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This is going to be one hungry Spurs squad down the stretch if Manu returns to form. Bring more of that in houston, Ginobili!
Ginobili: ‘I feel great, and I bet you can tell'
Mike Monroe
HOUSTON — Still seeking every shred of credible evidence that a season that began with great promise might yet produce something special, the Spurs headed to Houston on Thursday afternoon with their most tangible bit of encouragement in weeks.
Manu Ginobili, the beating heart of a four-time NBA champion, has declared he feels like, well, Manu Ginobili.
The importance of such self-actualization can't be overstated for a team that will play the Rockets at the Toyota Center still seventh in the Western Conference.
“I feel great, and I bet you can tell,” Ginobili said after submitting Exhibits A through Z in a Wednesday night victory against the Thunder. The performance gave every Spur aboard the short flight to Houston reason to believe a late-season surge is possible.
The 32-year-old guard scored 26 points Wednesday, his second-highest output of the season and his sixth game with at least 20 in the past nine outings.
Ginobili's season has been a four-month search for the lift in his legs that made him a 6-foot-6 highlight reel for most of his eight seasons as a Spur. A spectacular fourth-quarter run-down block against the NBA's leading scorer, 6-9 Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant, was the affirmation for which the Argentine dynamo has waited.
“Going to dunk, or going for a block like that, a month ago that couldn't have happened,” he said. “I'm feeling great, and I'm very happy about it.”
So are his teammates, old and new. Shaking his head after missing all six of his shots, power forward Antonio McDyess nodded in Ginobili's direction in the postgame euphoria Wednesday.
“Thank goodness for that guy,” he said. “I've never played with anybody who wanted to win more than he does.”
Coming off a stress fracture in his right ankle — an injury that ended his 2008-09 season before the playoffs and mandated a summer of inactivity — Ginobili has bided his time waiting for his physical abilities to match his limitless compe ive nature.
Finally, he has resumed attacking the rim without fear of failure.
“Before, I was feeling every time I was penetrating I was going to get blocked,” he said. “Now I feel I can go over somebody or around somebody.”
Then, pointing to his head, Ginobili revealed the psychological carryover that derives from knowing the spring in his legs is all the way back.
“That changed a lot in here,” he said. “I'm attacking the rim way better the last five games and I'm building confidence, something that I needed. Not that I was feeling bad before, but I didn't have the last oomph to go to the rim.”
What hasn't changed for the Spurs is the reality of the Western Conference standings. Wednesday's victory kept them from sliding into eighth place, but they understand that home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs is the same distance above them as a spot in the draft lottery is behind them.
They also know they have had other victories this season they believed would serve as springboards to a jump up the standings, only to follow with disappointing losses.
Their best road victory of the season, a 19-point win at Denver right before the All-Star break, just magnified the disappointment of losing the final two games of the rodeo road trip to lottery-bound Eastern Conference teams.
“We have had some (wins) like this before — the Atlanta game here; Denver on the road — where it looked like we were going to start being where we were supposed to be, and then it didn't happen,” said Ginobili. “We've got to stay humble and keep working hard. We know the next games against Houston and Phoenix are going to be huge.
“After those two, I'll be able to tell you better if we've turned a corner.”
This is going to be one hungry Spurs squad down the stretch if Manu returns to form. Bring more of that in houston, Ginobili!
...a four-time NBA champion...The lack of fact checking or a proof reader is ridiculous. Never mind things that should just be known.
Wait, what? OH, you mean THOSE 4-time NBA champions!
Even if he's asserting that Manu is the heart of the Spurs, a team which has 4 championships, Manu wasn't a member for one of those, so he's still dumb.
manu is pissed!!!!!
All we need is for TP to get some where close to 80%+ and the Spurs COULD at least make a respectable showing in the playoffs. Manu + TD + 80% of TP is still stout.
But it is good to see, and I guess he and others were right when they said it was a matter of Manu getting his confidence back and his comfort level up.
Yeah, I think he's saying that the team is a 4-time champion and Ginobili is the heart of the team. Technically correct, but could be better written so as to get the point across without being awkward or confusing.
Yeah, I may have jumped too fast. Re-reading it I see what he did but it read wrong the first time through.
Read it, re-read it, re-read it AGAIN, and my conclusion?
The er just can't write. Nobody jacks up sentences with more regularity than he does.
Do you KNOW who Jeff macdonald is?
And no, Monroe is good
Now Parker has to get his act together. Timmy has been Mr. Consistency for most of the season. If the Big 3 all show up ready to play and the supporting cast delivers, things could get interesting.. but the Spurs have little margin for error.
They could get very interesting, period... If this team heats up down the stretch, the team they face in round one is in trouble, in big trouble.
The media is realizing slowly that the 2010 Spurs are going to be the NBA champions, if you only were as faithful
The media is realizing slowly that the 2010 Spurs are going to be the NBA champions, if you only were as faithful
Agreed!
heheh well said, you just gave me a little extra faith as well. I BelieveThe media is realizing slowly that the 2010 Spurs are going to be the NBA champions, if you only were as faithful
I reallybelieved that Manu and Rj would be key this season. Now that Manu seems to be finding his groove (and assuming TD and TP live up to expectations), the critical factor is for RJ to elevate his game. He was brought in not to be some sub off the bench but to lessen the load on the Big 3.. in effect to cons ute the Big 4.. c'mon RJ, seize the moment and assert yourself.. such opportunities don't come around very often..
Consider me properly convicted! No more doubt from this fanThe media is realizing slowly that the 2010 Spurs are going to be the NBA champions, if you only were as faithful
Manu is beasting, when his game is on he is a joy to watch.
It's great to see Manu playing so well. Perhaps he will get that extension after all.
That said, it's still hard to imagine this team making out of the first round. There are far too many fundamental flaws that that should be corrected by now. With all that has happened, I would consider this season a success if the Spurs manage to extend the 50 win streak one more year.
Good to hear. Now let's hope that Manu doesn't peak too early and others on the team rise with him so that he doesn't have to wear himself out. To give a beating you have to take a beating, as the Nuggets will tell you, they've dished out beatings to Manu every time they met in the playoffs.
Let the true warriors now step forward to stand next to Manu and Tim.
Indeed. As good has he was, 34 minutes per game does not need to become a regular occurance until the playoffs. The Spurs March schedule is brutal.
Dejuan Blair quickly realized he was only borrowing his "Beast" nickname after watching Manu play against the Thunder.
So its like that....
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