tekdragon
06-21-2005, 02:28 PM
Ginobili's intensity drives the Spurs (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/2005-06-20-ginobili_x.htm)
By David DuPree, USA TODAY
SAN ANTONIO — Teammate Robert Horry might make the big shots and Tim Duncan might be there to anchor everything, but in Manu Ginobili the San Antonio Spurs have perhaps the ultimate wild card.
With their championship hopes teetering after two consecutive blowout losses to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made a daring decision for Game 5 — he put the ball in Ginobili's hands and let him run the team.
The clever move paid off and the Spurs won 96-95 in overtime, giving them a commanding 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with the last two games, if both are necessary, at San Antonio's SBC Center.
Ginobili's role in Game 5 was similar to the one he played on Argentina's gold medal-winning Olympic team last summer, and he thrived in it with 15 points, nine assists, six rebounds, a steal and only two turnovers in 44 minutes.
He controlled the ball; he brought it up court against Detroit's pressure defense, he got it to the right people and he made things happen. The move also allowed Tony Parker not to have to work so hard getting the ball up court, and he was able to move without the ball and get some open shots, making seven of 15. The strategy caught Detroit by surprise, and the Pistons had a difficult time figuring out just who to put on Ginobili.
"I just tried to be more aggressive, go to the basket harder, grab the ball better," Ginobili said after having had bad games in the losses in Games 3 and 4 in which he had a total of eight turnovers and 19 points. "I think the key was to move the ball better. It's easier to get to the basket if you don't allow the defense to set."
That wasn't the first time during these playoffs Ginobili has been asked to do something outside the ordinary. After the Spurs lost Game 1 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Popovich decided to bring Ginobili off the bench to give the team a spark. The Spurs won the next four games. Then, after coming off the bench in the first four games against the Seattle SuperSonics, Ginobili went back to the starting lineup with the series tied 2-2 and scored 39 points in Game 5. The Spurs won the series in six games.
In the Finals, Ginobili is averaging 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists and shooting 49.1% from the field.
"I think the consistency he shows is there every night," Popovich said. "It's not once in a while, but that hell-bent-for-leather sort of attitude, the willingness to take big shots, the willingness to do what it takes to win and to do it at the highest level of intensity is there every single minute he steps on the court for 82 regular-season games. It's just the way he's built.
"I never talk to him. I never try to motivate him. I never say a word. I just watch."
Because he is also the leader of his national team, Ginobili is used to the big stage and keeping everyone involved. It was Ginobili who went over to Tim Duncan after Duncan struggled in the fourth quarter, missing six of seven free throws and missing a point-blank putback at the end of regulation that would have won the game, and helped calm Duncan to get his mind ready for overtime.
Ginobili also has shown in these Finals that he is as tough as they come. As often as he gets knocked down, it never discourages him from going hard to the basket the next time. He just gets up and goes about his business.
And his business is winning.
DuPree's Game 6 glance
The series: Spurs lead 3-2.
Who's hot: Pistons - Chauncey Billups is averaging a series high in scoring (21.8) and assists (6.0), giving Detroit whatever it needs when it needs it. Ben Wallace has anchored the defense, averaging 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 blocked shots and 1.6 steals. He has also been a factor offensively, averaging 11 points, and is the only player on either team shooting better than 50% from the field (54.8). Spurs - Robert Horry is coming off the most dramatic single-game performance of the series, scoring 21 points in the second half of Sunday's 96-95 overtime win in Game 5, making the game-winning three-pointer with 5.8 seconds left in OT and making five of six three-pointers. Tim Duncan, despite poor performances in Games 3 and 4, is averaging 19.6 points, 14.6 rebounds and 2.40 blocked shots.
Who's not: Pistons - Rasheed Wallace made the defensive blunder at the end of Game 5 that left Horry open for his game-winner. He has not been able to establish himself offensively in the series, averaging only 9.8 points. Spurs - Backup point guard Beno Udrih didn't even get off the bench in Game 5 because coach Gregg Popovich can't trust his ballhandling. Udrih had five turnovers in a total of 18 minutes in Games 3 and 4.
What Pistons have to do: Bring the same energy as in Games 3 and 4; establish Rasheed Wallace offensively and keep Manu Ginobili out of the lane. Tim Duncan cannot be allowed to dominate on the glass, either. They have to keep a body on him and not leave Horry open, either. Said coach Larry Brown: "We've got to figure out a way to realize that we've got to make it a one-game series."
What Spurs have to do: Continue to play hard and not expect the Pistons to lay down; take care of the ball and not be intimidated when Detroit gets physical; get another big game from Duncan; force the tempo, get some easy baskets in transition and dare the Pistons to run with them.
By David DuPree, USA TODAY
SAN ANTONIO — Teammate Robert Horry might make the big shots and Tim Duncan might be there to anchor everything, but in Manu Ginobili the San Antonio Spurs have perhaps the ultimate wild card.
With their championship hopes teetering after two consecutive blowout losses to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made a daring decision for Game 5 — he put the ball in Ginobili's hands and let him run the team.
The clever move paid off and the Spurs won 96-95 in overtime, giving them a commanding 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with the last two games, if both are necessary, at San Antonio's SBC Center.
Ginobili's role in Game 5 was similar to the one he played on Argentina's gold medal-winning Olympic team last summer, and he thrived in it with 15 points, nine assists, six rebounds, a steal and only two turnovers in 44 minutes.
He controlled the ball; he brought it up court against Detroit's pressure defense, he got it to the right people and he made things happen. The move also allowed Tony Parker not to have to work so hard getting the ball up court, and he was able to move without the ball and get some open shots, making seven of 15. The strategy caught Detroit by surprise, and the Pistons had a difficult time figuring out just who to put on Ginobili.
"I just tried to be more aggressive, go to the basket harder, grab the ball better," Ginobili said after having had bad games in the losses in Games 3 and 4 in which he had a total of eight turnovers and 19 points. "I think the key was to move the ball better. It's easier to get to the basket if you don't allow the defense to set."
That wasn't the first time during these playoffs Ginobili has been asked to do something outside the ordinary. After the Spurs lost Game 1 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Popovich decided to bring Ginobili off the bench to give the team a spark. The Spurs won the next four games. Then, after coming off the bench in the first four games against the Seattle SuperSonics, Ginobili went back to the starting lineup with the series tied 2-2 and scored 39 points in Game 5. The Spurs won the series in six games.
In the Finals, Ginobili is averaging 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists and shooting 49.1% from the field.
"I think the consistency he shows is there every night," Popovich said. "It's not once in a while, but that hell-bent-for-leather sort of attitude, the willingness to take big shots, the willingness to do what it takes to win and to do it at the highest level of intensity is there every single minute he steps on the court for 82 regular-season games. It's just the way he's built.
"I never talk to him. I never try to motivate him. I never say a word. I just watch."
Because he is also the leader of his national team, Ginobili is used to the big stage and keeping everyone involved. It was Ginobili who went over to Tim Duncan after Duncan struggled in the fourth quarter, missing six of seven free throws and missing a point-blank putback at the end of regulation that would have won the game, and helped calm Duncan to get his mind ready for overtime.
Ginobili also has shown in these Finals that he is as tough as they come. As often as he gets knocked down, it never discourages him from going hard to the basket the next time. He just gets up and goes about his business.
And his business is winning.
DuPree's Game 6 glance
The series: Spurs lead 3-2.
Who's hot: Pistons - Chauncey Billups is averaging a series high in scoring (21.8) and assists (6.0), giving Detroit whatever it needs when it needs it. Ben Wallace has anchored the defense, averaging 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 blocked shots and 1.6 steals. He has also been a factor offensively, averaging 11 points, and is the only player on either team shooting better than 50% from the field (54.8). Spurs - Robert Horry is coming off the most dramatic single-game performance of the series, scoring 21 points in the second half of Sunday's 96-95 overtime win in Game 5, making the game-winning three-pointer with 5.8 seconds left in OT and making five of six three-pointers. Tim Duncan, despite poor performances in Games 3 and 4, is averaging 19.6 points, 14.6 rebounds and 2.40 blocked shots.
Who's not: Pistons - Rasheed Wallace made the defensive blunder at the end of Game 5 that left Horry open for his game-winner. He has not been able to establish himself offensively in the series, averaging only 9.8 points. Spurs - Backup point guard Beno Udrih didn't even get off the bench in Game 5 because coach Gregg Popovich can't trust his ballhandling. Udrih had five turnovers in a total of 18 minutes in Games 3 and 4.
What Pistons have to do: Bring the same energy as in Games 3 and 4; establish Rasheed Wallace offensively and keep Manu Ginobili out of the lane. Tim Duncan cannot be allowed to dominate on the glass, either. They have to keep a body on him and not leave Horry open, either. Said coach Larry Brown: "We've got to figure out a way to realize that we've got to make it a one-game series."
What Spurs have to do: Continue to play hard and not expect the Pistons to lay down; take care of the ball and not be intimidated when Detroit gets physical; get another big game from Duncan; force the tempo, get some easy baskets in transition and dare the Pistons to run with them.