Ginobili's Top 5 games

http://projectspurs.com/2009-article...p-5-games.html


Ginobili's Top 5 Games

Written by David Thiessen
Friday, 04 September 2009 09:08 http://www.nba.com/media/manuemotion_300_070518.jpg

Recently Project Spurs have looked at Tim Duncan's and Tony Parker’s top five games, now it is time to look at Manu Ginobili. The Argentine elicits mixed reactions from around the league. Many people dislike him for flopping and embellishing contact, but it is hard to deny his many unique talents. Ginobili might be the only player in the NBA that you cannot defend a certain way to slow him down. He wants to go left and everybody knows that, so defenders try to force him right. That makes no difference, however, because he is just as efficient going either direction. Play off Ginobili and he will bury the opponent with threes. Try to play physical with him and watch him destroy you from the free throw line. It is a shame that his career has been slowed down lately by injuries but he cannot play any other way besides all out.

5. Spurs v. Sonics 5/17/2005 Semifinals, Game 1– The upstart Sonics were a surprisingly tough team in 2005 led by Ray Allen and his three point shooting. The Spurs won the first two games of the Semifinals before the Sonics won the next two. That meant the Spurs returned to San Antonio for the pivotal game five a must win game. They did not want to head back to Seattle with their season on the line.

Ginobili came through with one of his best games, finishing with 39 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 4-of-6 on threes, 15-of-17 on free throws, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and only one turnover. A big part of Ginobili’s game is finding a way to the free throw line where he shoots over 80%. He used this ability to help the Spurs win the game and take control of the series.

4. Spurs v. Suns 1/21/2005– The Spurs were down by 17 points in the fourth quarter before coming back to defeat the Suns 128-123 in overtime. That was the Suns sixth consecutive loss and Steve Nash’s return the lineup after injury makes the win more satisfying.

Ginobili scored a career high 48 points on 16-of-22 shooting, 5-of-7 on threes, 11-of-12 on free throws, five rebounds and six assists. What made the Spurs games with the Suns so great was that the stars always showed up. I think the Suns have appeared on these top five lists more than any other team. I know the two teams have played often over the past decade, but the Spurs "Big Three" did their share of damage to the Suns. Raja Bell did his best to defend Ginobili but there was no stopping him this January night.

3. Spurs v. Hawks 2/21/2007– Yes, I know that he was playing the lowly Hawks. I don’t care. Anytime a player scores 24 straight points I consider it a great game. Think about that for a second. No other player for the Spurs had a steal and a breakaway layup, was fouled and hit a free throw, or tipped a missed shot in.

He finished the game with 40 points on 12-of-22 shooting, 14-of-15 free throws, eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. This was an outstanding display of offensive talent. I remember not seeing this game and just being in awe when I heard about Ginobili scoring 24 straight points. I still am.

2. Spurs v. Suns 5/18/2007 Semifinals, Game 6– I know the Spurs and Suns met in the 2008 playoffs with the Spurs winning 4-1. To me the end of the Suns era of run-and-gun success came in the 2007 playoffs. Like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, Ginobili has had his share of great games against the Suns. In game 6 he was instrumental in closing down the Suns.

Ginobili had another highly efficient game, finishing with 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting, 4-of-7 threes, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals. He has always been a good rebounder for a shooting guard, and he had four offensive boards in the game. His success on the glass comes not from size or strength but from tenacity and understanding of the game.

1. Spurs v. Cavaliers 2/13/2008– LeBron James is the one who is supposed to have 46 points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and one block. Instead it was Ginobili who dominated the game. Even though this game came in the middle of the season, I cannot deny that this was Ginobili’s best game of his career.

He was two points off his career high but his efficiency was incredible. He shot 15-of-20, made 8-of-11 threes and 8-of-9 free throws. I contend that no player can score with the efficiency and variety that Ginobili does. He can shoot from behind the arc, finish at the basket and get to the free throw line. Now, these attributes are not exclusive to Ginobili but the style and the way he scores is unique. When people think of the best offensive player in the league they think of Kobe or LeBron, but Ginobili is in their league when he is on. This game was a prime example.

Please leave your comments about this list and chime in on other great Manu games you can remember.


I would still put Manu's 48 point game against the Suns as #1 since at the time it was against a playoff contender and also showed that Manu was an All Star and deserved to be one (face it that game got him voted into the All Star game). I know we ended up loosing the game but I think another game that should be on there is the one during Manu's sophmore season playing against the Lakers Big Four without Tim or Tony and almost beating that team without them. I think he scored 33. I have that game taped somewhere :). One thing I've always wondered is Manu has really shown he can score well but why can't he be more consistant.

cue ducks comment on how ginobili sucks.

What I'm really anxious about is if Manu will ever be how he was. He's basically been hurt for the last couple of years and another thread talked about how he's saying he made his first dunk today! I was like "WTF". Less than two months till the season starts and preseason is right around the corner. I'm just wondering if, after he finally gets back into game shape, will he be the Manu that we all know and love?

yep already made his top 5 list because he is not getting better at basketball only tweeting

stfu ducks

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Originally Posted by Dex

stfu ducks

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after you

well now I have to say something just because you told me to stfu.

This is easily one of Manu's best games. It might even be his best...

http://www.basketballreference.com/t...0031106&tm=SAS

It's the one from the beginning of the 03-04 season when Tony and Tim were injured and Shaq, Kobe, Gary and Karl came calling, and wanted revenge 100%...it was basically Manu against 4 sure fire 1st ballot HOF'ers...and Manu was clearly the best player on the court that night, taking the monster Laker squad to OT.

This is the game where Manu made that pass between Kobe's legs that you always see in the animated gifs.


A few those games in the playoffs against Denver in 05 were among his best as well.

Quote:

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5. Spurs v. Sonics 5/17/2005 Semifinals, Game 1– The upstart Sonics were a surprisingly tough team in 2005 led by Ray Allen and his three point shooting. The Spurs won the first two games of the Semifinals before the Sonics won the next two. That meant the Spurs returned to San Antonio for the pivotal game five a must win game. They did not want to head back to Seattle with their season on the line.

Ginobili came through with one of his best games, finishing with 39 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 4-of-6 on threes, 15-of-17 on free throws, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and only one turnover. A big part of Ginobili’s game is finding a way to the free throw line where he shoots over 80%. He used this ability to help the Spurs win the game and take control of the series.

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The guy that REALLY stepped up in this game outside of Ginobili, was Nazr Mohammed.

Dude had a double double I think and a block or two.

Dude was clutch that night. I can remember a great and one where he got a pass from Ginobili and made this reverse under the basket layup.

IMO the game missing that should be up there is game 4 of the Western Finals in 2007.

He OWNED that 4th quarter. I mean just OWNED. He got so many fouls drawn, shots made, it just got ridiculous...

random question but has ginobli been bald since he came into the league?

Raja Bell didn't defend Ginobili on 1/21/05, his 48-point game, because Bell wasn't a Phoenix Sun at the time.

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Originally Posted by whottt

This is easily one of Manu's best games. It might even be his best...

http://www.basketballreference.com/t...0031106&tm=SAS

It's the one from the beginning of the 03-04 season when Tony and Tim were injured and Shaq, Kobe, Gary and Karl came calling, and wanted revenge 100%...it was basically Manu against 4 sure fire 1st ballot HOF'ers...and Manu was clearly the best player on the court that night, taking the monster Laker squad to OT.

This is the game where Manu made that pass between Kobe's legs that you always see in the animated gifs.


A few those games in the playoffs against Denver in 05 were among his best as well.

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I was at that game...

Manu's line was something like:
33 pts
12 rbs
7 ass

IIRC that game went to 2OT, and was also the game when Kobe tripped and fell while running backwards (because he was taunting the crowd)...

Manu almost sent it to a 3OT...

WTF ? WTF ? WTF ?

vs Sonics: he writes " game 1" ,but he writes about game 5 :donkey

vs Suns (the 48 pt game): Raja Bell wasn't with the Suns back then :donkey :donkey


OMG what a fucking retard

Just a few games that could also be on the list:

-44 at Minnesota + the game winner without Tony And/or Tim I don't recall.

-The back to back games against the Mavs and Jazz when we were without Duncan, he scored 37 in both.

-Another 40 points performance against Memphis I think, back in the day when they had Gasol and were a playoffs team.

-Games 1,2 and 7 in the '05 finals against Detroit. He dominated the 4th quarters of all those games.

-Game 6 against the Mavs in '06

My personal list-

1-48 against the Suns
2-46 against Lebron
3-Game 5 against the Sonics
4-That game against Shaq, Kobe, Malone and Payton in 2004 (that's the game where he become a star in the Spurs)
5-44 and game winner against the wolves.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by whottt

This is easily one of Manu's best games. It might even be his best...

http://www.basketballreference.com/t...0031106&tm=SAS

It's the one from the beginning of the 03-04 season when Tony and Tim were injured and Shaq, Kobe, Gary and Karl came calling, and wanted revenge 100%...it was basically Manu against 4 sure fire 1st ballot HOF'ers...and Manu was clearly the best player on the court that night, taking the monster Laker squad to OT.

This is the game where Manu made that pass between Kobe's legs that you always see in the animated gifs.

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Agreed. By far my favorite Spurs loss of all time & def deserves a place in the top five.

Most consistent string has to be the '05 playoffs though. Dude was a monster, and if he hadn't suffered that deep thigh bruise that kept down for two of the finals games, I have no doubt that 1) the '05 finals would not have gone to a game seven and 2) Ginobili would have been named the MVP.

nice list.

yo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by whottt

This is easily one of Manu's best games. It might even be his best...

http://www.basketballreference.com/t...0031106&tm=SAS

It's the one from the beginning of the 03-04 season when Tony and Tim were injured and Shaq, Kobe, Gary and Karl came calling, and wanted revenge 100%...it was basically Manu against 4 sure fire 1st ballot HOF'ers...and Manu was clearly the best player on the court that night, taking the monster Laker squad to OT.

This is the game where Manu made that pass between Kobe's legs that you always see in the animated gifs.


A few those games in the playoffs against Denver in 05 were among his best as well.

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Yess!!!!! That had to have been one of his best games as well!! I remember watching that and anticipating before the game that Manu woould come out and save us since Tony and Tim were out. I think that was also the game where Manu had an And 1 on Shaq when he drove it in and kissed it off the glass without even looking. It was such an awesome game, and I wanted him to win it so bad at I believe the end of regulation or the first overtime but he missed the jumpshot. Then punkass Gary Payton was talking shit to him, and trying to get Manu off his game, but it wasn't working. Dang would've been great had the Spurs won that game. Either way though, he gave the Lakers a big scare.

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Originally Posted by PGDynasty24

random question but has ginobli been bald since he came into the league?

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did you miss the entire 2005 season? oh wait, yeah you did- you are a laker 'fan'

That Manu vs. LAL game was my 1st ever at the then SBC Center.
That pass between Kobe's legs was to Robert Horry.

I remember GP saying he wasn't impressed. Lots of players score 35 points in a night. Cue ducks agreeing with GP.

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Originally Posted by Mark in Austin

Agreed. By far my favorite Spurs loss of all time & def deserves a place in the top five.

Most consistent string has to be the '05 playoffs though. Dude was a monster, and if he hadn't suffered that deep thigh bruise that kept down for two of the finals games, I have no doubt that 1) the '05 finals would not have gone to a game seven and 2) Ginobili would have been named the MVP.

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Money post right there... :toast

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Originally Posted by PGDynasty24

random question but has ginobli been bald since he came into the league?

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Since 04-05 season. Thats when he had the long hair, but you could start to notice it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by afireinside20

Yess!!!!! That had to have been one of his best games as well!! I remember watching that and anticipating before the game that Manu woould come out and save us since Tony and Tim were out. I think that was also the game where Manu had an And 1 on Shaq when he drove it in and kissed it off the glass without even looking. It was such an awesome game, and I wanted him to win it so bad at I believe the end of regulation or the first overtime but he missed the jumpshot. Then punkass Gary Payton was talking shit to him, and trying to get Manu off his game, but it wasn't working. Dang would've been great had the Spurs won that game. Either way though, he gave the Lakers a big scare.

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That was the first time I seen a spurs player talk trash in a LONG LONG LONG WHILE. GP was going on about something, And Manu was like "whatever" and even had a few words of his own. I think its too bad that we couldn't see what was going on with them throughout the whole game, cause a TNT reporter said during the game Pop told Manu quote "dont get into a trash-talking game with GP". that was in the 3rd/4th quarter so evidently those to were talking for a while before they got that Double T in the Overtime. FYI - they not only scared the lakers but exhausted them. The next night they got blown out by 20 by the Hornets.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lefty

vs Sonics: he writes " game 1" ,but he writes about game 5 :donkey

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Yeah, that caught my attention, too. Manu's had a lot of great games, but I've always thought that his Game 5 against Seattle in 2005 was among the more under-appreciated/under-remembered of those games. After killing the Sonics in Games 1 & 2, and nearly taking a 3-0 lead, the Spurs got ripped in Game 4 in Seattle and the Sonics had developed some confidence and a nothing to lose attitude coming back to SA. The Sonics hung around for the first half of Game 5, too, and things were starting to get a bit edgy, but Ginobili took over Game 5 after halftime, gave the Spurs the cushion that they needed to get through that game and, ultimately, the series; a series that proved much closer than Spurs fans had expected it would be.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lefty

WTF ? WTF ? WTF ?

vs Sonics: he writes " game 1" ,but he writes about game 5 :donkey

vs Suns (the 48 pt game): Raja Bell wasn't with the Suns back then :donkey :donkey


OMG what a fucking retard

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Thats a bit harsh isn't it. Just because we're at a different site other than ST doesn't mean you have to be a total dick to another Spurs fan who put his time and effort into this. Maybe take some time and think before you start trashing people especially since you obviously don't write your own blog posts for other people to trash. He made some errors, which we ended up catching later and editing. We're all Spurs fans aren't we? Shouldn't we save being an ahole for the Mavs and Laker fans?

at least 3 of Manu's best 5 games were in the Olympics/WC

i recall that regular season game against phx on 05, he just lit it up. IIRC he had a nasty dunk that i havent been able to find on youtube

Manu's asskicking of team USA gotta be in top 5