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2007/2008 was Manu's prime time, IMHO.
Best in some categories and right there at the top in the rest of them.
And BTW, Wade has always been an athletically superior player than Manu. Doesn't necessarily mean that they impact the game the same way. They're different type of players, and I suspect Wade's decline will be more pronounced considering how much he relies on his athleticism. That said, we're talking the cream of the crop in the league here. Wade is a phenomenal player.
2007/2008 was Manu's prime time, IMHO.
Best in some categories and right there at the top in the rest of them.
With Manu choosing to rest and train for the NBA instead of playing FIBA basketball; we could see a pretty damn good Ginobili next year as long as he stays healthy. Manu started off pretty rusty this past season after missing a lot of time recovering from injury/surgery.
While he may not be dunking as much as he used to, he still had some pretty sick highlight plays FWIW. The ones that stand out the most were his blocks - the one against Kevin Durant and the one on KG that technically didn't count...even Jim Rome was giving praise.
Imo I think next season is his best shot at securing the third best SG spot in the NBA since he'll be playing for Argentina afterwards and who knows whats going to happen to the basketball scene with a lockout.
ginobili is not going to be anything but a role player now. he might be a crafty and dangerous role player but a role player nonetheless.
If there was one player in the NBA that I thought could keep re-developing his game to fit his current abilities it would be Manu.
After saying that though, yes Manu is no longer in his prime, but he wont be falling off the face of the map for awhile.
are you kidding?
He was past his prime in 09
When it comes to prime, All things Ginobili is bolded for your perusal.
For you Duck Lovers out there, please read each definition twice. It might take a 2nd time for you guys to get it.
Prime people, if you're going to argue it, at least know what it is. Because from the looks of it, the OP and some people really do not know what it means. Also, there are role players who are stars. What's Miami going to call LeBron & Bosh? They too, will have defined roles. All players do, and it's the ones that doe theirs best that win les. Our team has a championship past and they're still relevant, even though the 4-letter and it's ilk have been telling us all that the Spurs have been dead since 05.
DON'T POKE THE ZOMBIE!
prime [prahym] Show IPA adjective, noun, verb, primed, prim·ing.
–adjective
1. of the first importance; demanding the fullest consideration: a prime requisite.
2. of the greatest relevance or significance: a prime example.
3. of the highest eminence or rank: the prime authority on Chaucer.
4. of the greatest commercial value: prime building lots.
5. first-rate: This ale is prime!
6. (of meat, esp. of beef) noting or pertaining to the first grade or best quality: prime ribs of beef.
7. first in order of time, existence, or development; earliest; primitive.
8. basic; fundamental: the prime axioms of his philosophy.
9.Mathematics . (of any two or more numbers) having no common divisor except unity: The number 2 is prime to 9.
–noun
10. the most flourishing stage or state.
11. the time of early manhood or womanhood: the prime of youth.
12. the period or state of greatest perfection or vigor of human life: a man in his prime.
13. the choicest or best part of anything.
14. (esp. in the grading of U.S. beef) a grade, classification, or designation indicating the highest or most desirable quality.
15. the beginning or earliest stage of any period.
16. the spring of the year.
17. the first hour or period of the day, after sunrise.
18. Banking . prime rate.
19. Ecclesiastical . the second of the seven canonical hours or the service for it, originally fixed for the first hour of the day.
20. Mathematics .a. prime number.
b. one of the equal parts into which a unit is primarily divided.
c. the mark (′) indicating such a division: a, a′.
21. Fencing . the first of eight defensive positions.
22. Music . a. unison ( def. 2 ) .
b. (in a scale) the tonic or keynote.
23. Linguistics . any basic, indivisible unit used in linguistic analysis.
24. Metallurgy . a piece of tin plate free from visible defects.
–verb (used with object)
25. to prepare or make ready for a particular purpose or operation.
26. to supply (a firearm) with powder for communicating fire to a charge.
27. to lay a train of powder to (a charge, mine, etc.).
28. to pour or admit liquid into (a pump) to expel air and prepare for action.
29. to put fuel into (a carburetor) before starting an engine, in order to insure a sufficiently rich mixture at the start.
30. to cover (a surface) with a preparatory coat or color, as in painting.
31. to supply or equip with information, words, etc., for use: The politician was primed by his aides for the press conference.
32. to harvest the bottom leaves from (a tobacco plant).
–verb (used without object)
33. (of a boiler) to deliver or discharge steam containing an excessive amount of water.
34. to harvest the bottom leaves from a tobacco plant.
Origin:
bef. 1000; 1910–15 for def. 5; (adj.) ME (< OF prim ) < L prīmus first (superl. corresponding to prior prior1 ); (n.) in part deriv. of the adj.; in part continuing ME prim ( e ) first canonical hour, OE prim < L prīma ( hōra ) first (hour); (v.) appar. deriv. of the adj.
—Related forms
primeness, noun
non·prime, adjective
re·prime, verb (used with object), -primed, -prim·ing.
self-primed, adjective
un·primed, adjective
well-primed, adjective
I think he's more than a role player. I don't think we make the playoffs last season if he doesn't step it up a notch when Tony went down. Role players normally don't have that extra gear to go to.
That said, I'm sure he prefers that everyone is healthy and playing well instead of having to be 'supermanu' night in and out.
2001-2005/06 Was Manu's physical prime. In '07 Manu had better stats 'cause he played more/had more responsabilites because of injuries to Tony and Tim.2007/2008 was Manu's prime time, IMHO.
Best in some categories and right there at the top in the rest of them.
You should quote your stats so I can see.
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthre...96#post4617696You should quote your stats so I can see.
F u
Last edited by it's me; 09-14-2010 at 08:33 AM.
Role players are not ranked by almost all sportwriters as a top 5 SG for 5 consecutive years.
Rookie of the Year???
if ginobili tries to be anything more than a role player next year, he will be too fatigued/or suffer more injuries by the end of the season to help the spurs. last year is a good indication of ginobili's inconsistency. he started out slow, then ended the season with a strong finish. but he also looked tired in the playoffs and delivered some mediocre games. ginobili is only getting older and less athletic. he's not going to magically revert to 08 form.
ginobili will not be able to drive as much as he wants, and will have to slow down to adjust to his declining athleticism. if he does not, he will suffer more injuries. while he may deliver some great games, his inconsistency would ultimately hurt the spurs. ginobili needs to adapt, which means sliding into the spot up shooter/passer role who plays defense. this will take a lot of his game away from him but at least he can still meaningfully contribute when the time comes.
Last year, in a game against the Lakers wherein the Spurs won, I remember Jeff Van Gundy saying that Manu has the quickest last step of any player in the NBA. That's first time I heard of it, but hey, Van Gundy made sense when he said that.
Manu'll be like me. I like his game, but if he gets injured again it will suck for you Spurs fans.
past his prime? yes.
still special? yes.
crucial question for the Spurs next 2 seasons will be: is Tony past his prime?
Guys from Argentina are prime until 34-35, how old is Manu?
DD
I believe he had a perfectly fine reason for having a slow start, wasn't he recovering from injury? My memory is hazy, I thought he got hurt in 08 at the Olympics, why was he just barely recovering in 09, that makes no... oh yeah, he hurt his other foot.
And I don't think you can take the passion out of Ginobili's game, it would be as harmful as if you took away Duncan's fundamentals. He just needs his PT to be monitored more than ever before.
Unless most of this happens:
- TP reverts to 08-09
- Duncan stays relatively good because Tiago and Blair are able to take some load off in the post
- Hill continues to improve
- Alonzo/Anderson/Neal/Temple shine as new Spurs.
- RJ somewhat meets his lowered expectations
But I expect a healthy combo of TP/Hill will allow Manu to pick and choose when he takes over more than anything else. Hopefully whenever the rotation settles he's playing with two of RJ/Blair/Splitter, I believe he makes them much better (just assuming with Tiago cuz he can cut to the basket like Dejuan)
The reason Manu started slow was because he came off from a foot fracture.
Look how much time is taking to Yao to come back from that same injury.
He wasn´t by any means, "tired" on the PO, he did all in his powers to get the team to the winning line. The team just lacked defense against PHX, he scored around 25 in 2 games on great percentages and we lost both. Duncan looked tired in that series, not Manu.
Not to say that Ginobili also needed to took care of PG duties for half a season, and that really cuts on your legs if your usual position is SG.
Is he past his peak?
Yes
Is he past his prime?
Depends on how you define prime. For athletes, it typically refers to a range of years including time before and after the peak. If Manu isn't past his prime, he's certainly at the tail end of his prime.
Is he worth the price of admission?
Absolutely.
He is. He's not as atletic as he used to be, but he can still shoot, pass and defend the opponent. Not to mention his hustle play.
He's a freaking warior, you know it.
Manu did have I pretty inconsistent series against the Suns. I think part of that inconsistency was having TP back. Manu didn't dominate the ball as much as he did when tp was out. The lack of spacing really hurt everybodys game though I think as much as anything. With more spacing Manu has more room to operate in that series. they weren't letting him get in the paint because they'd just sag way of of RJ.
This is exactly what I was going to say.
Manu is obviously not in his athletic prime, but with that said, he is just as effective as he has ever been. It's really a tough question to respond to because there are a lot of variables, and as everybody knows it weighs a lot on whether he's healthy or not.
The way Manu played towards the end of last season was the best basketball in such a stretch of time he's ever played in his life, and that's due to his increasing IQ and small skills he never stops developing and improving. His game is becoming more versatile in the ways he helps the team win, but obviously his athleticism has declined and has been declining for a while now.
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