ElNono
05-16-2014, 10:42 PM
A tremendous team, that has a plus with Durant
Manu Ginobili
SAN ANTONIO.- Things were getting tough, and I don’t have enough fingers in one hand to count the amount of reasons why that Game 5 victory against Portland was extremely valuable. I was tired, we avoided the time zone change that a potential Game 6 would require, we can rest, and there’s more time for Tony to heal from his injury… And there was also the birthday of my twins, and thanks to the series being over, I can be with them in their day… They’re out there, with the grandparents. They went out because it’s like 80 degrees and it was impossible to keep them inside. They’re happy with their gifts, looking at them from top to bottom.
And Portland went away. Incredibly, we won the series with certain tranquility. It wasn’t easy because we had to work very hard to get the leads, but we win 4 to 1, and the four wins were by 15 points or more. Unthinkable. We played at a really high level in four of the five games. And if you add the last game against Dallas to the first three games against Portland, we had the best consecutive games in the season, and it’s hard to play that many games without mistakes. On the next one the intensity and focus came down a bit, but we were able to get back on track on the last game. I’m extremely satisfied.
The difference wasn’t as much on what Portland did, but in the fact that we were more solid than we expected. We played a whole lot better than against Dallas. It was, I repeat, a bit unthinkable to win with such clarity, but it’s welcome. About the wear and tear, it was difficult for me, because we were coming from a Game 7 and we started another series right away, and we’re playing every game with even more intensity. In this past series we played every other day, we had to travel 4 hours, and switch timezones. Obviously, an Argentine League player will tell me they travel by bus 15 hours. And that’s fine, I’m not complaining. But the way we traveled, after the 4th game we arrived at 4 or 5 in the morning, and the 5th game felt like a back to back. Let me remark: It was great to be able to win that game 5 and not have to go back to Portland.
I don’t read articles during the playoffs, but I heard about Lamarcus Aldrige commenting about our passing game. It was definitely part of the plan, but I thought we didn’t do it that much. The objective was to play fast and move the ball a lot, because they have five players that average about 37 minutes per game, although they also are 15 years younger than me, lol… We had many more players to rotate and maintain the intensity, and be fresh to close the games. We’re happy it worked well. Pop congratulated us for the great job we did. After the 4th game, he demanded we get back to our level for the 5th game, and after seeing we did that, he was very happy. Like everyone else.
This is going to be my 7th Western Conference Finals. I obviously don’t focus on that, but I know it’s difficult to get here. There are players that never made it or made it very few times. That speaks volumes of the relevancy of this group of players and coach after so many years, 12 in my case, 13 in the case of Tony and 17 in the case of Tim. We we can’t feel satisfied, and we have to fight for more.
To do that we have to beat Oklahoma City, a tremendous team. Very intense and very athletic. They defend very well and they have a plus with Durant, that, when both teams have everything figured out, he can win a game or turn a game around all on his own. If both teams do the tactical part correctly and maintain the intensity, a guy with that kind of talent, like Lebron in Miami, Kobe back in the day, or Jordan years ago, can be the defining factor in a game. That’s what makes them different. On top of that, the Oklahoma City roster is deep, has good length, and is younger than us. They play good defense, and now they’ll do it with more intensity than they did in the first two rounds, against Memphis and Clippers.
In the fifth game against Los Angeles there was an unfortunate play for the Clippers. The ball went out of bounds off Reggie Jackson, from Oklahoma City, but before that he was fouled, which wasn’t called. It would’ve been better for the Clippers if the foul would’ve been called, and they would’ve had the last shot. It’s stuff that happen, is common that errors happen, but there’s nothing fishy going on. In this case it was widely reported because it was an important game, but it happens so many times in so many games that you normally don’t stop to think about it… It’s very hard to referee a basketball game: the game is played so fast, and things happen in a tenth of a second. It’s not easy.
As far as me, I thought I played much better in the series against Dallas, especially shooting. Against Portland I couldn’t get a shot to go in. I couldn’t knock it down in the entire series, yet, I thought I played well. Playing bad is what I did in Game 6 against Dallas. But against Portland I thought I helped, that I did what I was asked to do. Obviously, when your shots are going in you feel better and everything looks prettier. I hope to turn things around in this series. It will be more challenging, more physical, and because of that it will be more important to score more.
Oklahoma City eliminated us in the 2012 Western Conference Finals. I remember, it’s impossible to delete that from your memory. Some will take it as revenge, and some won’t, but I don’t think it will influence too much what happens in this series. You just try not to repeat mistakes, and to play better.
Similarly, Miami beat Indiana in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals. Now, because of what’s at stake, I’m watching a bit more what’s happening in that conference. I haven’t seen much of Miami because they were playing the same days we did, but I did follow Scola. It was extremely difficult to move on for Indiana, but everything starts at 0-0 now. They have a great opportunity, even more with home court advantage, although they’re still not playing great at home. It’s a huge challenge, and anything can happen.
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Per the usual, excuse any typos, and enjoy...
Link to original article in spanish:
http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1692239-un-equipo-tremendo-que-tiene-el-plus-de-durant
Manu Ginobili
SAN ANTONIO.- Things were getting tough, and I don’t have enough fingers in one hand to count the amount of reasons why that Game 5 victory against Portland was extremely valuable. I was tired, we avoided the time zone change that a potential Game 6 would require, we can rest, and there’s more time for Tony to heal from his injury… And there was also the birthday of my twins, and thanks to the series being over, I can be with them in their day… They’re out there, with the grandparents. They went out because it’s like 80 degrees and it was impossible to keep them inside. They’re happy with their gifts, looking at them from top to bottom.
And Portland went away. Incredibly, we won the series with certain tranquility. It wasn’t easy because we had to work very hard to get the leads, but we win 4 to 1, and the four wins were by 15 points or more. Unthinkable. We played at a really high level in four of the five games. And if you add the last game against Dallas to the first three games against Portland, we had the best consecutive games in the season, and it’s hard to play that many games without mistakes. On the next one the intensity and focus came down a bit, but we were able to get back on track on the last game. I’m extremely satisfied.
The difference wasn’t as much on what Portland did, but in the fact that we were more solid than we expected. We played a whole lot better than against Dallas. It was, I repeat, a bit unthinkable to win with such clarity, but it’s welcome. About the wear and tear, it was difficult for me, because we were coming from a Game 7 and we started another series right away, and we’re playing every game with even more intensity. In this past series we played every other day, we had to travel 4 hours, and switch timezones. Obviously, an Argentine League player will tell me they travel by bus 15 hours. And that’s fine, I’m not complaining. But the way we traveled, after the 4th game we arrived at 4 or 5 in the morning, and the 5th game felt like a back to back. Let me remark: It was great to be able to win that game 5 and not have to go back to Portland.
I don’t read articles during the playoffs, but I heard about Lamarcus Aldrige commenting about our passing game. It was definitely part of the plan, but I thought we didn’t do it that much. The objective was to play fast and move the ball a lot, because they have five players that average about 37 minutes per game, although they also are 15 years younger than me, lol… We had many more players to rotate and maintain the intensity, and be fresh to close the games. We’re happy it worked well. Pop congratulated us for the great job we did. After the 4th game, he demanded we get back to our level for the 5th game, and after seeing we did that, he was very happy. Like everyone else.
This is going to be my 7th Western Conference Finals. I obviously don’t focus on that, but I know it’s difficult to get here. There are players that never made it or made it very few times. That speaks volumes of the relevancy of this group of players and coach after so many years, 12 in my case, 13 in the case of Tony and 17 in the case of Tim. We we can’t feel satisfied, and we have to fight for more.
To do that we have to beat Oklahoma City, a tremendous team. Very intense and very athletic. They defend very well and they have a plus with Durant, that, when both teams have everything figured out, he can win a game or turn a game around all on his own. If both teams do the tactical part correctly and maintain the intensity, a guy with that kind of talent, like Lebron in Miami, Kobe back in the day, or Jordan years ago, can be the defining factor in a game. That’s what makes them different. On top of that, the Oklahoma City roster is deep, has good length, and is younger than us. They play good defense, and now they’ll do it with more intensity than they did in the first two rounds, against Memphis and Clippers.
In the fifth game against Los Angeles there was an unfortunate play for the Clippers. The ball went out of bounds off Reggie Jackson, from Oklahoma City, but before that he was fouled, which wasn’t called. It would’ve been better for the Clippers if the foul would’ve been called, and they would’ve had the last shot. It’s stuff that happen, is common that errors happen, but there’s nothing fishy going on. In this case it was widely reported because it was an important game, but it happens so many times in so many games that you normally don’t stop to think about it… It’s very hard to referee a basketball game: the game is played so fast, and things happen in a tenth of a second. It’s not easy.
As far as me, I thought I played much better in the series against Dallas, especially shooting. Against Portland I couldn’t get a shot to go in. I couldn’t knock it down in the entire series, yet, I thought I played well. Playing bad is what I did in Game 6 against Dallas. But against Portland I thought I helped, that I did what I was asked to do. Obviously, when your shots are going in you feel better and everything looks prettier. I hope to turn things around in this series. It will be more challenging, more physical, and because of that it will be more important to score more.
Oklahoma City eliminated us in the 2012 Western Conference Finals. I remember, it’s impossible to delete that from your memory. Some will take it as revenge, and some won’t, but I don’t think it will influence too much what happens in this series. You just try not to repeat mistakes, and to play better.
Similarly, Miami beat Indiana in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals. Now, because of what’s at stake, I’m watching a bit more what’s happening in that conference. I haven’t seen much of Miami because they were playing the same days we did, but I did follow Scola. It was extremely difficult to move on for Indiana, but everything starts at 0-0 now. They have a great opportunity, even more with home court advantage, although they’re still not playing great at home. It’s a huge challenge, and anything can happen.
----
Per the usual, excuse any typos, and enjoy...
Link to original article in spanish:
http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1692239-un-equipo-tremendo-que-tiene-el-plus-de-durant