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“We had proceeded under the impression he was healed; not getting better, but he was ready to go."
Makes me wonder what happened?
Pop: Loss of Ginobili all about at ude
Mike Monroe
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Spurs must accept the loss of star guard Manu Ginobili for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, as a challenge that must be taken on, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday morning.
As devastated as the Spurs were to learn that Ginobili will not play again this season after renewed discomfort in his right ankle was diagnosed Monday as a stress fracture of the right distal fibula, Popovich is counting on his players' collective character to do what it takes to win games without one of their most important teammates.
“It's about at ude,” Popovich said. “We can do the best possible job we can of believing in each other and put out the effort that's required to win basketball games, or we can feel sorry for ourselves and say, ‘Gosh, without Manu it's going to be really difficult to reach our goals.'”
Popovich expects determination to overcome adversity and to outweigh self pity.
“That's not how the team is built, character-wise, I don't think, so we look at it as a challenge and take it on,” he said after the team's morning practice to prepare for Tuesday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ford Center here.
Ginobili was declared out for the season after CT scans and an MRI revealed that the stress reaction in his right distal fibula, one of three bones that make up the ankle joint, had become a stress fracture.
Roger Mason Jr., the player who will take Manu Ginobili's spot in the starting lineup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ford Center here tonight, called Monday's news about Ginobili's injury “devastating,” but said the team's at ude at Tuesday's shootaround was one of determination to do what will be necessary to adjust to his absence.
“We were going to take those last six games to get back adjusted to having him on the floor,” Mason said. “Now, he's back off, and we've got to get adjusted to not having him again. But it was devastating.
“At the same time, it's going to test our will and our character to see how we respond.”
Popovich said he and the rest of the Spurs basketball staff were surprised when Ginobili reported a problem after Sunday's game.
“I was (surprised),” he said. “We had proceeded under the impression he was healed; not getting better, but he was ready to go. At the time, it wasn't a stress fracture. It was a stress reaction. All the indications — all the films, all the things the medical people do — came out positive, with re-growth and no indications whatsoever.
“On top of that, he's taken extra time from when they said he was ready. We held him out longer. On top of that, he's played (six) games, and has felt great after every game and the next day. Then, all of a sudden, he felt what he felt, and that was a surprise.”
Popovich said the medical regimen for Ginobili will be the same as it had been with the stress reaction: Rest and treatment that will stimulate the natural healing process.
“This isn't a surgical deal, as far as I've been told,” Popovich said. “He'll heal and be 100 percent, that kind of thing. Obviously, I wouldn't want to bring him back again (this season).”
“We had proceeded under the impression he was healed; not getting better, but he was ready to go."
Makes me wonder what happened?
I wonder how playoff ticket sales will go this time.
The first round is usually not so great, partially because of Fiesta. With the economy the way it is and people assuming there is no chance for a championship, I wonder the same thing.
F it. Play Hill, Mase & Gooden all 30+. Call up Hairston and give him some run. They're part of the future now.
this is what SHOULD be done.
but instead you know it will be just more time for Vaughn/udoka/finley.
Yes!
But Pop will rather play Vaughn Finley & Udoka 30+.
If I was Pop I'd even insert Mahinmi and call up James Gist!
there's goes holt's plans for selling 2nd round tickets
Are you seriously giving up? If so then you are ing nuts. The Spurs, especially Pop, TD, TP, and Bowen who have been through some serious wars, are not going to go down without a fight. Believe.
I think the Spurs will make it past the 1st round...then they'll be underdogs the rest of the way.
“That's not how the team is built, character-wise, I don't think, so we look at it as a challenge and take it on”
Fire doctors that cleared Manu
Losing Ginobili really hurts. Winning a championship is most likely out of the question, but if they can get a few wins going into the playoffs and get a little momentum who knows maybe they get out of the first round and give a good fight in the second round and possible make it to the WCF. It sound optimistic but stranger things could happen, a lot depends on if there willing to dig deep and fight to find a way to win!
Best response, but expect Fin to start every PO game and Hill to not back up TP at all if Bizzaro Pop keeps being the dominant personality.
Another national take.
Spurs’ Ginobili out for playoffs with ankle injury
By Jeff Latzke
The San Antonio Spurs are adjusting to life without Manu Ginobili for the playoffs.
The Spurs got a dose of false hope when he made a brief late-season return from an ankle injury. But San Antonio got the bad news Monday that Ginobili will miss the rest of the season after tests showed a stress fracture in the ankle.
Now, coach Gregg Popovich says the Spurs must adjust their roles again and stay positive heading into the playoffs.
“I look at it as a challenge right now for our team. It’s about at ude,” Popovich said Tuesday after San Antonio’s shootaround before a game at Oklahoma City. “We can do the best possible job we can of continuing to believe in each other and put out the effort that’s required to win basketball games or we can feel sorry for ourselves and say, ‘Well, gosh, without Manu it’s going to be really difficult to reach our goals.’
“That’s not how the team is built, I don’t think, character-wise.”
Ginobili had been averaging 15.5 points and 3.6 assists in 44 games this season, and his 3-point accuracy was down from 40 percent to 33 percent this season. He had two long absences because of the injury. San Antonio is 32-12 with him and 17-15 without him this season.
“It is a little bit of a shock because we thought we had him back and we changed the team around pretty significantly to accommodate that, as far as rotations and people playing, that kind of thing,” Popovich said. “Now we’ll have to redefine it again and retool it again, but they’ll give their best effort, without any doubt.”
Ginobili had missed 19 games after the All-Star break to let his stress reaction heal in his right leg, but was sidelined again in his sixth game back— a 101-81 loss to Cleveland on Sunday. A day later, the team learned that the Argentine guard would miss the final six games of the regular season and the playoffs after the injury developed into a stress fracture.
Popovich said the Spurs had tried to be careful and delayed Ginobili’s return even after he had been cleared to play, allowing more time to heal the ankle bone. Popovich said Ginobili hadn’t had any pain in his first five games back.
“We proceeded under the impression that it was healed. Not getting better— that he was ready to go,” Popovich said. “At the time it wasn’t a stress fracture, it was a stress reaction, and all the indications, all the films, all the things that the medical people do came out positive with regrowth.”
Popovich said Roger Mason Jr. would again take over Ginobili’s starting role beginning with Tuesday night’s game at Oklahoma City.
“He’s a superstar player, and I don’t think it’s on any one of us to try to go out there and individually do what he does,” Mason said. “I think collectively, everybody’s just got to raise their game up and it means we have to defend a little bit better, we have to rebound that much better. We have to do everything else better.”
The Spurs have already clinched a playoff berth, but have slipped from second to third in the Western Conference and have only a half-game lead on Houston in the Southwest Division. Portland and New Orleans are within two games of San Antonio and trying to get a top-four seed for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
“We look at it as a challenge and take it on, and whatever happens from there happens,” Popovich said. “There’s really no other choice.”
Duncan, gooden, mason, bowen Parker hill finley hairston Thomas
Throw em out there see how they do.
I know it changed my plans the next time I come into SA...
Popovich said he and the rest of the Spurs basketball staff were surprised when Ginobili reported a problem after Sunday's game.
MANU SAID HE WAS SORE after friday
pop was surprised manu reported a problem on sunday
NICE GOING MANU
you could have got treatment
Lie. He said he played many minutes friday, not that he was sore.
Jeez, would you just stop lying already?
M.Monroe video on ESPN
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4049775
Goddammit. They'd better be.
Yes.
I'm not sold on us losing in the first round. IF (and that's a big one) Timmy can somehow fight through his knee problems, we could at least survive the first round. A lot of other teams in the West are having injury problems of their own or are just not as good as they were last year (Hornets)/in recent years (Mavs, Suns), so we still stand a chance.
Of course, I don't want Timmy to play 40+ minutes, and if there is any chance that resting him now might help a lot in the long run, they should do it, but if somehow he can be closer to the great player he is come playoff time, I still think we could beat the likes of Portland, Utah or New Orleans. At least we will get to see how Hill, Mason Jr., and Gooden will do in a playoff situation.
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