays quiet these days.
"He has a willingness to do what it takes to win," Popovich said, "and to do it at the highest possible level of intensity, every single minute he steps on the court."
As a result, when Ginobili lowers his head and goes to the rim, Popovich now does what Ferry does. He just watches.
Manu's amazing and one of a kind alright. I'm curious who the coach is that won't come out and say it publicly. Probably George Karl :lol j/k. If I had to say it would be D' Antoni.