Adande: “Torch Passes from Duncan to Ginobili”

[kace]

i think this article is a joke. it's one of the most stupid and biased article i've ever seen.

and it should make some manu's fans stop their paranoïa about manu not being praised or loved when this kind of article is obviously overrating him.

manu is a great player, i love him and i hope he will maintain his level till the end of these PO. but in these PO, except 2 or 3 games, he was simply horrible. how could you say he's our main man when he basically did nothing to help us in these PO ? i mean in this regular season, maybe, but in these PO ?? where it's the most important ?? where was he ?

Tim is the foundation of this team and TP is probably our best player in these PO. so, i guess the writer is a manu fan, which is good, and was waiting for a great performance from him to bring his article.

anyway, to see him perform like this in G3 was really great and it is definitely a good thing for the spurs to have our big three at full strenght.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

i think this article is a joke. it's one of the most stupid and biased article i've ever seen.

and it should make some manu's fans stop their paranoïa about manu not being praised or loved when this kind of article is obviously overrating him.

manu is a great player, i love him and i hope he will maintain his level till the end of these PO. but in these PO, except 2 or 3 games, he was simply horrible. how could you say he's our main man when he basically did nothing to help us in these PO ? i mean in this regular season, maybe, but in these PO ?? where it's the most important ?? where was he ?

Tim is the foundation of this team and TP is probably our best player in these PO. so, i guess the writer is a manu fan, which is good, and was waiting for a great performance from him to bring his article.

anyway, to see him perform like this in G3 was really great and it is definitely a good thing for the spurs to have our big three at full strenght.

wow... ok...

For one, Manu hasn't been horrible during these playoffs. I agree he hasn't been his usual self, and there have been games where you just want to strangle him! but just as you dislike Manu fans overreacting to a great game by Manu, your ramble here doesn't paint you in a good picture either. To say he has done nothing to help us in these PO's is just idiotic non sense. You'd do well to check it at the door before you come in here.

P.s.

"anyway, to see him perform like this in G3 was really great and it is definitely a good thing for the spurs to have our big three at full strenght"

I just love this lame attempt at a disclaimer, as if saying it will distract from all the bull he spewed before it

[TMTTRIO]

As much as I love Manu, we all know that Tim is the foundation on this team and is one of the best PF to ever play the game. He makes it a lot easier on Tony and Manu too and even they'll tell you that. Manu was great last night. When he plays like that it seems to really have an effect on the rest of the team. As much as I would love for Manu to be consistant, Manu is too inconsistant. I don't think he's going to play like he did tonight during tommorow's game but as long as he can contribute and not make bad decisions it'll be ok. Manu is a great player but he can be replaced unlike TD. Sometimes I think the Spurs do rely on Manu too much when they need him to do something or save them.

[diego]

adande is on the "40 stupid articles in 40 nights" challenge, luckily for him, time is on his side.

you got to give him credit though, he's managing to add a little more stupid to every new article!

[Red Hawk #21]

Tim Duncan is a beast, Tim Duncan is a warrior, Tim Duncan is a hero, Tim Duncan is a basketball god. Period.

[Emanuel20]

Stupid, we would not be here without manu and tim so I say they are very important to the team.

[kace]

wow... ok...

For one, Manu hasn't been horrible during these playoffs. I agree he hasn't been his usual self, and there have been games where you just want to strangle him! but just as you dislike Manu fans overreacting to a great game by Manu, your ramble here doesn't paint you in a good picture either. To say he has done nothing to help us in these PO's is just idiotic non sense. You'd do well to check it at the door before you come in here.

man, i think that, considering that each of our big three needs to take a lot of shots and make them at a decent % in order for us to win, manu has made us lose more often than win in these PO. Each of our big three will take 15 + shots per game, and if one of them is taking them at 30 %, like manu did a lot in these PO, it kills us. it's maybe unfair, considering that there's no one outside the big 3 that has really helped us in losses, but it is what it is and it's what this team is all about.

and even when tim and tp were cold in offense, they did a great job in defense, tim as usual, and TP has really stepped us to contain nash, paul and fisher. in the same time, manu has been a liability in almost every matchup on defense for us in these PO.

i guess you can disagree with me without being haughty.

I just love this lame attempt at a disclaimer, as if saying it will distract from all the bull he spewed before it

i don't need your approval to say that i love manu and that i found him great in the last game. when he plays like that, and not like he did in most of the previous games these PO, and when the others 2 are playing good, we're very tough to beat. i don't need either to be argentine or to be a blind groupie who thinks manu is the main player of our team, which is the point of this stupid article, to be a manu's fan, which, like it or not, i am and always was since he played in europe.

[smeagol]

Bull . Nice praise on Manu, but Duncan has meant more to the success of the Spurs this post season than Manu has. , even Parker has been more instrumental. Sorry, but it is what it is. Manu is Manu and I love him, but this is STILL Duncan's team.

Agreed, but it looks like Manu needs to play weel for the Spurs to win. Duncam can play well and the Spurs still lose.

[Emanuel20]

Agreed, but it looks like Manu needs to play weel for the Spurs to win. Duncam can play well and the Spurs still lose.

That's correct b/c no other player is picking up the points when manu is off.....

[ShoogarBear]

For the 9,345,349th time:

Tim Duncan is the only irreplaceable player on the Spurs.

You can subs ute other players to do what everybody else does.

Nobody else in the NBA could do what he does.

[kace]

Agreed, but it looks like Manu needs to play weel for the Spurs to win. Duncam can play well and the Spurs still lose.

maybe it's because we need each one of our big three to play well in order to win. and since tim and tony are usually playing well in these PO, it's easy to understand that when manu is doing the same, we have a great chance to win.
i find it strange to conclude from this easy equation that it's manu who is making us win.

[Emanuel20]

maybe it's because we need each one of our big three to play well in order to win. and since tim and tony are usually playing well in these PO, it's easy to understand that when manu is doing the same, we have a great chance to win.
i find it strange to conclude from this easy equation that it's manu who is making us win.

Well, if we go by this logic, since everyone blamed Manu for the first 2 losses, everyone should praise Manu for game 3 and then whatever follows.

Idiotic.....

[PlayoffEx-static]

Hey, J.A., 2005 wants it's story back.

[Ghazi]

Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time, Manu is one of the top shooting guards in the game today but not even in the discussion of all time greats. It's Duncan's team, Duncan is the foundation, the straw that stirs the drink if you will. Ginobili is a necessary ingredient of the drink.

[kace]

Well, if we go by this logic, since everyone blamed Manu for the first 2 losses, everyone should praise Manu for game 3 and then whatever follows.

Idiotic.....

i hope everybody will praise manu for his great game. i do.

[mrspurs]

of all the players we got....duncan has shown his age more then the others....but he is still a great downlow defender....duncans problem this season is, he doesnt havnt any help what so ever downlow....duncan is surrounded by a bunch of choke artists and has beens.....you have to give it up to duncan...anyone else in the league forced to play with big scrubs would have quit trying so hard..............go spurs go

[nfg3]

For the 9,345,349th time:

Tim Duncan is the only irreplaceable player on the Spurs.

You can subs ute other players to do what everybody else does.

Nobody else in the NBA could do what he does.

Ding Ding Ding

The debate should now be over FOREVER.

[roycrikside]

Has anyone read Adande’s article in today’s dime? Here’s the link:



I’m glad that he has some terrific things to say about Ginobili, and some extreme praise for Duncan toward the end. (He claims that Duncan belongs in the same conversation with Russell, Chamberlain, and Kareem. I agree.)

Nevertheless, I was surprised to see this near the top:

“We don't give [Duncan’s] career the full respect it deserves, yet sometimes we make the mistake of believing that, in 2008, the San Antonio Spurs are still about him. As Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals demonstrated, Manu Ginobili matters more than Duncan now.”

Now, I don’t care what the media perceives the Spurs’ pecking order to be. And I’m sure the Spurs themselves care even less than me. I just think it’s a very shortsighted article with little evidence in its favor. Recall that Ginobili played well but Duncan did not in the Game 1 loss to New Orleans, and Duncan played well but Ginobili did not in the Game 5 win over Phoenix.

Moreover, I’m always surprised at how the media seems to undervalue rebounding and interior defense—something a healthy Duncan always gives us even if he doesn’t score 20+.

In any event, how nice is it to have a dynamic duo—make that trio—that isn’t worried about hierarchy? I love being a Spurs fan.

I think the reason most people feel the team will go the way Manu goes is because they take Tim for granted. He's too consistent in the playoffs for his own good, especially with his rebounding and defense. Duncan's numbers suggested he struggled a lot against the Hornets, but they doubled him like 90% of the time. If any opponent plays him straight up, it's pretty much a given that Timmy will find a way to get 20+ points.

Manu throughout his postseason career has never been as consistent, for a variety of reasons. His role fluctuates, his minutes fluctuate, he doesn't look to get himself going as much if the other guys are doing fine without him, injuries, and finally, sometimes he just flat out stinks. If Manu got 25+ points every playoff game the Spurs would probably have an easier time of it, but that's a lot to ask of anyone. Plus he doesn't come into games knowing he's going to take 18 shots a night, minimum, like Kobe.

Timmy is still our best player and was so last night. For the Spurs to be champions Manu and Tony have to be in the conversation though.

[boutons_]

What would Manu's 30 been worth if he weren't standing the shoulders of Tim's 20-20?

ZILCH

[dbreiden83080]

Uh no sorry that is bull right there. He can't do it by himself against a team this good. Jordan does not have 6 rings if Pippen played like in playoff series. Duncan had 30 and 18 in game 1 and if Manu had just been decent and not awful they would have won that game. Spurs don't need Manu to be great to win the series but he has to be conistantly good.

[roycrikside]

i think this article is a joke. it's one of the most stupid and biased article i've ever seen.

and it should make some manu's fans stop their paranoïa about manu not being praised or loved when this kind of article is obviously overrating him.

manu is a great player, i love him and i hope he will maintain his level till the end of these PO. but in these PO, except 2 or 3 games, he was simply horrible. how could you say he's our main man when he basically did nothing to help us in these PO ? i mean in this regular season, maybe, but in these PO ?? where it's the most important ?? where was he ?

Tim is the foundation of this team and TP is probably our best player in these PO. so, i guess the writer is a manu fan, which is good, and was waiting for a great performance from him to bring his article.

anyway, to see him perform like this in G3 was really great and it is definitely a good thing for the spurs to have our big three at full strenght.

The French flag says it all, I think. Manu led the team in scoring and assists against the Hornets, so I don't think he was uh "horrible." I very much doubt you love Manu. Basically you wrote that unless he scores 30 in a playoff game, he sucks.

[TDfan2007]

That article is a joke. The national media is just crazy these days. First they basically blamed Ginobili for the Game 2 loss when it wasn't anywhere near his fault. Now all of a sudden he has passed Duncan in importance? WTF ?

Yeah, Ginobili was the best player on the Spurs in the regular season. But this is the playoffs now. Duncan, even when his numbers are ugly, is involved in just about every possession on both ends of the court.

Ginobili is a great player and when he's at his rolling he's a top five player in the NBA but the Spurs are best when they don't depend on his production. Ginobili's one flaw as a player is his inconsistency and the Spurs would be in trouble if they need Ginobili to be great every game to win.

I do agree with Duncan that Ginobili's biggest value to the team is scoring when baskets become hard to get and the pressure is on. Ginobili is the ultimate x-factor.

I completely agree. Manu played poorly during many games in these playoffs and we still found a way to win. Our losses against LA were a team effort and although Manu playing poorly was a reason for our losses, we lost as a team.

National beat writers like Adande don't get basketball I guess, because anyone who did would realize that Tim does just about EVERY little thing that we need to win. He clogs the lane, makes great passes both in the offense and out of double teams, scores at will in the post, and rebounds. Even when Tim struggles scoring-wise he always has a positive overall impact to the game because of the many ways he helps this team (see game 7 against NO).

Most importantly, it's Tim's unending trust in his teammates that has allowed for a good portion of Tony and Manu's development. He will NEVER hesistate to pass out of a double team or pass up any kind of shot if his teammate has a better one.

I'm all for giving Manu and Tony their credit but let's not get carried away. The Spurs are Tim's team.

[kace]

The French flag says it all, I think. Manu led the team in scoring and assists against the Hornets, so I don't think he was uh "horrible." I very much doubt you love Manu. Basically you wrote that unless he scores 30 in a playoff game, he sucks.

against NO, manu was at 21.3 ppg but at 43.5 % (and with 1.5 ppg coming from FT after technical fouls or fouls at the end of the games when the opposite team had to foul). he had basically no one to defend and when he had to (Peja or peterson), he failed.

Tony was at 19.4 ppg at 48.6 % (44.4 % from 3pts line). he had to defend CP3 and was able to contain him.

Tim was bad on offense but as usual was great in defense and had 13 rpg.

so, if you didn't see that manu played poorly in these PO, probably because of his injuries and his poor way to deal with it, i can't do anything for you.

i really liked the few games when he was good and i know for sure that a manu at his best could be a lethal weapon for us, as he often was in RS. i will be the first to appreciate if he's able to keep his G3 level till the end of the PO.

but it wasn't the point of my post to bash manu. i just said this ing article was stupid, especially in these PO.

oh, and if you can judge me and what i think only by knowing my nationality, please stop answering my posts, it would be wasted time for all two obviously.

[wildbill2u]

Cleveland is a one man show. Lakers are Kobe and the Rest.

The Spurs are a tripod. Take away any leg and the whole thing falls.

[Emanuel20]

Cleveland is a one man show. Lakers are Kobe and the Rest.

The Spurs are a tripod. Take away any leg and the whole thing falls.

I will say "BINGO"!