xamila rey
01-24-2008, 02:21 AM
Buck Harvey: Sixth man with the sixth sense
Web Posted: 01/24/2008 12:36 AM CST
A few years ago, when the issue was new, Manu Ginobili shrugged and said it didn't matter if he came off the bench or started games.
Then someone told him if he won the NBA's sixth-man of the year award, he would get a little trophy.
This time, he did more than shrug. He smiled and used remarkable sarcasm considering it sprang from his second language.
"Really?" he asked with eyes wide.
This is the reaction from a man who has a gold medal, NBA rings and a few European titles. A little trophy means about as much as coming out for an opening tip does; Ginobili has done too much to care.
That attitude will be in play again now. Gregg Popovich started Ginobili in the second half Wednesday, trying to add life to a team that acted as if it had already boarded its late-night flight to Miami, and Ginobili came up with eight steals and at least as many reasons why he should start the rest of the season.
But Ginobili won't start.
Popovich might experiment here and there, and he might inject Ginobili as he did Wednesday. Still, Popovich knows how his team is built, and he knows what happens if he combines Ginobili with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to start halves: The reserves won't have enough scoring punch.
Besides, Ginobili is the ideal sixth man. He changes games whether he is shooting well or not, and the only reason Popovich hesitated two years ago was because he sensed some reluctance from Ginobili.
"You can say the right things and do the right things," Popovich said then. "But I guarantee you, deep in his gut, he wants to start."
Ginobili later admitted the same. "I was worried," he said.
Popovich never saw that as a weakness. To get to this level, Popovich thinks every player has to have a strong ego, and there's more than ego involved. For example, Ginobili has started every game in a season only once his entire career. That was the 2004-05 season, and, perhaps not coincidentally, he made his only All-Star appearance then.
So Popovich tried to be sensitive to Ginobili, as well as to Argentine fans who had his e-mail address. But what began two years ago as an occasional adjustment has become Ginobili's gig.
He came off the bench about half the time last year, which is likely why Leandro Barbosa of Phoenix, not Ginobili, won the little trophy. Too many still viewed Ginobili as a starter.
No one can have that impression now, since Ginobili has started only twice this season. Perhaps that's why Jon Barry, whose brother started for the Spurs on Wednesday night, predicted Ginobili will be this season's Sixth Man of the Year.
Still, in this same game, Popovich changed everything. The Spurs trailed by nine points at halftime, and it felt like it should have been 90.
Popovich used a line at halftime that he's used before. "You need," he told his team, "to participate in your own recovery."
Popovich started Ginobili to make that happen, and Ginobili participated, though he didn't overwhelm anyone offensively. He ended with a 3-for-16 shooting night.
Still, his eight steals were accompanied by a handful of assists and rebounds, as well as two passes through the legs of Lakers defenders. And when the Spurs' third-quarter surge began, Ginobili was there from the opening second, part of a pressuring defense that changed the game.
Ginobili began the scoring with a twisting layup, then found Duncan for a dunk. What followed was an assortment of plays, from a Bruce Bowen block, to a Michael Finley jumper, to the growing role of Ime Udoka.
When Brent Barry ended the third quarter with back-to-back threes, an ESPN reporter asked Popovich in a mid-game interview what made him think that starting Ginobili would jumpstart the Spurs.
Popovich paused and said flatly: "He's Manu Ginobili."
Popovich said it as if everyone should know by now.
He's Manu Ginobili, and he doesn't start, and he cares about big trophies, not little ones.
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA012408.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.304c69b.html
Web Posted: 01/24/2008 12:36 AM CST
A few years ago, when the issue was new, Manu Ginobili shrugged and said it didn't matter if he came off the bench or started games.
Then someone told him if he won the NBA's sixth-man of the year award, he would get a little trophy.
This time, he did more than shrug. He smiled and used remarkable sarcasm considering it sprang from his second language.
"Really?" he asked with eyes wide.
This is the reaction from a man who has a gold medal, NBA rings and a few European titles. A little trophy means about as much as coming out for an opening tip does; Ginobili has done too much to care.
That attitude will be in play again now. Gregg Popovich started Ginobili in the second half Wednesday, trying to add life to a team that acted as if it had already boarded its late-night flight to Miami, and Ginobili came up with eight steals and at least as many reasons why he should start the rest of the season.
But Ginobili won't start.
Popovich might experiment here and there, and he might inject Ginobili as he did Wednesday. Still, Popovich knows how his team is built, and he knows what happens if he combines Ginobili with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to start halves: The reserves won't have enough scoring punch.
Besides, Ginobili is the ideal sixth man. He changes games whether he is shooting well or not, and the only reason Popovich hesitated two years ago was because he sensed some reluctance from Ginobili.
"You can say the right things and do the right things," Popovich said then. "But I guarantee you, deep in his gut, he wants to start."
Ginobili later admitted the same. "I was worried," he said.
Popovich never saw that as a weakness. To get to this level, Popovich thinks every player has to have a strong ego, and there's more than ego involved. For example, Ginobili has started every game in a season only once his entire career. That was the 2004-05 season, and, perhaps not coincidentally, he made his only All-Star appearance then.
So Popovich tried to be sensitive to Ginobili, as well as to Argentine fans who had his e-mail address. But what began two years ago as an occasional adjustment has become Ginobili's gig.
He came off the bench about half the time last year, which is likely why Leandro Barbosa of Phoenix, not Ginobili, won the little trophy. Too many still viewed Ginobili as a starter.
No one can have that impression now, since Ginobili has started only twice this season. Perhaps that's why Jon Barry, whose brother started for the Spurs on Wednesday night, predicted Ginobili will be this season's Sixth Man of the Year.
Still, in this same game, Popovich changed everything. The Spurs trailed by nine points at halftime, and it felt like it should have been 90.
Popovich used a line at halftime that he's used before. "You need," he told his team, "to participate in your own recovery."
Popovich started Ginobili to make that happen, and Ginobili participated, though he didn't overwhelm anyone offensively. He ended with a 3-for-16 shooting night.
Still, his eight steals were accompanied by a handful of assists and rebounds, as well as two passes through the legs of Lakers defenders. And when the Spurs' third-quarter surge began, Ginobili was there from the opening second, part of a pressuring defense that changed the game.
Ginobili began the scoring with a twisting layup, then found Duncan for a dunk. What followed was an assortment of plays, from a Bruce Bowen block, to a Michael Finley jumper, to the growing role of Ime Udoka.
When Brent Barry ended the third quarter with back-to-back threes, an ESPN reporter asked Popovich in a mid-game interview what made him think that starting Ginobili would jumpstart the Spurs.
Popovich paused and said flatly: "He's Manu Ginobili."
Popovich said it as if everyone should know by now.
He's Manu Ginobili, and he doesn't start, and he cares about big trophies, not little ones.
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA012408.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.304c69b.html