How does Manu look this year?

[Mavs<Spurs]

How does Manu look to you this year?

I think that he has his elevation back and looks healthy.
He looks much more healthy than last year.
It appears that he is not taking / getting as many shots this year as previously, partly because of Tim and Tony since there are only so many shots to go around. The good thing is that he is healthy and can be a go to guy if we need him on any given night should Tony or Tim be struggling. The other good thing is that Manu contributes in many more ways than scoring (e.g. defense, drawing charges, hustle plays, rebounds, passing, ball handling, creating opportunities for others, smarts...).

[Amuseddaysleeper]

He is being a bit too inconsistent so far but it's still early

He's not goin into the lane as much, but I hope the Spurs as a whole continue to improve their perimeter game

Nothing more irritating than watching an opposing team collapse the lane and watch us hit bricks from the outside like we did in previous years.

But I'm gonna wait a bit more before giving my judgement on how Manu's season is so far

[boutons_]

He's jump-shooting poorly, seems like a lot of his jumpers are on-line but way too short, which people say can be due to leg fatigue. Too early for that.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I think he's only playing at about 75% to preserve his body. He's not driving nearly as much as he used to, and since we're winning without it anyway, that's good thinking. No need to throw himself around at this stage of the season. However, he still does the little things in the clutch that make him Manu, like the huge rebound at the end of the Dallas game.

Work in progress, but hopefully his jumper improves as the season goes on and he's healthy in the post season.

[smeagol]

So so.

[jackiel1219]

Hot :spin

[objective]

I think he's been pretty off. No dunks, hasn't been able to get to the basket as close even when he trys layups, ends up pulling up for a one-hander.

I think his feet on defense were poor the first couple of games, and they I couldn't say they're great now even though he's drawn a couple of charges since. In the 2 dallas games, end of preseason and the first game, players he was defending at the 3 point line were getting by him without him even moving, like he was wearing lead shoes.

Hopefully he'll get better as the wear of the WC games wears off and he gets back into rhythm.

[Zunni]

I think he's been pretty off. No dunks, hasn't been able to get to the basket as close even when he trys layups, ends up pulling up for a one-hander.

I think his feet on defense were poor the first couple of games, and they I couldn't say they're great now even though he's drawn a couple of charges since. In the 2 dallas games, end of preseason and the first game, players he was defending at the 3 point line were getting by him without him even moving, like he was wearing lead shoes.

Hopefully he'll get better as the wear of the WC games wears off and he gets back into rhythm.
Did you read ANY of the pre-season articles? They don't WANT him going to the rack all of the time. That's the reason that he averages like 65 games played. Get used to seeing that one hander.

[beirmeistr]

He appears somewhat tentative at times. maybe he is trying to prevent injuries. I do like Popovich's plan of taking him out early and then bringing him in with the second unit. When Manu, Brent, and Beno are on the floor at the same time, the Spurs have a great passing game. And I also like it when Manu is with the second unit (with Parker on the bench) because Manu gets more touches.

[baseline bum]

I'd rather see Manu attacking the rim hard at every opportunity, injuries be damned. You can't have a competitive guy like Manu playing half-assed. It's woked for Rob, but generally no one can just flip the switch. I'd rather Manu played with that Larry Bird attitude of playing one possession at a time, and treating every one like it was the last possession of game 7.

[Mavs<Spurs]

He's jump-shooting poorly, seems like a lot of his jumpers are on-line but way too short, which people say can be due to leg fatigue. Too early for that.
:fro


What should Pop do, then?

We had a long summer off and Manu didn't play that much for Argentina, did he?

How much rest does he need?

He's only playing 30 minutes a game and Tim and Tony play a lot more minutes.

If you think that his jumper is short often (and I agree that usually this means you are tired), then this is a bad sign and I would not know how to correct it.

I mean, do we just rest him for several weeks / month just because he is tired?

Do we reduce his minutes to 20 a game?

This should not be happening and he's not that old.

[The Truth #6]

Less explosive.

[TMTTRIO]

terrible :depressed :depressed . Maybe he should come off the bench again.

[Kori Ellis]

Manu was saying in the pre-game show on the radio that he is trying to develop a midrange game and that his shot just isn't falling yet.

He is doing a good job doing other things -- rebounding, passing, etc. So obviously we are just not going to see him taking it to the rack as much as in the past. Whether it's to avoid injury, try to prolong his career, save him for the playoffs or whatever.

[Texas_Ranger]

Still not in a good form.

[milkyway21]

i will be patient with Manu. As long as he's healthy and we are winning games.

he will come around. let's just wait.

[Nikos]

He doesn't look too good right now. He could be playing worse, and probably got off to a worse start last season. But I am a little concerned that he is trying to 'develop a mid-range game'. I don't think he can really develop it at this point with any reasonable consistency. For one thing he seems to jump sideways and has a windup on his release. Its pretty easy for someone to get a hand up on it unless he gets a perfect pick. Yes when he is in a good rythm he makes that kind of shot -- he has spurts when he does hit it. But to delibaretly try it on a consistent basis might not be the best thing. It will keep him from being ultra efficient like he was the past two seasons.

Right now he is sort of playing like he did in 2004 but weaker offense and defense. He still hustles but he isn't being terribly productive out there.

I think Manu will gradually improve, but how much? Who knows? He likely will have a production drop this season. I do hope he can improve and stay healthy for the playoffs so that he can be his best when it counts. But playing at this level for the season is unacceptable.

On another note it seems almost as though Tony has mastered the mid-range shot already. When he shots that shot I am expecting it to go in every time and it does. As long as Tony keeps this up and keeps his turnovers down he could end up being one of the top 3 PG's this season and easily return to the All Star Game. Parker has a quicker release then Manu on his mid-range shot and is so quick that he can get it off virtually unguarded when a goot pick is set. Manu on the other hand still drifts too much on his shot especially off the dribble.

Duncan has looked solid but not close to his best form.

I really hope all of these guys play to their best regular season capabilities. I would love to see 60+ wins again. Plus I think it is good for the team psyche to have all three of these guys playing well.

Right now Tony is awesome, Duncan is OK but could be better, and Manu is playing poor to his standards -- the team needs a lot more from him to reach their peak.

[spurschick]

Manu was saying in the pre-game show on the radio that he is trying to develop a midrange game and that his shot just isn't falling yet.

He is doing a good job doing other things -- rebounding, passing, etc. So obviously we are just not going to see him taking it to the rack as much as in the past. Whether it's to avoid injury, try to prolong his career, save him for the playoffs or whatever.

I heard him talking about how he is taking the season to work on that 15-16 footer and that he's okay with it not being there yet. He repeated that he's "working on it" and he didn't sound at all concerned that his shooting percentage is a bit low.

I think a lot of people are assuming that he couldn't take over a game if needed because we haven't seen him try. We've seen a handful of others shine, including a couple off the bench (thank god), and with Tony shooting the lights out and Timmy looking better than he has in years, Manu doesn't have any reason to take over. Since he is getting older, I'm sure he's appreciative of having the luxury to work on a midrange shot while others are carrying the load. As Kori said, he's still contributing elsewhere. As long as Tony has a hot hand, I'm more than content for Manu to fill the box score with assists, rebounds and steals.

[ploto]

I continue to believe that it is more important for the Spurs long-term goals for Manu to be given the opportunity to be more involved. Is not to take anything away from Tony and I know that Pop wants Tony to shoot and score, but the Spurs success will ride much more on Manu than Tony when push comes to shove. I just really believe that.

I don't like to see the Spurs take away from Manu what makes him Manu and he simply does not look like Manu to me. Manu always had a blast!