Injury Update: Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Bonner

[timvp]

Manu Ginobili took a shot to the head late in the fourth. Looks like it was in the eye area. After the game, he went to go see the Kings doctors. No word yet on his status for tomorrow night.

Stephen Jackson missed the game due to illness (stomach flu). Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard were both sick but played. Matt Bonner was sick but in uniform (he didn't play).

[ElNono]

Manu's eye was getting swelled in the bottom part when he sat down... hopefully it's just a hit...

[Stabula]

Manu getting swatted in the eye by Cousins was a good excuse to bench him for the rest of the quarter. He was absolutely awful tonight.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Manu's eye was getting swelled in the bottom part when he sat down... hopefully it's just a hit...

when he got hit, he was in front of parker who was on the bench....maybe parker was thinkn, yeh now u know how i feel when i got hit at the club ....

parker had no business playin tonight with the flu, he think he jordan tryin to play a flu game...theres nothing to prove out there...

[spurs1990]

parker had no business playin tonight with the flu, he think he jordan tryin to play a flu game...theres nothing to prove out there...

I was also wondering why he was there even after Patrick Mills turned his inner Dana Barros early on.

Would be nice for Mills' streak to extend tomorrow in Portland.

[ElNono]

Parker needed to play because this was a winnable game and odds are Tony is sitting tomorrow

[racm]

Gutsy road win with everyone being ailed by something. Makes me worried whether they have anything left in the tank for the Portland game...

[timtonymanu]

Damn. I'm hoping for selfish reasons that no one sits tomorrow. :lol

Gonna be in attendance at the Blazers game.

[racm]

Parker needed to play because this was a winnable game and odds are Tony is sitting tomorrow If it means Millsanitty gets to start and rips Lillard... :toast

[TDMVPDPOY]

tlong must be shittin himself if mills is going to expose the blazers tomarrow breaking a few legs out there also

[ElNono]

we're not winning tomorrow unless we shot lights out from downtown... we're too soft at the moment to compete with a physical team like Portland

[Trainwreck2100]

we're not winning tomorrow unless we shot lights out from downtown... we're too soft at the moment to compete with a physical team like Portland
they're not winning tommorow cause they will sit duncan, parker, manu, and possibly jackson

[Stabula]

Yeah but Portland has no bench. Last season we were able to win games with the big three all sitting out because of the pure offensive energy of Patrick Mills. Hope to see an encore of that.

[Malik Hairston]

How is Portland a physical team, tbh?..

They are the 2nd worst team in the NBA in interior scoring and defense, and they don't have any particularly physical players..

Luckily, Portland has the worst bench in the NBA..

[jestersmash]

they're not winning tommorow cause they will sit duncan, parker, manu, and possibly jackson

We forfeited a 10+ game win streak at an @Portland game last season as well when we sat our big 3 and subsequently lost by 30 IIRC.

[superjames1992]

I almost feel like we might as well sit Manu until there's about 10 games left in the season. Maybe he wouldn't be injured when the playoffs come around that way.

[jestersmash]

I almost feel like we might as well sit Manu until there's about 10 games left in the season. Maybe he wouldn't be injured when the playoffs come around that way.

He's also be utterly useless and out of rhythm, not to mention his teammates wouldn't get a chance to get used to his passing on the offensive end.

(I know you were exaggerating, obviously).

I'm also not entirely convinced of this "preserve the tank for the playoffs" hypothesis where Popovich routinely plays Ginobili in the high 20s/low 30s during the regular season and then suddenly expects him to play 36-39 MPG during the playoffs. Yes - playing Ginobili limited minutes during the regular season certainly mitigates the chance of injury, but it also undermines in-game conditioning/stamina.

How often have we seen Ginobili extended well beyond his regular season MPG routinely shoot 3 point attempts just short because he's winded near the end of games?

I'd like a better balance of limiting the potential for injury but making sure (particularly during the last 15-20 games of the regular season) that Ginobili is given sufficient minutes to develop his conditioning in game.

[ElNono]

How is Portland a physical team, tbh?..

They are the 2nd worst team in the NBA in interior scoring and defense, and they don't have any particularly physical players..

Luckily, Portland has the worst bench in the NBA..

Not talking inside. I'm talking in the perimeter, where Batum and Matthews like to play physical and intense, especially at home. With Tony ailing and guys like Neal, we don't have much to match up that intensity. Jack would help but he's been sick and Batum is just way too athletic. Like I said, the game is winnable if we shoot lights out from downtown or Portland has his annual knee injury.

[Raven]

we're not winning tomorrow unless we shot lights out from downtown... we're too soft at the moment to compete with a physical team like Portland

c'mon dude, are you afraid of jj hickson and liliard?

[ElNono]

c'mon dude, are you afraid of jj hickson and liliard?

read the post right above yours

[Raven]

read the post right above yours

what's the problem with green and kawhi playin batum and wes? I like those two players a lot, but it is pretty close with our duo, and we have the edge everywhere else so ... I'm not sayin we'll win, but I wouldn't accept giving up from the start even if it was Jordan's bulls.

[ElNono]

what's the problem with green and kawhi playin batum and wes? I like those two players a lot, but it is pretty close with our duo, and we have the edge everywhere else so ... I'm not sayin we'll win, but I wouldn't accept giving up from the start even if it was Jordan's bulls.

That they play nearly 40 mpg... and, as I said, they like to tough it up at home. I'm not saying the Spurs should just roll over and die, but I'm being realistic with the expectations, especially on a back to back and playing at their place.

[Raven]

That they play nearly 40 mpg... and, as I said, they like to tough it up at home. I'm not saying the Spurs should just roll over and die, but I'm being realistic with the expectations, especially on a back to back and playing at their place.

that's why we have the best bench, to be able to play b2b with good enough energy.. they are 2-3 and 1-1 at home, i'm not scared of them even a bit, and i think spurs fan really underrate our role players..

[Proxy]

that's why we have the best bench, to be able to play b2b with good enough energy.. they are 2-3 and 1-1 at home, i'm not scared of them even a bit, and i think spurs fan really underrate our role players..

So you're assuming everyone available plays to the best of their capabilities... doesn't seem like a smart bet. It's not a matter of not believing in the team or thinking Portland's players are better than ours; it's a matter of understanding the variables and that everyone won't be up for every single game of the season, and that's fine.

[ElNono]

that's why we have the best bench, to be able to play b2b with good enough energy.. they are 2-3 and 1-1 at home, i'm not scared of them even a bit, and i think spurs fan really underrate our role players..

our bench has been ridiculously inconsistent, tbh... even Gino.

[Raven]

So you're assuming everyone available plays to the best of their capabilities... doesn't seem like a smart bet. It's not a matter of not believing in the team or thinking Portland's players are better than ours; it's a matter of understanding the variables and that everyone won't be up for every single game of the season, and that's fine.

It is not a bet, anyone can lose against anyone in the nba, yet we're still the favourites and should consider ourself as such.

[Raven]

our bench has been ridiculously inconsistent, tbh... even Gino.

still the best in the decade tbh.. Only debatable with the championship dallas, really..

[Brazil]

Why everytime we are playin' Portland we are in such a bad shape ? whether we tank whether we sick against them :lol

[Morg1411]

We haven't won a game IN Portland since 2007. With the tail end of a back-to-back and the plague the team is carrying, I see no reason for that to change tonight.

[ElNono]

still the best in the decade tbh.. Only debatable with the championship dallas, really..

Clippers have the best bench in the league this season, imo

[Kidd K]

Yeah this is gonna be a big loss. Portland's gonna come out like it's Easter and grab their little baskets of candy inside all night if Duncan's sitting. Watch Aldridge kill us for 30+ on like 60% if Tim doesn't play, and Lillard destroy our shit ass PGs.

I wouldn't be surprised if we shoot under 40% for the game with "the big 3" and Jackson sitting. If you look at our team minus those 4 guys (and possibly minus Leonard too), out team is a huge joke. We're gonna get mauled.

Whole point of game is just giving guys minutes who normally don't get them. . .might's well just chalk this up as a loss now so you don't get upset later.

[ElNono]

tbh, it took Kobe Neal and some luck but I'm happily eating every bit of crow...

[Sa_Spursfan20]

Yeah this is gonna be a big loss. Portland's gonna come out like it's Easter and grab their little baskets of candy inside all night if Duncan's sitting. Watch Aldridge kill us for 30+ on like 60% if Tim doesn't play, and Lillard destroy our shit ass PGs.

I wouldn't be surprised if we shoot under 40% for the game with "the big 3" and Jackson sitting. If you look at our team minus those 4 guys (and possibly minus Leonard too), out team is a huge joke. We're gonna get mauled.

Whole point of game is just giving guys minutes who normally don't get them. . .might's well just chalk this up as a loss now so you don't get upset later.

Lol

[Kidd K]

Lol

What's so funny? Read the bolded. Clearly those things didn't happen. Only Parker sat.


Yeah this is gonna be a big loss. Portland's gonna come out like it's Easter and grab their little baskets of candy inside all night if Duncan's sitting. Watch Aldridge kill us for 30+ on like 60% if Tim doesn't play, and Lillard destroy our shit ass PGs.

I wouldn't be surprised if we shoot under 40% for the game with "the big 3" and Jackson sitting. If you look at our team minus those 4 guys (and possibly minus Leonard too), out team is a huge joke. We're gonna get mauled.

Whole point of game is just giving guys minutes who normally don't get them. . .might's well just chalk this up as a loss now so you don't get upset later.

[Raven]

tbh, it took Kobe Neal and some luck but I'm happily eating every bit of crow...

tbh spurs fans need to face the fact that we have a historically awesome team with as many deadly weapons as possible.. we should just enjoy the ride, really..

[ace3g]

Maximum Sports ‏@MaxSportsSA (https://twitter.com/MaxSportsSA) Spurs Tom James says the players battling the flu are all feeling better; close to 100 percent. D. Blair listed as probable tomorrow vs. LA.

[Dex]

Maximum Sports ‏@MaxSportsSA (https://twitter.com/MaxSportsSA) Spurs Tom James says the players battling the flu are all feeling better; close to 100 percent. D. Blair listed as probable tomorrow vs. LA.

Probable to sit on the bench tbh.

[temujin]

tbh spurs fans need to face the fact that we have a historically awesome team with as many deadly weapons as possible.. we should just enjoy the ride, really..

This.

Portland pretty much controlled the game, hit some incredible shots late in the game.

And they lost.

The fourth quarter alone was worth the yearly subscription to International league pass (Team: San Antonio Spurs).