TMTTRIO
11-22-2006, 01:32 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA112206.01C.BKNspurs.ginobili.319d115.html
Ginobili's lab work starts yielding results for Spurs
Web Posted: 11/21/2006 11:29 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
The transformation took place not in a telephone booth but on the Spurs' bench. Manu Ginobili didn't even require tights and a cape. The black rubber sleeve he pulled over his bruised right shin worked just fine.
Kicked in the leg by a teammate, Ginobili limped to the sideline midway through Monday's third quarter in Portland. A few minutes later, he was back on the floor, zigzagging through the Trail Blazers as Superman-u.
Ginobili's electric fourth-quarter performance — in which he produced 18 points, two steals and a block in less than seven minutes — left his teammates shaking their heads. El Contusión rides again.
Perhaps all he needed to find his form was, well, a contusion.
"From now on," Brent Barry said, "I think we're just going to start beating on him before games." :nope :lol
Ginobili hopes the confidence he gained from his most recent performance works well enough. He hasn't played poorly this season, but he also hasn't been himself.
His jump shot has failed him, and he has struggled, at times, to finish his daring drives to the basket. Before Monday's game, he was shooting a career-low 36.7 percent.
Ginobili didn't have any problems settling into a rhythm against the Blazers. He made all six of his fourth-quarter shots, half of which were 3-pointers.
Two others also resulted in three-point plays. His 18 points in the quarter — he totaled 25 — were one shy of his previous high for a game this season.
Ginobili's defense was just as remarkable. With Bruce Bowen fronting Zach Randolph and the Spurs sometimes bringing a double-team, Ginobili was "absolutely perfect," coach Gregg Popovich said, at closing out on rotations.
During one two-minute stretch, Ginobili: banked in a reverse layup as he was fouled; batted away a pass from Jarrett Jack; fed Barry for a layup; grabbed a rebound; buried a 3-pointer; intercepted another pass; made a free throw; blocked Juan Dixon's shot; and, finally, drove for another layup.
"I don't know if it's going to be a turnaround for the whole season," Ginobili said, "but I just needed to feel I could do that again."
Some of Ginobili's struggles have been expected. To reduce the pounding he absorbs at the rim — and to become a more versatile scorer — he's shooting more pull-up jumpers and floaters.
"If he's open for the three, he's always had the guts to take it, and he's fearless going to the rim," Popovich said. "The in-between thing, I think, is going to take time for him to recognize when it's going to be appropriate. In the meantime, he's probably going to be caught betwixt and between now and then."
Michael Jordan made a similar transition over the course of his career. To prolong his own, Ginobili acknowledges he'll need to continue to add to his game. Which is why he's using the first month of the season as a practice lab.
His confidence, he said, also hasn't been as high as it was two years ago — or even last season. But he's building it back.
"I have to find a way to not get upset about missing shots," he said. "If I take a jumper and I miss it, I just have to keep playing."
Ginobili has done a better job of that over the past week. He helped close out the Spurs' second-half comeback against Houston with nine points in the fourth quarter.
He didn't shoot well against Charlotte but still contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. For the season, he's averaging a career-best 5.0 rebounds.
"He's not like he was two years ago (when he was an All-Star)," said an Eastern Conference scout. "But, to me, he looks better than he was last year.
"You wonder if all that diving and pounding he's taken has caught up to him a little, but he's still pretty damn good."
While still mindful of Ginobili's health and stamina, Popovich isn't as protective of his frenetic guard as he was in the past. For Ginobili to stay in rhythm, Popovich said, he needs to be on the floor as much as possible. As a result, his minutes have increased to an average of 30.5 per game, the most of his career.
With Tony Parker shooting well the first five games, Ginobili was more selective about deciding when to attack. Parker hasn't been nearly as consistent since, so the Spurs were happy to see Ginobili take over against Portland.
"To get him opportunities like that, to get him so many possessions, to see him really start moving like that is great," Tim Duncan said. "It will help us out and help him in the long run with his confidence."
With the Spurs trying to protect their lead Monday night, with Duncan double-teamed and Parker misfiring, Ginobili ball-hawked on one end of the floor and attacked on the other. If the 3-point shot was open, he took it. He didn't fret about making the right decision. He just played.
"When it's money time," he said, "you do what you do best."
I know Pop really wants him to work on his jumper but I really think that's hurting him. We all saw how he did the other night when he decided to drop that and play like the Manu we all know.
Ginobili's lab work starts yielding results for Spurs
Web Posted: 11/21/2006 11:29 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
The transformation took place not in a telephone booth but on the Spurs' bench. Manu Ginobili didn't even require tights and a cape. The black rubber sleeve he pulled over his bruised right shin worked just fine.
Kicked in the leg by a teammate, Ginobili limped to the sideline midway through Monday's third quarter in Portland. A few minutes later, he was back on the floor, zigzagging through the Trail Blazers as Superman-u.
Ginobili's electric fourth-quarter performance — in which he produced 18 points, two steals and a block in less than seven minutes — left his teammates shaking their heads. El Contusión rides again.
Perhaps all he needed to find his form was, well, a contusion.
"From now on," Brent Barry said, "I think we're just going to start beating on him before games." :nope :lol
Ginobili hopes the confidence he gained from his most recent performance works well enough. He hasn't played poorly this season, but he also hasn't been himself.
His jump shot has failed him, and he has struggled, at times, to finish his daring drives to the basket. Before Monday's game, he was shooting a career-low 36.7 percent.
Ginobili didn't have any problems settling into a rhythm against the Blazers. He made all six of his fourth-quarter shots, half of which were 3-pointers.
Two others also resulted in three-point plays. His 18 points in the quarter — he totaled 25 — were one shy of his previous high for a game this season.
Ginobili's defense was just as remarkable. With Bruce Bowen fronting Zach Randolph and the Spurs sometimes bringing a double-team, Ginobili was "absolutely perfect," coach Gregg Popovich said, at closing out on rotations.
During one two-minute stretch, Ginobili: banked in a reverse layup as he was fouled; batted away a pass from Jarrett Jack; fed Barry for a layup; grabbed a rebound; buried a 3-pointer; intercepted another pass; made a free throw; blocked Juan Dixon's shot; and, finally, drove for another layup.
"I don't know if it's going to be a turnaround for the whole season," Ginobili said, "but I just needed to feel I could do that again."
Some of Ginobili's struggles have been expected. To reduce the pounding he absorbs at the rim — and to become a more versatile scorer — he's shooting more pull-up jumpers and floaters.
"If he's open for the three, he's always had the guts to take it, and he's fearless going to the rim," Popovich said. "The in-between thing, I think, is going to take time for him to recognize when it's going to be appropriate. In the meantime, he's probably going to be caught betwixt and between now and then."
Michael Jordan made a similar transition over the course of his career. To prolong his own, Ginobili acknowledges he'll need to continue to add to his game. Which is why he's using the first month of the season as a practice lab.
His confidence, he said, also hasn't been as high as it was two years ago — or even last season. But he's building it back.
"I have to find a way to not get upset about missing shots," he said. "If I take a jumper and I miss it, I just have to keep playing."
Ginobili has done a better job of that over the past week. He helped close out the Spurs' second-half comeback against Houston with nine points in the fourth quarter.
He didn't shoot well against Charlotte but still contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. For the season, he's averaging a career-best 5.0 rebounds.
"He's not like he was two years ago (when he was an All-Star)," said an Eastern Conference scout. "But, to me, he looks better than he was last year.
"You wonder if all that diving and pounding he's taken has caught up to him a little, but he's still pretty damn good."
While still mindful of Ginobili's health and stamina, Popovich isn't as protective of his frenetic guard as he was in the past. For Ginobili to stay in rhythm, Popovich said, he needs to be on the floor as much as possible. As a result, his minutes have increased to an average of 30.5 per game, the most of his career.
With Tony Parker shooting well the first five games, Ginobili was more selective about deciding when to attack. Parker hasn't been nearly as consistent since, so the Spurs were happy to see Ginobili take over against Portland.
"To get him opportunities like that, to get him so many possessions, to see him really start moving like that is great," Tim Duncan said. "It will help us out and help him in the long run with his confidence."
With the Spurs trying to protect their lead Monday night, with Duncan double-teamed and Parker misfiring, Ginobili ball-hawked on one end of the floor and attacked on the other. If the 3-point shot was open, he took it. He didn't fret about making the right decision. He just played.
"When it's money time," he said, "you do what you do best."
I know Pop really wants him to work on his jumper but I really think that's hurting him. We all saw how he did the other night when he decided to drop that and play like the Manu we all know.