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if he misses he also gets an excuse?
ginobili was fouled
if he misses he also gets an excuse?
you are annoying.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...ft_Athens.html
Emotionally, Manu has left Athens
Buck Harvey
BEIJING — The ankle looks better. The magic doesn’t.
Four years ago, Manu Ginobili started his Olympic run with a buzzer-beater that defined his charmed basketball prime. Sunday, in another opener, he put up a last-minute shot that looked like May against the Lakers.
One loss shouldn’t matter in an Olympic pool where everyone but Iran seems to advance to the medal round. But Ginobili has always been at his best when he feels things are going his way, and now he has reason to wonder.
He says as much, too. “Losing was not that important,” he said. “But it was emotionally important.”
For the Argentines, the emotions have changed. Four years ago, they were overachievers diving for a medal of any color. Argentina had never claimed one in basketball.
Ginobili was their lone NBA star. They were long-haired, bangers who played the right way. And when they beat a U.S. team playing the wrong way, they won a lot of American fans and one gold medal.
This is also how Ginobili came to carry his country’s flag during the opening ceremonies. Argentines care less about how many les he’s won with the Spurs.
Now all expectations are reversed. Argentina began the second half Sunday with five players who were in the NBA last season, among them Fab Oberto, and they seemed to play as if the American’s one-on-one game had worn off on them.
Only 10 assists to go with 18 turnovers in a 79-75 loss said a lot, and this was repeated, too, among the press: They look too old to repeat, and Ginobili and Oberto have heard these things somewhere.
Trailing by a dozen points to a rugged Lithuania with about five minutes left, they also looked done. But then Ginobili became Ginobili again, throwing in twisting drives and three-pointers. Argentina went on an 11-0 run, and the official Olympic release credited “some key plays from Emanuel David Ginobili.”
The Spurs should be concerned with one aspect about Emanuel David. He said his ankle was fine after he warmed up, and it looked fine. Still, needing to get the joint loose suggests he’s not fully healed.
At least he’s healed mentally from the Lakers series. Then, Brent Barry said, “We had ‘Ma,’ but we were missing ‘Nu.’.”
Playing for the first time in a meaningful game since then, the syllables joined together once more. After shooting Argentina back into the game, Ginobili found Luis Scola to tie.
Maybe they can build on this and get better. They did in Athens. As remarkable as everyone remembers them in 2004, they lost twice in the preliminary round.
But they began the 2004 Olympics with a moment that made them believe anything was possible. Then, behind against Serbia with just a few seconds left, Ginobili took a pass and – running to his right yet coming back to bank with his left – did a Derek Fisher.
“After it went in,” Ginobili said that day, “I didn’t know what to do.”
He opted to fall on the floor, spreading out face down, where his teammates piled on him. Ginobili’s Argentine coach circled the floor, and Gregg Popovich, watching in the stands with the other USA coaches, shook his head in amazement.
Argentina knew it then. Something special was happening.
Sunday, Ginobili was in a similar position. With the ball, the game tied, Ginobili was isolated. He made a move, and somewhere along the way he says a Lithuanian hand grabbed either him or the ball.
“It could have been a foul,” he said, and he shrugged more than he complained.
He lost control of the ball, then had only enough time to take what he called an “uncomfortable” shot. He missed, and the Denver Nugget, Linas Kleiza, followed with the game-winner.
Now the Lithuanians see the magic coming their way. Robertas Javtokas, the center whose rights are still owned by the Spurs, said, “This gives us trust now.”
Ginobili says these games between equal teams often come down to one play. “We’ve had it go our way before,” he said.
He did four years ago. When everything was going his way.
So was TD all through the 2004 Olympics.
Your point?
TD fouled a lot
Not really, they called stupid fouls alot and took the big man outta the game under Fiba rules.
Bottom line is Timmy was lost without NBA refs bailing him out over and over again with touch fouls.
Fact.
the bottomline is that you haven't been laid since the carter administration. ing middle aged white piece of .
The bottom line is Tim Duncan has several championships and Finals MVPs while Kobe has 0 finals mvps and rode Shaq's coattails.
he got embarrassed out of the finals by the celtics.
Fact.
Tim's statue should be made out of Bronze outside the arena.
Kobe will lead the USA to the Gold medal for sure this year, something Tim could not do as he was the leader of the most embarrassing US team ever. Losing once is one thing, but three times? Ugh.
ers don't have rewind for the first Arg game. Assholes. Even all of the first women games have the rewind feature, that's just bull .
kobe 4-13 fg 0-8 3pt he is shooting 37% in the olympics and taking twice as many shots than lebron or wade
LOL
kobe SUCKS
he will never stack up to duncan or shaq
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