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I'd say thats the Kurt Thomas your gonna see for the majority of the rest of the season.
Spurs' deficit gives Ginobili opportunity
By Mike Monroe
Halfway through the third quarter of their game at AT&T Center on Wednesday night, the Spurs found themselves nine points down to the Chicago Bulls and in need of a lift.
With just one full game and two full practices under his belt this season, Manu Ginobili deemed this a perfect opportunity.
In just two minutes and 49 seconds, Ginobili made two twisting layups, set up teammates for 3-point baskets, turned the deficit into a Spurs lead and convinced himself, once and for all time, that the September surgery that repaired a left ankle impingement had been a complete success.
“I'm doing good,” said the NBA's reigning Sixth Man Award winner. “I'm happy and excited. I felt good, and we won.”
Ginobili played nearly 18 minutes in the Spurs' 98-88 victory, scoring 15 points, with four assists and three rebounds. He missed his only 3-point attempt, but was decidedly more aggressive going to the basket than he was in Monday's season debut in Memphis, when he played 11 minutes and 16 seconds.
His explosiveness is nearly all the way back, he said. The rhythms of the game will take a while longer to return.
“I've got to work a little on my brakes,” he said. “Those are not working very well right now. The two or three penetrations I got on pick-and-rolls felt pretty good. I went zig-zag and finished well at the rim. I was a little hesitant here and there, but it's just the fourth time I went five-on-five, two in practice, two in games.
“So far, so good. I really didn't think I was going to be doing so good so early, so I'm happy in that regard.”
Shot rediscovered: After missing eight 3-point attempts since his last long-distance make, against the Bucks on Nov. 12, Spurs forward Ime Udoka made two in a row in the Spurs' third-period rally.
His teammates were thrilled to see Udoka break out of his slump, and so was Udoka.
“(I'm) not as happy as he is,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “These guys have great character, they beat themselves up. I'm sure he feels good. He's put in a lot of work, a lot of work.”
Ginobili set up Udoka for his second 3-pointer, happy to give him the chance to get a 3-point streak going.
“You can go through a drought like that,” Ginobili said, “but we will trust him. We know he's a reliable shooter, especially from the corner. It was a matter of time.”
Late start: Backup big man Kurt Thomas missed most of the preseason with a hamstring strain, so the first month of the regular season has been more struggle than success. Against the Bulls, though, Thomas had eight points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes and 16 seconds.
“Kurt's starting to get back in shape, starting to get his rhythm,” Popovich said. “He missed camp, basically, so it's taken him some time.
I'd say thats the Kurt Thomas your gonna see for the majority of the rest of the season.
tonight was the Kurt Thomas I expect to see on a nightly basis..reliable defender with a consistent mid-range J..he would be one of the better back up bigs in the NBA..
So, roughly 51% of the time? Or will it be dramatically higher than that?
If Thomas gets going, and Mahinmi can contribute, they would be a nice pair. Kurt to defend the stronger power players, and Ian the quicker more finesse bigs.
I'm holding on tight, b/c if KT keeps playing better as the season goes along its gonna get pretty crowded on the bandwagon again soon.
Seriously though, a slow but steady KT and any signs of life from Ian (honestly, I just wanna see the kid play) will be a sturdy, though not altogether overwhelming, frontcourt. Pair that with the best backcourt(now 1st and 2nd unit, imo) in the NBA, and this team should aim high.
I hope Kurt's struggles so far have been due to his injury and missing camp and he's just getting into shape, after all he possesses all the needed skills we're looking for in a big - good defence, good rebounding and a decent midrange jumpshot in some 25 mins a night. I think Kurt's deffinitely capable of that but the worry is whether age has caught up with him or is it just the injury.
And for what it's worth I believe Ime is a steal for the contract he has. I like him a lot and he can really contribute. He just has to know when to shoot and when to pass on offense, and play good defense which he's more than capable of.
Kurt had a great game. But those are far inbetween. Kurt aint no kid with young legs. If he could play half as good as last night he would be worth it. And Im not knocking on him(thou i hate he's in a spurs uniform), but we was playing against a sorry bulls line up. If you cant beat up on the Bulls your in serious trouble. Once again, I love the win no matter who we beat. But its just the bulls, and everyone seems to love beating the bulls. They're another team with bigs who are no better then ours. Minus Timmy of course.
If Thomas can play every game like yesterday we'll be good.
I hope his bad start was just bad shape and not old age
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